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Is the Next Generation Ready for the Next Generation of Challenges?

A wonderful visit to Golden Gate Elementary School, Naples, Florida

A wonderful visit to Golden Gate Elementary School, Naples, Florida

A decade or so ago, an article appeared in the Palm Beach Post quoting me as saying, “The leaders we have to reach are in diapers today.” I was referring to the largest environmental restoration project in history — the Everglades — and the fact it would take unwavering dedication and stewardship over decades to ensure its success. (I was speaking in my former role as president of The Conservancy of Southwest Florida and co-chair of the Everglades Coalition.) I suppose those once-diapered kids I was referring to are now in elementary school, which is why I was intrigued to hear explorer Scott W. Hamilton, speaking at the Explorers Club Annual Dinner last year, state that “the next commander of a manned mission to Mars is in elementary school today.” The daunting challenges ahead of humanity — whether restoring ecosystems, saving coral reefs, battling climate change or holding the first handful of red sand on Mars — are decades-long efforts that can’t rest on the shoulders of a single generation. So is the next generation more ready than we were to take on such challenges? I’m in the process of finding out. Read more

Politics Before Science? What The Oil Spill Commission Has Revealed

The Ocean Doctor on WebTalkRadio.netAugust 30, 2010: Surprising revelations about agencies that were not consulted prior to the President’s March 2010 expansion of offshore oil drilling. Have the microbes in the Gulf of Mexico consumed the unseen oil? One study says “yes,” a second, “no.”  Or is that what they say at all? Our special guest is Nicolas Drayton, EPSCoR Coordinator in the U.S. Virgin Islands with inspirational ideas and dedication to get the next generation interested and engaged in science.

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