And now, for something completely different....

The goal of this year's Aquiarius mission is as much outreach and education as it is science. Moreso, actually. The daily live broadcasts to schools via http://www.oceanslive.org/ is a stellar example of the point I'd like to make about current conservation issues.



First, let me say that I hate, hate, hate organizations like Green Peace for many reasons, mostly that they are ineffective and through their zealot-like antics they actually drive away the people they need to reach-- the general public. The doom-and-gloom, approach towards being "green" and "eco-friendly" and "saving the whales" is absolutely useless. Throwing the general public on guilt trips about throwing out a plastic bottle will. Not. Work. It's a very temporary solution, because people are creatures of habit.



Which brings me back to the education. It's all well and good to say, "children are our future," but in this case, it really is true. Kid's don't understand the concept of "if you don't recycle, the world will end." Kids understand the concept of, "nature is really cool, so you should care about it." I whole heartedly believe that the key to successful conservation is inciting a cultural wanderlust phenomenon...while this can be done in adults, kids are so pliable, and are eager to be fascinated by something.

Anyways, this is all very tangential, and I think I may work on writing something a little more coherent.