Big News, Adventurers!

Pangaea Explorations is offering one lucky educator a free sailing experience on board our 72 foot  research vessel, Sea Dragon! Our first leg of our Great Lakes sailing adventure departs at the end of next month, and  one lucky educator to join us for the adventure by winning our ‘Educators on Board’ contest! The expedition is a part of our Educators on Board program.

Date of departure: June 26, 2013

Departs from: Newport, Rhode Island, USA

Disembarks:  July 8, 2013

Arrives: Quebec City, Canada

Educators on Board is a unique summer expedition program that brings together high school and elementary teachers from all over North America to take part in a very special sailing experience.

We know all you teachers out there work hard to make sure your students receive the best possible education in your classroom. That is why we are so excited to offer one lucky teacher the chance of a lifetime to sail with us this summer. We would like to offer you an opportunity be a part of a unique adventure experience!

We hope you’ll enter our ‘Educators on Board’ contest. The winner of the contest will join Sea Dragon’s crew as they venture along the Eastern Seaboard, visiting the Bay of Fundy and beautiful Halifax, Nova Scotia en route to Quebec City, one of the most historically rich and beautiful ports of call in Canada.

This expedition will kick off our four month journey through the Great Lakes of North America, and expedition we call the “One Water Story“. Educators joining us for this leg of the journey will have an opportunity to learn to sail or brush up on their sailing abilities, and develop their scientific communication skills. On board, teachers will work together to create interesting and motivating lesson plans and activities to take back to their home classrooms. They will also learn how to inspire their communities to work together to protect and conserve our incredibly valuable fresh and salt water ecosystems.

To enter the Educators on Board contest, please send an email with your name, educational affiliation, phone number and email address to:

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Winners of the Educators on Board Contest will be announced at 10:00 pm PST on June 8, 2013. No late entries will be accepted.

Technical Details:

Only one contest entry per person will be accepted. Contest winner will recieve free passage, room and meals on Sea Dragon for the Newport, RI to Quebec City passage, June 26-July 8. 2013.

This contest is designed for Educators of any background or affiliation. The passage will be focused on educational scientific programming and curriculum, but all educators are eligible to participate. Participants must be of at least 18 years of age.

The prize is non transferable to any other Pangaea expedition legs. In the event that the winner of the contest cannot attend, another winner will be drawn. Please note that transportation to Newport or from Quebec city is not included. Only one winner will be chosen to attend. Winner must submit all Pangaea booking forms and procedures before attending.

The winner must be able to be in Newport, Rhode Island by June 26, 2013. Participants must have a valid passport and be available for the entire passage period.

There are still spots available on this exciting leg of the expedition, and anyone is welcomed to take part!

If you are ready to sign up to be be a part of our crew for any of the One Water Story expedition legs, you can do so by filling in our crew information form.

Thanks for participating! Good luck on winning the ‘Educators on Board’ contest!

Hello all you Aquatic Adventurers!

Asta and the Arch-Top of the Millennium Hotel, St. Louis!

I am writing to you today from St. Louis, Missouri!

This is my first time visiting this massive and complex city, and so far I’ve been thoroughly impressed by the people here. Almost everyone I’ve walked by has made eye contact, said hello and asked me what I’m visiting for, which is something I’ve almost never encountered before in my time in the US. It’s a lovely change!

NSTA used to be ASTA, the American Science Teachers Association. I kind of wish it still was.

I’m here to meet with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) teachers from all across the United States. They have convened here in the city of the Cardinals to talk about how teachers can inspire students to dive into STEM topics, and ultimately lead them towards successful careers that will advance these important fields for the future.

Cardinals are BIG DEAL in St. Louis.

After a big day of talking to teachers about our Educators On Board program, I was feeling like the crumbles at the bottom of a toaster-completely burnt out.

Most days, I am incredibly excited and passionate about our upcoming Expedition to the Great Lakes, the One Water Story. However, after a full day of flying, rushing around to prepare for a big national conference, and a couple of dissapointing setbacks, I was having a hard time flashing my smile and getting pumped about talking about it.

When the day wrapped up, I dragged myself through the massive America’s Convention center, and towards the lecture hall where Keynote Speaker,   Dr. Ainissa Ramirez was giving her talk, entitled “Why we Need Science Superheroes“.

