Don’t Take Your Ecosystem to a Doctor
By Alexandra Soderlund
When not interning at EPA, Alexandra Soderlund studies at the University of New South Wales.
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Glenn Suter II, who’s been an EPA scientist since 1998. Recently, his paper “A Critique of Ecosystem Health Concepts and Indexes” was listed in the all time top 100 papers of the scientific journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.
The whole idea of the paper is that the metaphor of ecosystem health doesn’t make a lot of sense, because ecosystems are not organisms and therefore they don’t have health. I’m currently completing a Bachelor of Science/Arts degree, and at first I thought “metaphors? That belongs in the Arts part of that one English class I took, not in Science.”
But science actually abounds in metaphors; ecosystem health is just one of them. Often they are so ingrained in the way we speak about a subject that we don’t notice when we use them.
That’s where people like Dr. Suter come in.
Frustrated by the aimless use of the phrase ‘ecosystem health,’ he set pen to paper in 1993 and wrote this article, which is still making waves today. Last year Dr. Suter witnessed a disagreement about this 20-year-old paper between members of a review panel. When he wrote it, he wanted people to think rigorously about the supposed “health” of an ecosystem, and consequently the debate shifted (though it still rages on).
For someone like me, who sees a future career in science communication, this makes a lot of sense. We need to evaluate the language and tools we use to explain concepts and engage with others to make sure they’re the best and most appropriate. This may mean using different terms for different audiences. As a scientific tool, the metaphor of ecosystem health isn’t all that useful because it doesn’t give us measurable goals and results. However, it is still useful for communicating with the public.
Amusingly, Dr. Suter actually considered a career in the health field. Having “always been interested in living things,” he contemplated becoming a doctor, he says. But the growing environmental movement swept him up (like it does many of us) into an illustrious career in toxicology, ecological epidemiology and risk assessment.
Dr. Suter still enjoys writing conceptual papers, and once a week can be found discussing the finer points of assessment theory with a colleague after hours over a glass of wine. “Writing is the way I think through a problem,” he says. “I often don’t know how it’s going to end up; it’s a bit like writing a novel.”
About the Author: When not interning at the EPA, Alexandra Soderlund studies at the University of New South Wales (NSW) in Sydney, Australia. She is majoring in media/ technology and genetics, and is also the online coordinator for the NSW branch of the Australian Youth Climate Coalition.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Scientist at Work: Robert Devlin, Ph.D.
February is American Heart Month! To help spread the word about heart health, EPA scientists and staff will write each week about the Agency’s Green Heart effort to educate the public about of the connection between air pollution and your heart. Be sure to check back each week to learn more, and for tips on what you can can do stay healthy!
Meet EPA Scientist Robert Devlin, Ph.D.
EPA scientist Dr. Robert Devlin’s main research interest is understanding the human health effects of air pollution. His research is used to characterize the effects that inhaled substances, such as air pollutants, have on human pulmonary (related to lungs and breathing) and cardiovascular (heart, lungs, and blood flow) health, and the physiological changes responsible for those effects.
When he retires Dr. Devlin hopes to become a star on the senior PGA golf tour as well as a movie reviewer for Entertainment Weekly.
How does your science matter?
I know my research matters because the results help set standards that protect people from real world exposures to air pollutants. As an example, we did a study 
a few years ago examining the lowest level of ozone that people could be safely exposed to and still be safe. Being able to conduct a study that ensures that our standards protect the public is important, and it makes you feel like your work means something.
We’re also interested in figuring out what we can tell people so they can protect themselves from air pollutants if they find themselves in a place with higher air pollution levels than EPA believes is safe (Editor’s note: for more information, also see EPA’s Green Heart web page: http://www.epa.gov/greenheart/). We just completed a study , in which we found a positive relationship between taking fish oil tablets and protecting yourself against some of the effects of air pollution on the cardiovascular system.
Tell us about your background.
I grew up in Texas and got my doctorate from the University of Virginia in the area of developmental biology. My graduate research involved looking at genes that control the development of muscles in bird embryos using molecular biology approaches. I was on the faculty for Emory University for several years doing that research right after receiving my doctorate.
