Deep Dive: Dr. Larry Niles, How Has Horseshoe Crab Blood Helped You?

Who do you call when an oil spill happens? And what would happen if we had a spill in the arctic ocean???

In this episode we discuss oil spill, how to clean them up, and what's being done to prevent future spills from happening. We speak with Dr. Nancy Kinner who is at the font lines of cleanup and prevention research and has been there to assist during all of the major recent spills around the United States.

Dr. Nancy Kinner is the Co-Director of Coastal Response Research Center at the University of New Hampshire. The Coastal Response Research Center stimulates innovation in spill preparedness, response, assessment, and implementation of optimum spill recovery strategies. The primary purpose of the Center is to bring together the resources of a research-oriented university and the field expertise of NOAA OR&R to conduct and oversee basic and applied research, conduct outreach, and encourage strategic partnerships in spill response, assessment and restoration.

For more information on how to get involved or find out more click the links below:
NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration
For more information on the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment click here.
EOS: Changes are coming for Arctic Shipping
CBC: Feds extend restrictions on Arctic offshore drilling
Canada Bans Heavy Oil in the Arctic

Who do you call when an oil spill happens? And what would happen if we had a spill in the arctic ocean???

In this episode we discuss oil spill, how to clean them up, and what's being done to prevent future spills from happening. We speak with Dr. Nancy Kinner who is at the font lines of cleanup and prevention research and has been there to assist during all of the major recent spills around the United States. 

Dr. Nancy Kinner is the Co-Director of Coastal Response Research Center at the University of New Hampshire. The Coastal Response Research Center stimulates innovation in spill preparedness, response, assessment, and implementation of optimum spill recovery strategies. The primary purpose of the Center is to bring together the resources of a research-oriented university and the field expertise of NOAA OR&R to conduct and oversee basic and applied research, conduct outreach, and encourage strategic partnerships in spill response, assessment and restoration.

For more information on how to get involved or find out more click the links below:
NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration
For more information on the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment click here.
EOS: Changes are coming for Arctic Shipping
CBC: Feds extend restrictions on Arctic offshore drilling
Canada Bans Heavy Oil in the Arctic

You may have already heard about carbon footprints but today we focus on water footprints!

We spoke with Dr. Lara Wöhler from the Water Footprint Network all about what water footprints are, why they are important and how how to calculate your own. Also get ready to be shocked at how much water it actually took to produce some of your favourite tasty treats and commonly used everyday things!

You can learn more about Water Footprints on the Water Footprint Network website here.  Are you interested in calculating your own water footprint? Try the Water Footprint Calculator to see your own footprint!

In today's episode we speak with Dr. Ellen Bruno from UC Berkeley all about the economics of groundwater. Groundwater is water located in aquifers deep beneath the earths surface. We regulate the amount of water people can take from surface waters (lakes, rivers, etc) but underground it's a different story. Tune in to learn how economists like Ellen are working to add some ground rules to make sure we manage this resource sustainably. 

Interested in learning more or getting involved? See below for Dr. Ellen's recommendations on how to get involved:

• Public Policy Institute of California - Water Policy Centre - for great blogs and reports concerning California water
• Maven's Notebook - Keeping an eye on all things California water
• The Dreamt Land: Chasing Water and Dust Across California by Mark Arax - A book focusing on how groundwater influences the agricultural development of California's central valley

Water is our most important resource. How do we quantify and measure it? With economics of course! This episode is a crash course into the wild world of water economics.

In this episode you will learn all about the economics of groundwater and get a snapshot of what is happening in California from Dr. Ellen Bruno. Dr. Bruno is an Assistant Professor at UC Berkeley where she focuses her time on understanding and developing market solutions to tackling this water economics issue.

You may have already heard about carbon footprints but we talk all about water footprints in this episode too! You will hear from Dr. Lara Wöhler from the Water Footprint Network all about how to calculate your own water footprint. Also get ready to be shocked at how much water it actually took to produce some of your favourite tasty treats and commonly used everyday things!

Can't wait? Check out their Water Footprint Calculator here! and you can Look Up the Water Footprint of common Items here.

In today's deep dive episode we take it to the experts to find out what we should know about water, security and peace.  We talk with Dr. Susanne Schmeier from IHE DELFT about how countries negotiate water agreements over shared water access.