Dr. Ramirez's poster at the STEM conference

Dr. Ramirez is a former professor of engineering from Yale University, but currently, she works as a writer and ’science evangelist.’Her current focus is on getting people excited about science, and she is dedicated to finding unique and creative ways to create interest in the subject. She is particularly focused on the study of nanotechnology and smart materials, and has developed a way to pass on her knowledge of this subject through her Material Marvels website.

Dr. Ainissa Ramirez talks about a brand new material known as Graphene.

Dr. Ramirez has an intriguing  life story that has taken her to where she is today. It is inspiring not only because she is female scientist, but because she hopes that a role model for young girls, she can help create a future where scientists like her aren’t as rare. She’s working towards making science more approachable and exciting, and she wants students and teachers to have the tools they need to learn how to both fail, and succeed.

I walked into an amphitheater, filled with at least 400 educators from all over the United States. Some of them looked as bedraggled as I felt, as it was already 7pm, and they had been at the conference since noon.

As I walked in, Dr. Ramirez called out to the crowd, “Is everybody with me? We ok?”

An enthusiastic “Yes!” poured out from the crowd, more of a response to a speaker’s question than I’ve heard in a long time.

Dr. Ramirez was part way through explaining what the next generation of scientists really need to succeed in their future careers. She explained that students no longer need to memorize facts about the world verbatim, and be able to spit them back. That type of learning may be have been necessary in the past, but with the advent of the internet, and instant information, students have all the information they need at their fingertips.

What students need now is the tools to think creatively and critically.  They also need a source of passion to inspire their career choices. That source, she explained, stemmed straight from the people who first inspire them. It comes from the dedication of their educators, the people who love knowledge and learning so much that they decided to take it on as their life’s work.

Science teachers on their way to work. http://www.funnycomicz.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/superhero.jpg

In my mind, science teachers are superheroes. My science teachers helped me fight through a severe lack of confidence in myself growing up. They showed me that science means its ok, and sometimes necessary, to make mistakes.

With every mistake you make, you are actually constantly improving your ability to observe and understand the world around you. This is a principal aspect in science- you  make mistakes, you learn what doesn’t work, and you think creatively new and innovative ways to do things so that they do work. Failure is an important lesson when you’re growing up. Her best quote of the day? “In science, we don’t call  making mistakes ‘failure’-we call it data“.

I’ve taught science myself, and I know that the subject can subject can sometimes be exhausting. Kids have a natural sense of wonder about the world, and are able to constantly question the way things are. Teachers are sometimes expected to act as walking encyclopedias of knowledge, and the constant barrage of questions can make you want to just shut down, and focus on what you already know.

Dr. Ramirez noted that sometimes in adulthood, we sometimes lose our inner childlike wonder, and stop taking the time to ask questions about the world. As we age, we grow wiser, and we build structure for ourselves around the knowledge we’ve already gained. To ask questions is to bring in more information, and that process can be difficult, time consuming, and overwhelming. I don’t know about you, but sometimes, I feel like my hard drive is full, and I just don’t have anymore room in my mind for new information.

Dr. Ramirez proposed that this is just a self induced limit, and something that educators should free themselves of. To inspire children, you must have passion for what you do, and the best way to create passion is to explore. By learning new ways to think, exposing yourself to new elements of a topic, or meeting someone else with a similar interest, you can re-ignite your passion, and bring it back to the classroom, or to the people around you.

Would this incredible piece of art exist without passion, creativity, and science?

Passion based learning is what brought me to being a marine scientist, and science communications specialist. Passion is what gets me out of bed in the morning. It’s also what gets me talking to complete strangers about coming on a sailing adventure with me.

Passion is what drives me to want to protect our freshwater lakes and ocean for the future, because without them, none of what I do in the scientific world would be possible. I want to inspire passion in others, especially teachers, so that there is a future generation who will have this passion passed down to them. If teachers have a passion for water conservation, so (hopefully) will their students.

Thank you, Dr. Ramirez, for your heartfelt, rousing lecture. It definitely re-ignited my passion, brought me out of my lethargy, and allowed me to charge forward with what I needed to do here in St. Louis.

