Reimagining Water Education
The demand for qualified water practitioners will only be met when universities move beyond a single-discipline approach.
“I want you to panic”
Last year, Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg started skipping school to hold a daily protest about climate change. "Adults keep saying ‘we owe it to the young people to give them hope,’” she declared. “But I don’t want your hope. I want you to panic." (Post 3/3)
Our Elaborate Defences against Bad News
When we hear “the bell tolling”, we know that one day it will toll for us. The range of emotions we exhibit in the face of death also echo in our reactions to impending climate change. (Post 2/3)
Does Scaring People into Action about Climate Change really work?
Netflix’s recent film IO envisions a dystopian future where environmental catastrophe makes earth nearly uninhabitable for human beings. But does scaring people into action on climate change really work? (Post 1/3)
Reawakening Awe
Ancient societies tended to view water with sacred respect. The Industrial Revolution flattened this view, seeing water as merely a component of manufacturing. The result was ecological chaos. (Post 1/2)
Experiment: can a slackline make writing easier?
As a professional desk jockey my hamstrings are short, hip flexors tight and I snap, crackle and pop a lot. I drink way too much coffee but cut myself off when my shaking fingers can’t manage the keyboard. I’ve birthed two babies and suspect my core muscles will never be the same. And, after an [...]
Cemeteries, lawnmowers, and mortality awareness
Living beside a cemetery is never boring and, contrary to the jokes, it isn't quiet. There are laughing kids walking to school, old married couples bickering, yappy dogs harassing squirrels and teenagers – on dark summer nights – daring each other to do silly things. But what do we hear most often? Humanity's attempt to [...]
A Tale of Two Speeches
My husband and I both have research talks to deliver tomorrow morning. He got up this morning, finished his slides, kissed the kids good-bye and was picked up early by airport transfer so he'd arrive in time to have a good dinner and decent sleep before the event. Before my talk (7am tomorrow morning!) I [...]
An Open Letter to the Amazing, Ambitious and Energetic Women Just Starting Out
Just so you know, yes, it is possible. And yes, you are more than good enough. But you'll make compromises that you never thought you'd need to make. And you will bite your tongue more often than you thought you ever would. You will be asked to join committees just because of your sex and/or [...]
As a first generation professor, things I wish I’d known
I ended my first year class with a pep talk — the usual "now would be a good time to open the textbook in preparation for next week's final exam" plus some insights as a First Generation Professor (FGP). This year I delivered the pep talk as a newly-tenured professor, a surreal experience given where [...]