Monday, January 19, 2015

Research, An Expensive Vitamin

Hubby got an email the other day from someone he had never met.  She was the niece of a research scientist that he had gone to school with many decades ago.  She was doing some historic exploration on her uncle, but not because he had passed away recently.  He had died a long time ago and she wanted to know more about him.  This uncle had taken a night dive off the coast of Oahu back in the 1970s and was never heard from again.  Some surmised that he had been taken by a tiger shark that had been cruising the area, but since he had had a diving partner who also never returned, there were other guesses of an accident and perhaps heavy currents.

I think this is a gray shark...photo taken by me back in the 1970's

I used to S.C.U.B.A. dive fairly often when I lived in the South Pacific, and I have posted on this time in my life earlier in this blog.  I look back on those years as if I was some other woman, because I never got out of the water until my tank was nearing empty; I was fearless.  Over the years, I preferred snorkeling, because there was more flora and fauna in the less than 30 feet water.  It was a wonderful time in my life.  We were young, just married, in good health, and the cost of diving, since we had just purchased a small outboard motor boat, was easy to swallow, as was the ability to enjoy the remote beaches sans clothing.  I should tuck a story or two away for my grandchildren to read someday so that they can think Grandma was just a little fascinating and not always a boring old lady sitting at home, because this was where my love affair with the earth kicked into high gear.

This is I next to some soft coral.

Crinoids which were my favorites when they waved their feathering "arms" in the current.

An other life form bored by all the paparazzi. (squid)

I remember seeing small sharks (3 to 5 feet long) at the edge of reefs on half of those diving days.  They ignored us and we just kept an eye on their distance and dorsal fin to check their mood as we cruised looking for interesting stuff.  (A dorsal fin is like the hair on the back of a dog.)


I digress.  Getting back to Hubby's email, Hubby thought back over his relationship with this former colleague and said he remembered that the guy was super-focused on his work which was to research cave fish that came out only at night, and therefore he had to do a lot of night diving before his grant money ran out.  There are always those that take dangerous chances for their passion and sometimes inadvertently give their life.  In spite of what conservatives like to tell you, scientists are like policemen, teachers, journalists, doctors, nurses, parents etc. They feel their work is important even if it revolves around cave fish, they do like their work, and they are as honest or dishonest as the next guy.  The huge majority of scientists are truly focused on finding the facts, taking that chance and making the world a better place with their discoveries, not on beating a drum for a preconceived agenda, or doctoring results so that they can get that pittance of a grant that barely pays for the boat fuel once a graduate student's salary is paid and lab materials are purchased.

I have worked very briefly on a committee reading and reviewing grant applications, and politics never came into the discussion on whether a grant should be awarded.  It was always whether the grant was well thought out, well written, had an accurate budget, fit the discovery of the granting institution and of compelling interest to the citizens. There were always many more grant applications than money to grant.  Scientists and their assistants spend much time writing even while researching and many good applications fall by the wayside.  Regardless of who gets the money the search for INFORMATION is the key.  (In this cave arena information involves bacteria that may have applications in cancer research, data showing changes and evolution in species adapting to environmental change, etc.)

There was a recent bill passed in the House of Congress (H.R. 1422--little chance of it ever being moved and signed but let's continue to waste the taxpayers dime) that has restricted independently funded scientific environmental experts from being appointed to boards of the EPA, because Congress feels these scientific experts "have an agenda."   It also restricts scientists that get grants from EPA to serve on the boards; I am assuming that Congress feels their results will be questionable as well.  The same bill makes it easier for petrochemical scientists to be on the boards of EPA though, because this will erase any "appearance of impropriety".  Pretend that someone who studies viruses finds that his data foretells a preventable epidemic and he gets his funding from NHS, but he must pretty much keep from talking to the primary institution and hope they read it and grasp its importance.. but those who could take action on it are well informed by pharmaceutical companies that have a new weapon against this self-same virus. (Can you tell I am furious with this ignorance or actually the greed of self-serving politicians?)

Research scientists that work for universities and the government are not the ones bringing down big salaries and making money off of polluting the air and the water and causing this documented increase in small earthquakes near fracking sites or the tremendous increase in carbon dioxide being now held in ocean waters---soon to reach its limit.  Yes, it will cost you and me money to breathe clean air and drink clean water and stem the tide of the rising oceans and mitigate the long droughts.  But at what price is a healthy world?  Although in reality it is too late to prevent some of this---islands and low lying parts of countries are going to go underwater and we will have waves of refugees leaving their sunken land in coming decades.  (A glacier recently calved a piece of ice the size of lower Manhattan and three miles wide!.)

As an aside, in my research, the FBI website lists eco-terrorists as more active in this country in causing havoc than ISIS.  I am NOT advocating that!