What I think I’ve learned most in the last couple days is that passion can be shared. It’s what will keep pushing us into the future, and it will be the backbone of creating the solutions we need to protect our environment. I aim to keep passing it along, and I hope you do too, whether you’re a teacher, environmentalist, sailor, or world citizen. Keep the passion flowing!

Way cool. From the Montgomery school page.

Greetings, fellow water lovers!

Asta Mail, ready for anything as she sets the stage for the One Water Story!

I am about to embark on my first Great Lakes Expedition of the summer. For the next few weeks, I have the opportunity to set the stage for what is going to be an incredibly exciting, whirlwind summer for Pangaea Explorations. Kate Gardella, Pangaea’s (fearless administrator) and I will be visiting cities throughout the Great Lakes region, to seek out the most savvy adventurers to join us for the sail of a lifetime through the Great Lakes.

I aim to write and photograph the things I discover as I prepare for the One Water Story.I want to provide you with a little taste of the Lakes’ history,and bring you up to speed as to how they’ve changed. I hope that while developing the back story, I can inspire you to join us in our voyage, be it through sailing aboard the Sea Dragon, taking part in an outreach event, or by following us as we write the One Water Story, one day at a time.

I hope that I can pique your interest, and show you how  incredible place we will be exploring this summer.

To the Adventure!

-Asta

_______________________________________

All right, world. We have a problem.

The problem is this; our actions, be them intentional or accidental, are damaging the world around us. We have developed habits and behaviors that are not only hurting the resources we rely on, but are also leaving us with undesirable waste. Our actions are changing the ecosystems that keep us alive.

Waste in our water.

This statement shouldn’t come as a surprise to most of the Western World. Many of us have accepted that we have behaviors that negatively effect the environment, and yet we don’t change our behaviors. Why?

As I talk to people about the health of the ocean and of the Great Lakes, I am starting to realize that this problem is simply one we haven’t learned how to face yet. I think the reason we have trouble contemplating environmental issues as a society is that all the problems seem too huge, to overwhelming. Hearing that our world is in danger is scary and depressing, and brings with it a kind of personal guilt.  I can sympathize with people who feel that it’s easier to ignore environmental issues, and hope that someone else will fix them. I think a lot of people assume that by some chance, or natural process, the issues we’ve created will just go away.

Not another environmental problem!

I used to feel the same way. Before I began my graduate studies in marine science, I had a vague feeling that perhaps all the environmental issues I heard about on the news were just too big to deal with. I felt depressed, guilty and out of control when these issues were presented to me, and powerless to stop them from getting worse.

Then, I changed my outlook. As I began to pursue my passion for the ocean, I realized that the only way for me to not be bogged down by the problems we face was to learn how to view them differently.

The Dreaded Clump

What a disasta, Asta. Detangle that clump!

Have you ever been asked to untangle a mass of cords, or had your jewelry somehow manage to tie itself into a giant clump? This kind of stuff happens to me all time, and it’s one of the few things in life that induces Hulk-like rage in me.  It’s so frustrating! All you need is that one I phone charger, or that perfect necklace to compliment your outfit, but to get to it, you’ve got to get it out, and that means getting the whole dang pile untied.

It’s irritating, but you take a deep breath, and get down to it. First, you find an area that you can loosen little by little. Then, you follow a single part of the clump, and extract it piece by piece from the rest of the mass. I tend to get outside help from my mom or boyfriend when this happens to me, as they calm me down and tell me to stop whining.  Piece by piece, you unwind the mass, until you’ve instead got individual pieces which you can wrap up separately, so that next time you’re not stuck dealing with this problem all over again later on. A little tip: get yourself some of those wire baggie ties from your bread products-they work like a charm to keep your cords and necklaces in line!

What we want to protect. Wikipedia commons photo.

I think that in order to solve some of our environmental problems in the Lakes, the same methods need to be applied. We’ve got a big clump of issues; run off, invasive species, plastic pollution, acidification, overfishing-the list goes on and on. Right now, all these issues are snaking in and around each other, creating a frustrating, scary mass that has caused us all to panic.  Instead of wanting to deal with this crazy clump, we’ve just put it aside, waiting for some awesome friend or relative to come along and deal with it. Truth is though, that we all need to deal with it. Each of us need to get in there and start untangling if we are to correct our problems and keep our world and ourselves happy and healthy.

