Something you can’t see in my LinkedIn profile picture is my enormous lion tattoo. Or my peace sign tattoo. Or my yin yang, or my sand dollar, or my sun, or my tweety bird. Each one has a special meaning to me, but above all they are signs of my passion for all things nature. In this post I will be taking a break from my science-heavy articles to entertain you with some super cool inks from my friends.
Category Archives: ecology
Oh, the Places I Go
Map of the lakes from WisContext.
Living in a city situated between two scenic lakes, I had to wonder why my drinking water wasn’t coming from either one of them. Madison, Wisconsin gets its drinking water from a sandstone aquifer that sits 90 to 95 feet below the ground’s surface according to Madison Water Utility. Twenty-two wells and many more pipes intertwine to serve the ever-growing population of this capital city. Continue reading
Exotic Pet Ownership
The majestic yet venomous (and very invasive) lionfish from Hakai Magazine.
Lately I’ve been pondering what type of pet I’d like to own when I finally move out of my college dorm and into the real word. During my time searching the interwebs, I discovered several exotic and even wild animals that I could easily purchase online, such as sugar gliders and even fennec foxes. After a couple minutes, I found myself stumbling on article after article that advocates against owning novelty pets. And so the moral debate begins.
World Water Day
How does one actually celebrate World Water Day? It’s not like other holidays with parades, family reunions, games, or special dinners. I’ve seen lots of articles for the day that has been broadcast all over the internet, and a couple suggestions on what to do. I decided on a shorter-than-usual shower and an informative blog post. (By the way, short shower means under 8 minutes in the realm of environmental engineering as this is the average time people spend under the shower head. If 8 is more than your normal, keep doing you!)
Great Lakes Bluegill depiction from Missouri DEC.
Passive Acoustic Monitoring
The following article deviates from my conventional posts about homemade water treatment, but it is an important issue in the environmental realm- and could give scientists a clearer picture of endangered species.
“Within the field of cetacean research, a passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) system can be defined as a set of acoustic and electronic devices aimed at detecting and tracking marine mammals by listening to their vocalizations” – Brunoldi, et. al.
Hubbard Brook
On Sunday night we arrived back at the University from our trip to Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire. There were around a hundred researchers who attended the annual conference there. And let me tell you, not a single one wasn’t in shape. The mountain was steep, with an occasional dirt path leading the way, but other times you had to bushwhack to get where you were going. Although I had no cell service or internet for miles around and people were scarce, the restaurants we ate at were pure heaven. In the picture above: Woodstock Station and Brewery, view from Shamrock Motel of the White Mountains, the lab, and view of the brook. Continue reading
SU-mmer Studies
Syracuse University Campus. Photo by Jess Turner.
Welcome to the beautiful campus that is my new summer home: Syracuse University (SU). Situated on an enormous hill next to the basketball dome and College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) this campus practically gleams. Continue reading
