There is much concerning news about record forest fires at the moment, and rightly so. In the ocean, devastating destruction is not as readily noticed. Acidification and hypoxia — expanding low-oxygen “dead zones” — are alarming, climate-driven trends not just here in B.C., but around the world. The starting point on the road toward solutions is careful observation: understanding the problem in detail.
So, a good-news story. We’re doing important work out there. But my point here is that we need to do more. Much more. But ocean measurements are only one example. Where are we not making smart linkages between research and industry? Where could we expand the reach of science — which is the crucial underpinning to intelligent and informed change — by crossing the mostly unnecessary and imagined walls between the science community and the industry partners who will work with them in good faith?