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Take the Plunge, Environmentalists!
Mark Spalding is a senior marine scientist with The Nature Conservancy’s Global Marine Team. Sometimes I feel that we environmentalists are like penguins huddled together on a melting ice-floe. We...
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Environmentalism: Rational or Romantic?
I had a fascinating chat over lunch with colleagues the other day in the lab where I work in in Cambridge, England. We were talking around a recent article by Johann Hari in Slate in which he tries to...
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Why I’m Hopeful We Can Save the Oceans
A couple of weeks ago I had to give two lectures to final-year students in studying conservation biology at Cambridge University. Two hours on the subject of threats to the marine environment — what a...
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Climate Change: A Slender Hope
Suppose I were an accurate reader of the future–I got things right, but never got the whole picture. Then suppose I were the age I am now, but 100 years ago. I wouldn’t have the benefit of hindsight,...
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In England There Are Cathedrals
In England there are cathedrals that took generations to build. My local cathedral was begun in 1083 (commissioned by Abbot Simeon, who was already 90 years old) and finished by about 1180. Can you...
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Do You Believe in Ghosts?
Do you believe in ghosts? Much to the amusement of my wife, I think I do. At least when I’m musing ’round a campfire or enjoying a beer or two…. Probably not the kinds of ghosts that go “bump in the...
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Of Fish and Princes
When you are invited to a closed workshop with the future King of England, future head of the Commonwealth, Dad of William, Father-in-law of the lovely Kate… well, it’s hard to say no. That is called...
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David, Meet Goliath
At a recent workshop for The Nature Conservancy’s marine team, I found myself staring out of the window (hey, we all do it!) at a vast cruise ship docked for refueling. It dawned on me: Assembled in...
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Sharks: The Tragedy of Global Decimation
If you think marine biologists get blasé about the remote places we’ve been and the wonderful animals we’ve seen, think again. I’ve visited countless uninhabited islands and spent hours underwater...
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Leaf Blowers: A Lament
Editor’s note: On his bus commute last week, senior marine scientist Mark Spalding, overcome by the incessant buzz of leaf blowers, began to wonder what ever happened to letting nature takes its...
View ArticleAre Marine Protected Areas in the Right Places to Support People?
I’m at the World Parks Congress, a-once-a-decade global meeting of scientists, protected-area managers and other experts to focus on the state and future of national parks and nature reserves. There’s...
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Mapping Ocean Wealth – Informing a Sustainable Ocean Economy
This post first appeared on National Geographic’s Ocean Views blog. I’m a somewhat recalcitrant tweeter. I’m not quite sure whether it’s worth the effort, but last month I joined a trending topic, a...
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Funds Are Needed for Marine Protected Areas
This letter first appeared in The Times of London. Sir, We live in a world with a growing population with increasing demands. Yet we are unsustainably exhausting our seas. The ocean economy, the “blue”...
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Re-Discovering Creation: A Personal Perspective on the Papal Encyclical
The new Papal Encyclical continues to be hailed by many inside and outside the Catholic Church. It is one of the most powerful environmental statements ever made by a religious body – and it remains a...
View ArticleWhat Does the Brexit Vote Mean for Conservation in Europe?
Nature conservation isn’t isolated from politics. And so the recent Brexit vote has serious consequences for conservation, in both the UK, Europe, and beyond. Perhaps the most salutary lesson for me...
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Assisted Evolution? Maybe, Maybe Not
A few scientists are suggesting a radical, unprecedented, new tool to save the world’s coral reefs. They are talking about altering the genetic make-up of wild organisms. In a smart effort to avoid...
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