Keep reading Dr. Devlin’s interview here.
Read more Scientist at Work interviews here.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
American Heart Month: Air Pollution and Your Health
February is American Heart Month! To help spread the word about heart health, EPA scientists and staff will write each week about the Agency’s Green Heart effort to educate the public about of the connection between air pollution and your heart. Be sure to check back each week to learn more, and for tips on what you can do to stay healthy!
By Jason Sacks, Beth Owens, and Barbara Buckley
It’s February, which means that it’s Heart Health Month. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States. Many people associate heart disease with a poor diet or lack of exercise. What you may not realize, though, is that exposure to air pollution, specifically small airborne particles, can impact heart health, particularly for people with cardiovascular disease. That’s why EPA has launched the “Green Heart” initiative.
Airborne particles, or particulate matter (PM), consist of a complex mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets that can be found in smoke and haze. Small airborne particles, known as fine PM, can be emitted from sources such as forest fires or formed when gases emitted from power plants, industries and automobiles react in the air.
Fine particles are very small—less than two and a half microns. To put it in perspective, the period at the end of this sentence measures more than 600 microns. When fine particles are breathed in, they pass through the throat and nose and enter the lungs. From there they can cause serious health problems in the rest of the body.
As EPA scientists, we make sure the most recent and scientifically sound research is used to protect the public’s health from the harmful effects of air pollution. Over the last 20 years, thousands of scientific studies have reported that breathing in fine PM can lead to harmful effects on the heart, blood, and blood vessels. These studies show that exposure to PM can cause premature death, strokes, heart attacks, and cardiac arrest for people who are already at risk.
As we celebrate Heart Health Month, take a minute to not only consider the physical and nutritional changes you can make to improve your heart health, but also the actions you can take to reduce your exposure to air pollution. For more information about what you can do please visit: http://epa.gov/greenheart/.
About the Author: Jason Sacks is an epidemiologist and Beth Owens and Barbara Buckley are toxicologists in EPA’s National Center for Environmental Assessment. They work on Integrated Science Assessments, which form the scientific basis of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Around the Water Cooler: Invasive Species Along for the Ride
By Lahne Mattas-Curry
Floating dock washed up on the Oregon coast.
It’s been nearly two years since the earthquake and tsunami wreaked havoc on Japan, yet debris and material continue to wash up on the shores of our west coast, even today. Last summer, part of a dock washed up on a state park beach in Oregon, and in December, another dock piece was found on a remote beach in the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary in Washington.
Invasive species, like seaweed, crabs and other marine animals, attached to this traveling debris and material can cause problems here in the United States. The wrong invasive species could devastate the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, which is the most diverse coastal ecosystem on the west coast.
Invasive species can disrupt native plant communities and crowd out native species. They can also change the habitat, affecting species in addition to those they may directly displace. Once established in an ecosystem, invasive species are difficult to eliminate.
We won’t know what direct effects these invasive species will have on our ecosystems until we can identify them. Researchers typically wait until the tide goes out to scrape samples off the washed up debris. Of course, that’s time consuming and labor intensive.
But researchers at EPA have been working with other scientists around the world on a technique called DNA barcoding to rapidly and accurately identify species from water samples. Instead of finding and counting species which may not visually be distinct, DNA barcoding relies on identifying species-specific sequences of genes. Scientists and researchers around the world are gathering this information and adding it to a database that can be used to quickly identify invasive species and ways to protect ecosystems.
Read more about protocols and DNA barcoding here.
About the Author: Lahne Mattas-Curry loves water, clean beaches, hot sun and good seafood. She communicates the Safe and Sustainable Water Resources research that EPA scientists and engineers work on so that others can enjoy clean water, clean beaches, hot sun and good seafood, too.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
American Heart Month: Taking Action to Protect Our Health
February is American Heart Month! To help spread the word about heart health, EPA scientists and staff will write each week about the Agency’s Green Heart effort to educate the public about of the connection between air pollution and your heart. Be sure to check back each week to learn more, and for tips on what you can do to stay healthy!