By the way, neither political party gets even a B from me on their environmental report cards. And sadly I think most people do not seem to care what kind of world the meek will inherit much less what they leave their grandchildren because many of faith in Congress leave it all up to God and those of money know they can build their castle high on a hill in a better climate.  I think Sophocles wrote, "No good e'er comes of leisure purposeless; And heaven ne’er helps the men who will not act."

17 comments:

  1. The denial that goes on in your country is staggering. At the moment, I guess ours is even worse. I hang my head.

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  2. You are amazing.
    relating to your sharing
    about the ocean
    and about a lot you share.

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  3. Tabor, what a wonderful world to explore and photograph. You are a very brave lady. I have a friend who used to dive and snorkel as you have, and she also has to try to imagine how she had the nerve to do some of the things she did.

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  4. You have witnessed the beauty and know firsthand what is in such grave danger. Those who don't even have concern for their own homes concern me greatly. And that bit about the EPA make-up...blood boiling!!

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  5. Thank you, Tabor, for such an interesting post. I envy you those years under water - something I've always wanted to try.
    You've also provided much food for thought regarding research.

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  6. Interesting photos and bit from your life. I have read the coral reefs are a serious concern for those who wish them to remain. Of course, those who think only $$$s are important pooh pooh the concern. It is a maddening time-- especially that some Americans voted for this insanity. Not the most though. 20 million more Americans voted for Dems in the last election than for Repubs. Things like having two senators from each state, even if they have a tiny population, are why this could happen. They are certainly showing us they meant what they said-- blessing ignorance, damaging public education, trying to close down agencies like the EPA-- and having Joni Ernst rebut Obama's State of the Union speech. Amazing times is all I can say...

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  7. Having nothing in my life to compare with yours, I can only read in amazement the things you do and have done. I will tell you that I once took scuba lessons and flunked the course because I could not sink.

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  8. An insightful and interesting post, my friend.

    I'm sorry to hear of your hubby's co-worker and dive buddy.

    You are correct, it is a Gray Reef Shark.

    I agree, reef systems are an important ecosystem. The problem of seeing them bleached and not recovering lies in the waters PH levels and CO/2. Nevermind trawlers/drag nets/drift nets/anchors/ overfishing etc.

    Diving is my happy place. But I've encountered potentially dangerous situations... for example: being pushed down to greater depths by a down current. At greater depths, oxygen becomes toxic... thus mixed gases are needed.

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  9. An insightful and interesting post, my friend.

    I'm sorry to hear of your hubby's co-worker and dive buddy.

    You are correct, it is a Gray Reef Shark.

    I agree, reef systems are an important ecosystem. The problem of seeing them bleached and not recovering lies in the waters PH levels and CO/2. Nevermind trawlers/drag nets/drift nets/anchors/ overfishing etc.

    Diving is my happy place. But I've encountered potentially dangerous situations... for example: being pushed down to greater depths by a down current. At greater depths, oxygen becomes toxic... thus mixed gases are needed.

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  10. The day will come when mankind will regret treating the earth like a toilet. It's not like we have anywhere else to go.

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  11. We've had lousy politicians in this state for years, and i hate it more and more each year. We need statesmen, and we aren't getting them. Someone has to stand up for what is right, and get things done, before it's too late.

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  12. They are telling us the ocean will rise x amount in the next few years, yet all those folks who live down there on the flood plain are still there without panic. Is the government going to build a giant sea wall such as those in Japan have? If individuals build walls will they go to jail because the walls aren't ecologically sound? It's an endless, behind the scenes debate.

    How I envy you your adventures. How I admire you for living them. :)

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  13. And there's the Republicans wanting to force Obama to OK the Keystone project. Then there's all the fracking going on. I'm glad Obama is trying to create the largest marine preserve in the world in the Pacific.

    You are really pretty, even with the mask on. Well, pretty and brave!

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  14. Wonderful. Passion and competence and insight!
    With so many smart and experienced people like you in this world,it ought to be possible to solve our problems,wouldn't you think?
    But no. First there is all that ignorance to overcome.

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  15. You have to wonder on the viability of any species that willfully poisons it's air, water, ground, food while constantly reproducing. How much longer can humans last if they continue to put greed over survival? What fish we haven't caught to extinction will die in the poisoned ocean. This is already happening. Perhaps civilization will fall just as it has every time humans have put pressure on the environment.

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  16. I agree with Ellen Abbott - though I think it's a given that we'll fall, not a perhaps.

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  17. Your life experiences, education, and intelligence have blessed you with the ability to see, feel, and act beyond that of the average person. We all have a purpose and you are carrying out yours on many platforms. I think it's great that you share your knowledge. Whether your readers agree with you or not, a thought has to be processed in our minds.

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Take your time...take a deep breath...then hit me with your best shot.