So how do we do it?

Good question. I think first, we all need to all have a communal frustrated sigh. This situation sucks! None of us want to spend our lives fixing problems, and I’m sure we would all rather be doing something else. In a new type of environmental science known as Ecopsychology, researchers suggest that we take some time to really feel this frustration, and deal with it. Dr. Joanna Macy, a leader in this subject area, calls this act “Honoring our Pain.”

Just let it out!

Honoring our Pain means talking about our frustrations with current environmental issues, and examining our guilt, sadness and annoyance that arises as we approach them. It’s important that we accept these emotions, and realize that they are the motivation for creating change. It’s a step in the process of coming to terms with any problem, and it’s what gets us to roll up our sleeves, and get down to business.

Once we’ve realized that there is work to do, we can get down to teasing out each individual problem. You can’t just attack the whole clump, can you? You’ve got to first see where the knots have begun to form, and work them loose so you can separate them, and deal with them individually.

In our environment, this is where science comes in. We rely on scientists to tell us where the issues are, and where they are coming from.  The more we learn about environmental problems, the more we loosen them up. Once we can trace back the source and the roots of our problems, we can then begin to figure out how to pull them out, and fix them.

The most important step in the process, and of course the most difficult one, is the untangling process. It involves grunt work, focus, and more often than not, several mistaken attempts. It’s the part that requires a goal, a vision to work towards. It often involves getting outside help, and lots of it.  It is also the most satisfying part of the whole procedure, and when you’re done, it’s the step that yields the fruits of your labor.

All right, so let’s get to it!

from http://michigancompletestreets.wordpress.com/category/take-action/

This is exactly what we hope to as a part of Pangaea’s upcoming One World Story Expedition.  When you come on board and sail with us, you’re going to have an opportunity to ‘tackle the clump’ in your very own way.  You will likely have already begun to realize why environmental issues are important to you, and want to figure out how you can contribute to their solutions. We can help!

On board, we will work towards finding ways that you can come to terms with how you feel about the environment. Once we’ve established what your personal concerns are, we can begin to create solutions. By getting involved with our on board research, you will contribute information that will be used to better understand the problems the Great Lakes and the Oceans face. You will also get an idea of how these problems are inherently connected.

As you learn to sail and experience life on the water, you will also have an opportunity to find ways to “untangle” the problems.  We will work together to come up with ways that we can each individually contribute towards working out the kinks, both in our daily behaviors and practices, and on a global and economic scale. By being a part of our One Water Story projects, and hanging out with local communities at the One Water Festivals, you will have an opportunity to reach out to others, and show them how to begin untangling as well.

Every big journey starts with a single step. If you feel like your next step is to start tackling environmental issues head on, then I highly suggest signing up for one of our many amazing summer expeditions.

Let’s get to it, together!

Happy Friday Water Lovers!

A golden evening on Lake Ontario. Wikipedia Commons Photo.

In the last week, we have had a lot of inquiries about the upcoming Freshwater Research and Scientific Communications course. The course, which will be held on board our sailing vessel, Sea Dragon, this July. We are thrilled to tell you that the course is filling up rapidly, and as the summer approaches, we are all beginning to look forward to sunny sailing along the St. Lawrence Seaway, and through Lake Ontario.

Some people were wondering why it is that we chose to run our undergraduate course between Montreal and Toronto, Canada. It’s a good question, and one I posed recently to the course leader, Dr. Sherri (Sam) Mason.

Dr. Mason graduated cum laude from the University of Texas at Austin before completing her PhD in Chemistry at the University of Montana as a NASA Earth System Science scholar. She is currently an Associate Professor at SUNY Fredonia in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Her research interests are focused upon plastic pollution within freshwater ecosystems. In addition to her primary academic role she serves as the coordinator of the Environmental Sciences program and the Sustainability Coordinator for the SUNY FACE Center.