By Wayne E. Cascio, MD
It’s February and Heart Month has arrived and with it a reminder to think about what we can all do to stay well and keep our hearts healthy. As a cardiologist, the month-long focus on the heart gives me a great opportunity to share information with my patients—and now hopefully with anyone who reads this blog—on how they can protect their hearts. It also reminds me to think about the things I do that can hurt or help my heart.
Heart disease remains the number one cause of death in the U.S. for men and women. Less than one percent of Americans have ideal heart health and about 26.5 million have some type of heart disease.
But there are things we can do both individually and collectively to help our hearts. The Global Burden of Disease 2010 study recently published in the medical journal The Lancet describes 67 key factors affecting disability and death in North America. Among the top 20 risk factors, 19 are directly related to individual behavioral or lifestyle choices such as diet, exercise or smoking; or the consequences of those choices.
The remaining risk factor in the top 20 is not associated with individual lifestyle choices, but is more a consequence of our collective actions, namely what we do as a society that leads to air pollution. Air particle pollution (also known as soot) in particular is ranked as the 14th most important.
While in general we have little personal control over air pollution where we live, work and play, there are things we have done as a society that can have lasting positive impacts. The Clean Air Act, for example.
The Act strives to ensure that all Americans are breathing healthy air. Research by EPA and others shows that improved air quality leads to healthier and longer lives. And thanks in large part to that research, the Agency recently strengthened the annual health standard for fine particle pollution (PM2.5) (from 15 to 12 micrograms per cubic meter) to make our air cleaner and healthier.
While EPA continues to work to keep your air clean, there are steps you can take to reduce your personal exposure to air pollutants. For one, don’t smoke and avoid the smoke of others. Second, if you have heart disease consult the Air Quality Index (AQI) as part of your daily routine. The index provides information on air quality and how to avoid unhealthy exposures when air pollutants are high. Simple things like limiting or avoiding exercise outside during high pollution days can help to protect your health and your heart.
So keep in mind during this month of the heart, healthy lifestyle choices including a healthy diet and regular exercise, keeping an eye on your local air quality report, and supporting actions to support clean air are all things we can do for a healthy heart.
About the Author: Cardiologist Wayne E. Cascio, MD is the Director of EPA’s Environmental Public Health Division, a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Fellow of the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology. Dr. Cascio’s research explores the effects of air pollution on the heart and blood vessels.
For more Information:
- EPA research: www.epa.gov/airscience/air-cardiovascular.htm
- EPA Green Heart Campaign: http://www.epa.gov/greenheart/
- Million Heart Campaign (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention): http://millionhearts.hhs.gov/index.html
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Around the Water Cooler: Steps to Protect Waterways
By Lahne Mattas-Curry
It’s cold and dreary around my area, but what better time to think about a warm beach vacation? Think about your favorite beach—warm clear water to swim in, pristine sand to lay on and great seafood to fill our bellies. But what if those didn’t exist?
Nutrient pollution pollution caused by excess nitrogen and phosphorus can cause major “dead zones,” essentially making all those things we love about the beach nonexistent. The state of Florida has been working to protect its important commodities – beaches, water and seafood—and recently set limits on allowable nutrient levels.
EPA scientists and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection are exploring using “numeric nutrient criteria” to protect Florida’s estuaries. For example, EPA research on seagrasses is being used to develop water clarity targets. EPA scientist Jim Hagy says, “the steady decline of aquatic life caused by too much nutrient pollution will give way to limits on pollution, eventually improving water quality.
Image Credit: Hans W. Paerl 2006
Nutrient pollution found in our water comes from a variety of sources including agriculture, aquaculture, septic tanks, urban wastewater, urban stormwater runoff, and industry. Nutrient pollution can even come from burning fossil fuels such as coal and oil. These excess nutrients can enter water from the air, surface water, or groundwater. In other words, the problem is everywhere.
Of course, it’s not just what’s happening in Florida that affects Florida’s water quality. Anything upstream has impact on those waterways and the same for all waterways around the country. Such development of allowable limits on nutrient levels should provide information for other places around the country looking to protect their water, too. While it’s challenging work, this example shows that it’s possible to make an impact in keeping our waterways clean and safe.
