Marine biologist Carl Safina to speak about ocean change

Marine biologist and author Carl Safina, co-founder of the conservation organization Blue Ocean Institute and professor at Stony Brook University, will speak at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 23, in Kresge Auditorium. Safina will talk about the ramifications of ongoing changes in the world's oceans.

Current fishing practices are depleting fish populations worldwide, with major economic consequences that are exacerbated by a rising human population and global warming.

Safina said the solution to this politically and economically intertwined problem will not be scientific, but "ultimately the solution will be moral and ethical and social."

People are often unaware that their actions, such as seafood choices, have a real impact on the environmental and economic health of the world. Safina doesn't classify this as a misconception, but rather as a "non-conception." During the talk, Safina said he hopes "to bring an awareness and an understanding to things that many people have not yet heard or considered."

The talk, "History and Destiny in a Changing Ocean: What It Means for You," is free and open to the public and sponsored by the Earth Systems Program, the Center for Ocean Solutions, the School of Earth Sciences and the Woods Institute for the Environment.

Safina is a MacArthur Fellow. His first book, Song for the Blue Ocean, was chosen a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.

Casey Lindberg is a science-writing intern at the Stanford News Service.

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