Science and Sustainability

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science and sustainability

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greenmarinescientist

Science and Sustainability
• Marine Scientist 🌊
• @umiamirsmas BSc 🙌
• @umassdsmast PhD Student 🎓

Why did you decide to reduce your environmental fo

Why did you decide to reduce your environmental footprint? The reason I got into plastic free or zero waste or sustainability or whatever buzzwords we wish to use was because on my first trips to sea I was kind of horrified to see trash way out to sea away from land in the Gulf of Mexico. The nice thing about the research community, at least in my experience, is that if there is debris that is spotted, people on the vessels make an effort to remove it. On the cruise I was just on, we pulled in this old shoe and found a fish and two crabs living inside! You’re probably thinking, “Alanna. That’s ridiculous. Fish and crabs live in reefs, not in shoes.” The crazy thing is that this isn’t uncommon! Any object that is floating either surface or somewhere mid water column can act as a Fish Aggregating Device, or FAD. Basically organisms are attracted to objects like this and end up establishing communities around them. This can be dangerous for animals like fish and crabs, which might become stuck, entangled in, or try to eat whatever the object might be. Someone out there probably has no idea their shoe was floating around in the eastern tropical North Pacific Ocean, which highlights why we need better options for closing the loop on products that have reached the end of their useful lifespan.
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#zerowaste #goingzerowaste #earthfriendly #lowimpactlifestyle #reducewhatyouproduce #livingconsciously #passonplastic #choosetorefuse #sustainableliving #green2021 #greenliving #reduceyourfootprint #sustainablelivingtips #yayforearth #liveeverydaylikeitsearthday #earthdayeveryday #oceanplastic #womeninoceanscience #take3forthesea #5minutebeachcleanup #goingplasticfree #trashtagchallenge #dontlitter #fishaggregatingdevice #fishhabitat #oceanpollution #plasticpollutionkills

Do you prefer a sunset or sunrise? . One of the mo

I’m back! So the wifi on the boat was a lot wors

I’m back! So the wifi on the boat was a lot worse than I have experienced in the past so I wasn’t able to be on social media to share with you guys the work we were doing in real time, but as another interesting plot twist I wasn’t able to get almost any news. It was pretty unbelievable to come back to a world where the US capitol was occupied by political extremists, such an outrageous attack on democracy. It’s a truly crazy time we are living through. I hope everyone is doing okay and I’m excited to reconnect on here and share some fun things from my time on the Sally Ride! PS feel free to fill me in on anything else I may have missed

The research trip officially begins! For the next

The research trip officially begins! For the next two weeks I’ll be isolating at a hotel in San Diego prior to boarding the Scripps vessel due to covid precautions. The idea is to have no contact with other people, which reduces the risk of bringing illness onboard. So for the duration of my stay I have my own room, the hotel is providing the science party with our meals, and we are allowed some outdoor exercise but limited to the hotel grounds. I’ve already made some fish friends at the koi pond on the property! I’ll be sharing a little bit from this isolation period because, while fairly unusual and not central to my role as a marine scientist, it is a part of my job, at least right now. I do have a few things to get done between presenting a stock assessment for a class I’m auditing, and doing some grant writing. I also brought some embroidery kits to keep myself entertained! While I have some time to put more effort into science content, are there any topics you guys want me to cover?.
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#marinescience #marineresearch #oceanscience #oceanresearch #oceanoptimist #cleantheseas #marinebiologist #fieldwork #lifeatsea #researchcruise #scripps #marinescientist #science #womeninoceanscience #phdstudentlife #handsonresearch #koifish #koipond #koifriends #savethefishies #fishresearch #biogeochemistry #oceanlife #discoverunder10k #researchtrip #scicomm #sea #ocean #research