For more information on our nutrient research, please visit: http://epa.gov/research/waterscience/water-nutrients.htm
About the Author: Lahne Mattas-Curry loves the beach and seafood and clean water. (Who doesn’t?) She is a frequent contributor to Around the Water Cooler and works with the Safe and Sustainable Water Resources research team to communicate their work.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Education Outreach: Fun for All!
By Maureen Gwinn, Ph.D., DABT
Since 2007, the Girl Scouts Council Nation’s Capital Chapter has organized a Girl Scout Science Day to give local Girl Scouts an opportunity to learn more about science in a fun and friendly environment.
I first became involved as a friend of the troop leader in charge of the event. She and I would work on ideas, adapt experimental protocols and talk our science friends into volunteering at the event.
EPA's Maureen Gwinn: "I enjoy every opportunity I have to encourage kids to have fun with science."
From the beginning, experiments have been led by Cadette or Senior Girl Scouts with the assistance of volunteers, including troop ‘moms’ and ‘dads’ and area scientists. We have hands-on experiments that address concepts of chemistry, microbiology, genetics, and toxicology. We have had discussions related to what goes into your personal hygiene products, why DNA is unique to each of us, and how forensic science can help to solve a crime.
The Cadette and Senior Girl Scouts running the experiments at a recent event were the 4th graders who participated five years ago. It has been a pleasure to see these girls not only learn the scientific concepts well enough to teach them to the new Brownie and Junior Girl Scouts, but to watch them take on more responsibility for the event itself. Through my involvement in this event, I have been privileged to watch those young, giggly ten-year-old girls turn into responsible young ladies – that still giggle, but do so while teaching or setting up for the next group of girls.
This event inspired me to volunteer in education outreach at other events, including the Society of Toxicology Annual meeting, EPA’s Earth Day celebrations, and the USA Science & Engineering Festival.
Volunteering in education outreach was not something I had considered in the past, but after participating in the Girl Scout Science Day for the past five years, I enjoy every opportunity I have to encourage kids to have fun with science, to ask questions about how things work, and to work together to solve scientific problems.
The Society of Toxicology Education Committee has ways to help support these types of opportunities, and for K-12 in particular we are putting together a website of ideas, experiments, and how-to’s to get you started in the new year.
Are you interested in getting involved in education outreach, but don’t know where to start? Or are you already involved and have some tips or favorite resources to share? Please post your questions or suggestions in the comments section below so we can join forces.
The impact these events have on the kids is worth the effort.
About the Author: Maureen Gwinn is a biologist in EPA’s National Center for Environmental Assessment and works as an Associate National Program Director for Sustainable and Healthy Communities. She is currently serving in her final year as the K-12 Subcommittee Chair for the Society of Toxicology and is always looking for ideas for scientific outreach.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Around the Water Cooler: Green Infrastructure Making News
By Lahne Mattas-Curry
EPA will help Philadelphia monitor water quality in rivers to measure the effectiveness of green infrastructure.
Some of my fellow bloggers and I have highlighted a variety of ways “green infrastructure” has helped cities save money, and showcased the impact it has had on helping communities become more sustainable.
We’ve even featured a video of EPA scientist Dr. Bill Shuster at work exploring the benefits of rain gardens and other “green infrastructure” techniques to reduce stormwater runoff from reaching local waterways.
We’re not the only ones who have noticed the potential of green infrastructure. A recent update on the online publication Yale Environment 360 highlights Philadelphia as a possible model for the rest of the country. In June 2011, the city approved the Green City, Clean Waters program, a 25-year, $2-billion plan to reduce combined sewer overflows.
In April 2012, EPA signed off on the project. This is noted as one of the most comprehensive green infrastructure efforts in the country. EPA will help Philadelphia monitor water quality in surrounding rivers to measure the effectiveness of the green infrastructure efforts.