Dr. Mason lakeside looking for plastic particles in beach sand. Photo from WBFO's new website

This summer, as a part of Pangaea’s Freshwater Research course, Dr. Mason plans on having students collect plastic debris samples in the St. Lawrence Seaway, as well as Lake Ontario, to compare to the samples found in Lakes Superior, Huron and Erie. Lake Ontario is the furthest lake downstream in the Great Lakes, and is fed by the movement of water from Lake Erie via Niagara Falls.  Mason has theorized that the highest concentrations of plastic debris could be found in Lake Ontario, and is eager to investigate.

I spoke to Dr. Mason recently about what drives her to study freshwater plastics pollution. For a more detailed interview with Dr. Mason, you can check out her interview on Dialogues TV:

Shot from Dialogues' Episode with Dr. Sherri Mason

Dr. Mason: One of my favorite classes to teach is a nonmajors Environmental Chemistry course in which I get to introduce the plethora of environmental issues facing our society. I have been teach about plastic pollution in that class for ten years.

PE:What do you think are the most pressing environmental issues for the Great Lakes at the moment?

Dr. Mason: Unfortunately the most pressing environmental issues for the Great Lakes haven’t changed much. This region was the cornerstone for the industrial revolution within the US and we are still dealing with the aftermath of all that industrialization. PCBs, which were banned in the US in 1979, are still present in significant amounts, as are Dioxins, Furans, DDT and Mercury. These POP (persistent organic pollutant) species have been and continue to be a major environmental concern for this region.

The presence of plastic within the great Lakes only adds an additional layer of complexity to this issue because we know that they adsorb POPs from the surrounding water, hyper-concentrating them on their surface and thereby aiding in their ability to migrate into the food chain.

Dr. Mason on board the Tall ship Flagship Niagara

PE: What is being done to combat plastic pollutions in the Great Lakes region now?

Dr. Mason: Until our initial survey during the Summer of 2012, this wasn’t even known to be an issue. In fact a number of government officials I spoke to in advance of our expedition didn’t believe we would find anything. But we did. I don’t think anything is really being done right now to combat plastic pollution within the Great Lakes, but I hope that will quickly change.

Collecting samples on board Flagship Niagara

To learn more about the Freshwater Research and Scientific Communications Course, click here:

The Pangaea Crew was fortunate enough to have Zackery Good join us on of our recent expedition to Grand Cayman Island. Zack is a recent graduate of the Masters of Professional Science program at the University of Miami, and is actively working to stop seismic airgun testing in Florida waters through his association with Oceana Florida. He had never had the opportunity to experience offshore sailing before, and had no idea what to expect on board Sea Dragon. He had a lot of time to gather his thoughts while at the helm, and kindly wrote this blog post about his experience on board.

Letting Go

By Zackery Good, Oceana Florida

Asta and Zack letting go of their amazing voices during a rollicking sea shanty.by Zackery Good of Oceana Florida

If there’s one thing I learned from sailing with Pangaea Explorations it’s the importance of letting go—unless you’re about to go overboard.  If that’s the case, please hang on.

Whether it’s letting go of life’s daily distractions such as email, texts, and phone calls or letting go of the line running through your hands to avoid a wicked case of rope burn, sailing with Pangaea Explorations points out how important it really is.

Pangaea Explorations is a marine conservation organization based in Miami, Florida.  They strive to actively strengthen the health of marine life through exploration, conservation, and education work.  They also hope to inspire and develop a new generation of leaders in conservation science, communication, education, art, and policy.

The first day of sailing with guest crew member Bob Lemay

To be honest, I didn’t think my trip with Pangaea would change me, but as we made our way from the docks at Key West out to the Sea Dragon, I got the sense that this was going to be a transformative journey after all.  We gathered down below for a pretty standard safety and expectations briefing.  Shortly after that we were being gently rocked to sleep in our bunks anxiously waiting for morning when we would set off for Grand Cayman.

In the morning I checked my phone and email one last time as I watched both land and cellular reception dwindle in the distance.  I was really doing this.  I was going to be at sea for a week.  Most of the day passed without anything particularly spectacular happening.  We each took turns at the helm and helped to raise, lower, and adjust sails as needed.  Driving a sailboat is surprisingly easy.  If you’ve driven a Lincoln Town Car you can probably drive a sailboat.