If you’re like me and are scrambling to do some

If you’re like me and are scrambling to do some holiday shopping, but give yourself extra hoops to jump through like making sure everything is ethical, sustainable, high quality, and are gifts that the recipients will actually like, then definitely check out @parachutehome for some great items! I actually found Parachute while looking for a non-synthetic shower curtain, and now they’re one of my favorite home brands. I reached out to let them know I appreciate that they offer specialty items like that, and they sent me this awesome cotton robe! I think it makes the perfect gift for anyone you know who loves to be cozy. There’s still some time left for holiday shopping, but I wanted to share now so that way people can take advantage of the sale going on! Are you totally on top of your holiday shopping, or still working on it? .
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#earthfriendly #goingzerowaste #greenliving #green2020 #livingconsciously #liveeverydaylikeitsearthday #passonplastic #lowimpactlifestyle #plasticgamechanger #plasticfreeearth #reducewhatyouproduce #positiveimpactmovement #reduceyourfootprint #sustainablelivingtips #sustainableliving #zerowastehome #yayforearth #zerowaste #sustainability #ecofriendly #parachutehome #parachutehomepartner #myparachutehome #sustainablehomedecor #sustainablehomebrand #sustainableholidays #sustainableholidaygifts #holidaygiftideas2020 #gifted

Are you here for marine science content? If yes th

Are you here for marine science content? If yes then I’m sorry, I’ve been favoring sustainability posts lately. But that’s because I won’t be able to do much of that from now until after the New Year. Next week, I leave for San Diego to embark on my next research cruise. I’ll be on the Scripps research vessel @rvsallyride for a little under a month, collecting data and deploying autonomous floats in the eastern tropical North Pacific, off the coast of Mexico. I’ve spent a cumulative two months at sea so far, on various trips, but this time is a little different: I have a two week pre-cruise quarantine! That is definitely something I haven’t experienced before, but @halfmooninn where the whole science party is staying looks pretty good. So get ready for some ocean content, because that’s coming up soon! For the non-scientists out there, feel free to ask me anything about research cruises and going to sea in the comments. For other scientists, what’s the coolest place you’ve been for research? .
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#lifeinacademia #womeninoceanscience #girlsinoceanscience #debrisfreeoceans #science #marinescienceresearch #marinescientist #phdlife #steminist #nature #stemeducation #womeninstem #plasticfreeforthesea #sustainability #marinescience #womentransformingscience #phdcandidate #oceansciences #womeninresearch #savethefishies #graduateschool #oceanography #researchcruise #fieldwork #goingtosea #fieldresearch #biogeochemistry #researchtrip

What’s your laundry routine look like? For most

What’s your laundry routine look like? For most people it looks like big plastic jugs full of detergent that is mostly water, increasing the overall weight of the product and as a result the carbon emissions associated with shipping. I’m all about simple swaps, so I was wicked excited when @kindlaundry reached out to me asking to review their product. In the past I’ve used low waste pods and liquid detergent from bulk stores, but I had never tried a sheet before! Overall I am very impressed - my clothes are super clean even with just one sheet. I always wash on cold and have had no issues with the sheets dissolving, which is something I’ve experienced with pods. Plus the sheets come in a lightweight and easy to recycle cardboard box! I am now fully convinced that laundry sheets are the way of the future, so check them out. What are your low waste laundry favorites? .
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#earthfriendly #goingzerowaste #green2020 #greenliving #liveeverydaylikeitsearthday #livingconsciously #lowimpactlifestyle #passonplastic #plasticfreeearth #plasticgamechanger #positiveimpactmovement #reducewhatyouproduce #reduceyourfootprint #sustainableliving #sustainablelivingtips #yayforearth #zerowaste #laundrysheets #kindlaundry #lowwastelaundry #zerowastelaundry #plasticfreelaundry #carbonemissions #reduceyourcarbonfootprint #laundryroutine #sustainability #ecofriendly #takecareofyourclothes #laundrytips

Baby photos of the new additions! I finally have m

Baby photos of the new additions! I finally have my own flock of my favorite breed, silkies! While not the most practical of the chickens, I think they are the friendliest and make some of the best pets. I am going to add a few more laying hens this spring. No names yet because we aren’t sure who is a boy and who is a girl, but here they are (all six) and will definitely update as they grow! Do you have chickens? What’s your favorite breed? .
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#earthfriendly #goingzerowaste #green2020 #greenliving #liveeverydaylikeitsearthday #livingconsciously #lowimpactlifestyle #passonplastic #plasticfreeearth #positiveimpactmovement #reducewhatyouproduce #reduceyourfootprint #sustainableliving #sustainablelivingtips #yayforearth #zerowaste #sustainability #ecofriendly #babychickens #babychickphotoshoot #newbornchicks #babyflock #newchickenmom #silkiechicks #homesteadingfamily #lifeoffgrid #petchickens #babyphotos

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