In another recent article, “Save New York by Making it Soft,” New Yorker magazine writer Thomas De Monchaux explores how establishing wetlands around Manhattan could “create new ecosystems, facilitating greater ecological connectivity, improving water quality, and enhancing opportunities for habitat growth.”
Do you have an example or an idea for tapping green infrastructure around where you live? Please share them in the comments section below.
About the Author: Lahne Mattas-Curry works with EPA’s Safe and Sustainable Water Resources research team and is a frequent “Around the Water Cooler” contributor.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Scientist at Work: Dermont Bouchard, Ph.D.
EPA Scientist Dermont Bouchard, Ph.D., is working to better understand how tiny nanomaterials might be released into the environment. What he and his research partners are learning helps regulators and other decision-makers lower risks and better protect human health and the environment.
How does your science matter?
My research focuses on the fate of nanomaterials in the environment—tiny materials measured on the “nanoscale” that are about 100,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair.
The field of nanomaterials, which is relatively new, uses the unique properties of nanoscale materials to develop new products and technologies, including many used in our homes.
My colleagues and I are developing techniques to measure and model the fundamental processes that determine where these nanomaterials end up in the environment.
One of our roles as scientists is to supply some of the basic information about nanomaterials: their properties, persistence in the environment, and the state of these materials, so that regulators can make informed decisions to protect human health and the environment. We are working to identify which materials would be most likely to be released into the environment so we can focus on them for additional study.
If you could have dinner with any scientist, past or present, who would you choose and what would you like to ask them?
Carel J. van Oss, a Dutch scientist who has made a lot of significant contributions to colloid science . Colloid science is really the foundation for a lot of the nanomaterials work that is done right now.
On top of being such an accomplished scientist, he was also a talented forger. While he was in the Netherlands at the start of WWII, he forged documents that assisted hundred of Jews in escaping Nazi occupation. I would like to ask him how he dealt with the occupation and how he got to where he is today.
Keep reading Dr. Bouchard’s interview here.
Read more Scientist at Work profiles here.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Around the Water Cooler: HICO and H20
By Dustin Renwick
Even without a call from President Kennedy, outer space has enthralled America again. With the Mars rover, the inauguration of the commercial space industry, and a human diving from space unencumbered by vehicles, space is back in the public discussion.
EPA’s link to space exploration comes from the other final frontier: our oceans.
Blake Schaeffer, an EPA research ecologist, led a group that explored the use of space-based technology to monitor coastal waters as part of the EPA’s Pathfinder Innovation Projects.
The team used the Naval Research Laboratory’s Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO), mounted on the International Space Station.
Satellite sensors are typically designed for darker depths in the open ocean; light reflected from land prevents accurate measurements in waters close to shore. HICO was calibrated for coastal waters, but the EPA has never used remote satellite monitoring to measure water quality.
“We wanted to show something like this was possible,” Schaeffer said.
Images from HICO reveal a spectrum that EPA scientists analyze to determine water quality factors such as concentrations of chlorophyll and organic matter.
The difference of effort between current boat-based surveys and remote sensing via outer space is akin to creating fabric. A factory of people armed with knitting needles could weave cloth, but operating a loom could produce better results in less time and with fewer people.
Today’s monitoring strategies involve field observations that pinpoint tiny areas out of the thousands of beaches, inlets, and estuaries carving the U.S. coastline. Similar to the efficiency of a loom, HICO operations allow scientists to monitor larger swaths of water and conduct research previously limited by time, personnel or geographic constraints.
“We’re seeing right up into where freshwater streams and rivers meet the headwaters of estuaries, and that’s great,” said team member Darryl Keith, an EPA research oceanographer.
Keith said scientists have models to estimate water quality in freshwater and saltwater environments, but “few models cross the interface between these environments.” HICO helps integrate the two.
Team researchers are also developing a smartphone application that will make their data accessible to the general public.
The project was based in Florida, but an ideal future could bring national water quality forecasts similar to today’s weather reports. If an algal bloom closes your favorite swim spot, you’ll have the information before you leave for the beach.
About the author: Dustin Renwick works as part of the innovation team in the EPA Office of Research and Development.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
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