Zack steering the Sea Dragon-like a boss

That night I was spectacularly seasick.  As I heaved up what had been a delicious pasta dinner I found myself wondering if I could actually make it to Grand Cayman or if I would just end up inside out.  In the end, there’s something cleansing about a good puke.  I drifted off to sleep feeling wonderfully empty—letting go of the sickness and embracing my journey.

I was up early for watch the next morning feeling miraculously better.  A decent night’s sleep had cured my seasickness and I was ready for the challenges the wind and the sea had in store.  The sails billowed and the deep blue of the waves was set off against the crisp white of the foam our wake created.  I didn’t even miss the trappings of everyday life.  In fact, I was delighted to be off the grid.  The only things I needed were the boat, the sea, the sky, and my shipmates.  Well, I also needed some ointment.  Rope burn hurts.

In the early morning of day three we passed several cruise ships.  I couldn’t believe how bright they were compared to the inky black of the waves and gentle sparkle of the moon and the stars.  It’s a surreal feeling to pass these little floating cities.  Another reminder of how hard it is to let go of everyday life.  Yet, also a reminder of how nice it is to be free of its restrictions.

Zack on duty helping first mate Shanley McEntee

Day four arrived and Grand Cayman approached.  I felt torn between my itch to explore a new place and my desire to stay at sea.  However, once Grand Cayman was in sight I couldn’t wait to explore.  In the wee hours of day five we moored offshore and put the boat to bed.  I couldn’t believe I was finally there and I couldn’t believe the boat was no longer moving.  It felt odd to be able to walk without swaying from side to side.

Our view from anchor on Grand Cayman Island

Finally on land again-why is this flower not swaying?

After letting go of so much from my daily life I can’t believe I’m back writing a blog, checking emails, and texting like a fiend.  I miss the simplicity of the open ocean.  I long to let go again.

Thank you, Zack, for being a fanastic part of the Pangaea Crew. We hope to see you back on board in the future!

Zack snorkelling the crystal clear waters of Grand Cayman

Spring is here, people!

I love this time of year! It reminds me that there is always an opportunity for a fresh start. After a long winter, it can be hard to be optimistic about what is to come. Then, all of a sudden, flowers everywhere!  As the snow melts, you begin to feel wholly optimistic about what is to come, and it makes all your hard work feel all the more worth it. Just as the flowers and plants grow, so do good ideas, and I want to highlight some of the best business innovations that have been developed to help create a more healthy environment in the future.

Spring Blossoms!

Pangaea is passionate about developing and highlighting solutions for plastic pollution problems in our water ways.We want to support  forward thinking organizations responsible for developing alternatives that are not only useful, but powerful environmental and economic tools.

There are many ways to approach the plastics pollution problem. Some choose to  approach the issue by developing solutions to remove the plastic from our waters. Others want to find ways to reduce the use of plastics, so that we stop pollution in our oceans at its source.

One source of the plastic pollution in the oceans comes from packaging materials. Have you ever purchased a new TV or refrigerator, and noticed what else comes along with it? A big cardboard box, a couple of pieces of plastic framing , styrofoam, maybe even some plastic bags filled with air! All of that material is used a single time, for a single product. What a waste!

Eben Bayer and Gavin MacIntyre, students at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York,decided to take a fresh look at traditional packing materials. Inspired by the incredible bonding power of mycelium (the vegetative part of a fungus), the two invented a unique process which binds insulating particles to create packaging materials that are a natural and biodegradable. Natural packaging, straight from a mushroom source-now that’s fresh innovation.

The innovators have since developed there own company, Ecovative Design. To learn how Eben and Gavin came across the idea of creating mushroom

From their website www.ecovativedesign.com

packaging, check out their website here.They clearly have the motivation to design a diverse array of products, including insulation and acoustical tiles (used in music studios), foams used for building cars, and coolest of all, surfboards.

I had the opportunity to talk with Sam Harrington of Ecovative Design last week, after watching the Sam’s  TedX talk on Facebook. I asked him a couple of questions about the company’s development, and how it contributes towards depleting the plastic pollution cycle.

