11-15-2020, 10:56 AM
OCEANS SO WHITE
Apparently, the field of oceanographic research has a diversity problem. If there’s a lack of black folks in oceanography, it’s probably for the same reason that there’s a lack of wicked witches in oceanography—people are generally not drawn to studying the thing that can kill them if they get too close to it.
The Scripps Institution of Oceanography, founded in 1903 and located in Southern California as part of the University of California, San Diego, is one of the oldest and largest oceanographic research centers in the world. Several years ago, a student-driven movement on the UCSD campus led to Scripps instituting a “strategic plan for inclusive excellence” to increase racial diversity in the field, because for reasons not entirely clear the study of squids and kelp would be greatly improved if more people of color got involved.
To help usher in this new era of diversity, Scripps brought in Margaret Leinen as its new director. Leinen had previously served as the State Department’s “science envoy” during the Obama years, when her chief responsibility was scouring the ocean floor for Cloverfield monsters. Upon taking the reins at Scripps, Leinen began enacting policy after policy to “mitigate harassment, discriminatory practices, subconscious bias, structural and cultural biases or other barriers to inclusion” in oceanography.
“Scripps: Putting the most black people to sea since 1619.”
Last week, Scripps announced its most ambitious project yet: In association with Ugandan-born Israeli marketing exec Ayelet Gneezy (winner of the International Most Dickensian Name Award ten years running), Scripps launched the Ocean Plastic Pollution Challenge. Young “diverse” people from “diverse” backgrounds in “diverse” schools will compete to find a way to best clean the ocean of plastic pollution.
“Given that there could be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050, new strategies are needed more than ever to address this growing crisis,” declared the press release touting the challenge.
Funny enough, that “more plastic than fish” thing comes from a study of ocean plastics conducted by the “environmental action” arm of the World Economic Forum. The exact same study that reached this troubling conclusion:
Apparently, the field of oceanographic research has a diversity problem. If there’s a lack of black folks in oceanography, it’s probably for the same reason that there’s a lack of wicked witches in oceanography—people are generally not drawn to studying the thing that can kill them if they get too close to it.
The Scripps Institution of Oceanography, founded in 1903 and located in Southern California as part of the University of California, San Diego, is one of the oldest and largest oceanographic research centers in the world. Several years ago, a student-driven movement on the UCSD campus led to Scripps instituting a “strategic plan for inclusive excellence” to increase racial diversity in the field, because for reasons not entirely clear the study of squids and kelp would be greatly improved if more people of color got involved.
To help usher in this new era of diversity, Scripps brought in Margaret Leinen as its new director. Leinen had previously served as the State Department’s “science envoy” during the Obama years, when her chief responsibility was scouring the ocean floor for Cloverfield monsters. Upon taking the reins at Scripps, Leinen began enacting policy after policy to “mitigate harassment, discriminatory practices, subconscious bias, structural and cultural biases or other barriers to inclusion” in oceanography.
“Scripps: Putting the most black people to sea since 1619.”
Last week, Scripps announced its most ambitious project yet: In association with Ugandan-born Israeli marketing exec Ayelet Gneezy (winner of the International Most Dickensian Name Award ten years running), Scripps launched the Ocean Plastic Pollution Challenge. Young “diverse” people from “diverse” backgrounds in “diverse” schools will compete to find a way to best clean the ocean of plastic pollution.
“Given that there could be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050, new strategies are needed more than ever to address this growing crisis,” declared the press release touting the challenge.
Funny enough, that “more plastic than fish” thing comes from a study of ocean plastics conducted by the “environmental action” arm of the World Economic Forum. The exact same study that reached this troubling conclusion:
Quote:By analyzing the waste found in the rivers and surrounding landscape, researchers were able to estimate that just 10 river systems carry 90% of the plastic that ends up in the ocean. Eight of them are in Asia: the Yangtze; Indus; Yellow; Hai He; Ganges; Pearl; Amur; Mekong; and two in Africa—the Nile and the Niger.So it turns out there’s no lack of diversity regarding oceanographic matters. It’s just that the nonwhite presence is found on the side of destroying the seas rather than saving them.
“If you want to know who rules over you, just look for who you are not allowed to criticize.”
― Voltaire
― Voltaire