For more information about Dr. Susanne Schmeier's work click here to go to the IHE Delft website to learn more about their programs and research projects. And for more information on the Water, Peace, and Security Partnership that Dr. Susanne runs click here.

For more information check out ArcticNet and the North America and Arctic Defence Network (NAADSN).

ArcticNet contributes to the development and distribution of the knowledge to inform policy development and adaptation strategies to help Canadians meet the challenges and opportunities created by modernization and climate change in the Arctic.

NAADSN - The North American and Arctic Defence and Security Network is a collaborative network providing timely, relevant, and reliable expert advice on North American and Arctic defence and security topics.

Water brings us together, but when there isn't enough to go around things get serious quickly. As the climate changes and water becomes less predictable on the landscape, conflicts over water will likely increase. Also as the arctic sea ice melts what does this mean for our security in the North and how will this affect us? What can we do?

In today's episode we take it to the experts to find out what we should know about water, security and peace.  We talk with Dr. Susanne Schmeier from IHE DELFT about how countries negotiate water agreements over shared water access and we also speak with Dr. Rob Huebert over why Canadians should be concerned about the arctic and the threats we now face with the disappearance of sea ice.

For more information about Dr. Susanne Schmeier's work click here to go to the IHE Delft website to learn more about their programs and research projects. And for more information on the Water, Peace, and Security Partnership that Dr. Susanne runs click here.

For more information about Canadian Arctic Sovereignty and everything that Dr. Rob Huebert mentioned check out ArcticNet and the North America and Arctic Defence Network (NAADSN).

ArcticNet contributes to the development and distribution of the knowledge to inform policy development and adaptation strategies to help Canadians meet the challenges and opportunities created by modernization and climate change in the Arctic.

NAADSN - The North American and Arctic Defence and Security Network is a collaborative network providing timely, relevant, and reliable expert advice on North American and Arctic defence and security topics.

The future of our pharmaceuticals are from down under.... the surface of course!

Coral reefs are the new tropical rainforests when it comes to drug research. When you think about it, how else do you protect yourself when you are a sea sponge, you can't move, don't have any spines or spikes and are free game for any of the thousands of species living nearby? Well chemistry of course! Turns out some of this chemistry may help with the future of our pharmaceuticals!

In today's episode we chat with Dr. Marc Slattery from the University of Mississippi all about his work trying to uncover the future of pharmaceuticals from reefs around the world.

For more information on the future of drugs from the sea and Dr. Marc Slattery's research click here. To watch his Ted talk "Drugs from the Sea: What do we lose when Coral reefs die?" click here.

Interested in helping our coral reefs? Here are a couple organisations doing great work in Coral Reef Conservation, Restoration and Research!

The Coral Reef Alliance  As one of the largest global NGOs focused exclusively on protecting coral reefs, the Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) has used cutting-edge science and community engagement for nearly 30 years to reduce direct threats to reefs and to promote scalable and effective solutions for their protection.

Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology works on coral reefs, tropical marine ecosystems that protect coastlines, support tourism, and provide nutrition to many island nations. Our focus is on defining biological traits that drive the differences in performance among corals and reefs.

The Coral Restoration Foundation We are actively restoring coral reefs on a massive scale, educating others on the importance of our oceans, and using science to further coral research and coral reef monitoring techniques.

The Coral Reef Research Foundation is based in Palau and does original research to acquire the knowledge needed to understand and make intelligent decisions related to conservation, climate change and resource management.

The Mote Marine Laboratory Coral Reef Restoration Program in Florida, US develops and applies science-based strategies with the goal of restoring depleted coral reefs in our lifetime. Specifically, Mote researchers are working to optimize restoration using diverse coral genotypes (genetic varieties), prioritizing native genetic varieties that can resist SCTLD and other stressors such as increased water temperatures and ocean acidification.

The fact that we rely on Horseshoe crab blood to test all of our internal medical devices and vaccines is stunning! And the fact that we are affecting the environment in such a drastic fashion yet have a synthetic alternative that we can turn to is wild. Yet we still remain crab vampires in the name of healthcare!

In this episode we learn all about Horsehsoecrabs, why we need them, what we do with their blood and why you should care! We talk with Dr. Larry Niles from the Horseshoecrab Recovery Coalition and boy do we get into it!

For more information about the Horseshoe Crab Recovery Coalition Click here. Check out  Dr. Larry Niles blog about his work right here.