[Coral-List] Stop flying????!

[Benjamin Neal]

On this note . . . Does anyone have any specific comments on the chances
that ICRS will not happen this July in Bremen? Or if such a decision is
even being considered?


----

*Benjamin P NealAssistant Professor, **Environmental Studies Program*
*Colby College, **4026 Mayflower Hill*
*Waterville, Maine 04901  *
*C: (207-509-4404)*


On Thu, Mar 5, 2020 at 12:17 PM Jessica Berkel via Coral-List <
coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:

> I absolutely love this message. I travel fairly often for my work and even
> more often for pleasure.
> It's very hard not to since I live on a tiny island in the Caribbean. But I
> very much look forward to the day when a video conferencing hookup is
> standard in all meeting rooms and not something that is there on special
> request.
>
>
>
> Jessica Berkel
>
> Marine Park Manager
> Sea Turtle Program Coordinator
> St Eustatius National Parks Foundation (STENAPA)
> Gallows Bay z/n
> Lower Town,, St. Eustatius, Caribbean Netherlands
> Tel: + 599 318 2884
> Mobile: +17215867854
> web: www. <http://www.statiapark.com>statiapark. <
> http://www.statiapark.com>
> org
> Skype: stenapa.statia
>
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, Mar 5, 2020 at 11:31 AM Mark Spalding via Coral-List <
> coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
>
> > I have always felt that we coral reef scientists are weirdly addicted to
> > international travel.
> >
> > Living in Italy, the European capital of COVID-19, things are starting to
> > have an impact. All schools (country-wide) have just been closed -
> probably
> > a measure of panic rather than reason (here in Tuscany there are fewer
> > cases
> > than SE England which has a similar areal extent). Cinemas are struggling
> > and sporting events are cancelled. The supermarkets are still full, but
> > there are stories of the occasional panic buying in the more locked-down
> > areas.
> >
> > One big impact is of course on travel. Travel to Italy has been smashed
> as
> > people are panicking and cancelling meetings, holidays, weddings. Some of
> > these cancellations might be wise. Who wants to be holed up on a plane
> for
> > x
> > hours with someone who then contracts COVID-19. What if you get the call,
> > sometime after the flight, to tell you that you have stay in your hotel
> to
> > be quarantined for 2 weeks. Away from work, family, friends.
> >
> > But is this also an opportunity? Since Covid-19 the air in China has
> never
> > been cleaner (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51691967)? Thousands
> of
> > academic meetings and international jamborees in the conservation world
> are
> > going to be cancelled in the coming months. Quite a lot will be postponed
> > (think of the hell that will induce in your calendars as half a year's
> > travel gets condensed into the other half!) but many more won't happen -
> > they'll go virtual, or we'll find work-arounds.
> >
> > I stopped going to the International Coral Reef Symposium after Bali, 20
> > years ago. At the time I wrote to this wonderful List explaining that I
> was
> > happy to pay to attend virturally, but I thought the travel was insane. I
> > got a very supportive letter from the then president of ICRS and was told
> > they were looking into it. Perhaps they still are? I was happy to pay to
> > have live online attendance, or even just access to recordings of
> > presentations. These were meetings with 15 or more parallel sessions,
> and I
> > don't suppose they've got any smaller. So, thousands and thousands of
> > people
> > from around the world, all purportedly concerned about the impact of
> > climate
> > change on coral reefs, fly to a meeting of which they can only attend
> > one-fifteenth.
> >
> > Of course people need to travel to meetings. Face-to-face interactions
> can
> > greatly facilitate collaboration and opportunity. Expertise needs to be
> > shared, fieldwork needs to be done. But people also need to STOP
> > TRAVELLING.
> > The cost of travel for our planet is immense, so while travel can be
> > valuable, not travelling can be even more valuable. If your meeting is
> > cancelled please think a bit before re-scheduling.
> >
> > Take this opportunity to stand back and try and work out non-travel
> > solutions to our meeting addiction. If you have to, travel locally and
> > travel overland. Send someone else who lives nearer than you to represent
> > you!
> >
> > Reef scientists have failed to set the example so far, but perhaps this
> is
> > our chance?
> >
> >
> >
> > Mark D Spalding, PhD
> >
> > (my views only!)
> >
> >    Chief Science Advisor to the Government of the British Indian Ocean
> > Territory
> >
> >    Senior Marine Scientist, Global Ocean Team, The Nature Conservancy
> >
> >   Honorary Research Fellow, Department of Zoology, University of
> Cambridge
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> > https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
> >
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