Sam Harrington-on Ultra Rapid Renewables-TEDX Grand Rapids

Pangaea Explorations:What inspired the creation of mushroom based packaging materials?

Sam Harrington: Eben Bayer grew up on a farm in rural Vermont. One of his jobs was to shovel wood chips into the maple syrup boiler. He noticed little white strands of mycelium (mushroom “roots”) growing on the wood chips and gluing them together into clumps. While at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Eben teamed up with a class mate, Gavin McIntyre to use this biological glue to grow structural materials. The proposed the material first as a rigid insulation board in a class called Inventors Studio taught by Burt Swersey. After growing the first prototypes under their beds, they realized that this material had world changing applications for many industries from building materials to packaging and more.

You can read more about Ecovative’s history here:

http://www.ecovativedesign.com/about-ecovative/history/

PE: How long did it take for your company to evolve?

SH: Ecovative was founded in 2007, although the fungi we work with have evolved for millions of years.

Is it nature, or is it art? Photo of mycelium growing in a petri dish. Bob Blaylock Photo.

PE:What were your biggest challenges or obstacles you faced during the creation of your product?

SH:Our initial focus was on rigid board insulation to replace the blue or pink foams used in residential and commercial construction. Testing and code compliance can be very costly and can take a year or more, and we’d be going up against an industry with huge economies of scale. We decided early on to pivot and focus on launching Mushroom® Packaging. In many ways, this is an even bigger environmental win since this packaging is typically only used for a few weeks. Having a home compostable package is a big win over Styrofoam packaging that will last essentially forever.

PE: Can your materials be prepared in any shape for packaging?

EB: Pretty much. As with any manufacturing methodology, there are some geometric constraints. Our molding system is different from that of plastic foam, and our talented design team is always able to come up with a great solution. We can’t yet make very thin things like cups or to-go containers, but we’re working on that.

PE o your products get thrown away with household waste, or must they be composted?

SH: We certainly encourage people to compost whenever they can. If you have a garden, Mushroom Packaging makes for excellent mulch too. If your city doesn’t have compost collection, and you aren’t able to compost at home, you can send this packaging to a landfill. At least it still has all the beginning-of-life environmental benefits.

PE: Does your packaging pricing match that of plastic or cardboard alternatives?

SH: Yes, Mushroom® Packaging can match the cost of common plastic foams like EPS, EPP and EPE. For most of our customers we’ve been able to meet or exceed their performance requirements, match their cost, and deliver a packaging material that is far better for our planet. It’s really a win-win-win. Of course for this custom packaging, the pricing always depends on the technical requirements and our customer’s design wishes.

PE:What advice would you have for young entrepreneurs looking to create and market sustainable and environmentally friendly product alternatives?

Gavin McIntyre and Eben Bayer. I think they say it all. Chris Cisman image from wired.co.uk online.

SH: If you want to make a product that goes mainstream, and isn’t just for people like you who are the most environmentally conscious, it has to be cost neutral. It’s important to find ways to make your product cost and perform about the same as what exists today, and then people will widely switch due to the environmental benefits. Getting people to switch from what they’re comfortable with and used to can be a big hurdle, so it’s important to not throw up any other obstacles if at all possible.

PE:What do you think are the most exciting advances in pollution reduction right now? Are there any other companies you are inspired by?

SH: We’re inspired by all of our packaging customers! We hear over and over again that companies are setting these wildly bold goals of ditching plastic foam, or going for 100% compostable packaging. They set these goals not even knowing if they’re possible to achieve… and then they go out and find materials like Mushroom® Packaging to make these aspirations a reality.

Now I have even more of an excuse to drink wine. Ecovative design's wine shipper material, made with the help of mycelium.

I am really inspired by these men, and am given hope that there are young innovators who are focused on making sustainable solutions a reality, even in a single use society.  I am very excited to share their cool ideas with you as part of the One Water Festivals this summer!

More fresh ideas to come! Thanks for taking the time to read the blog. If you have any suggestions for companies or organizations to highlight, send me an email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it !

By Asta Mail

Great Lakes Expedition Coordinator

March 4, 2013

How do you envision the future?

At one time, I think a lot of us would have met this question with rosy optimism. Flying skateboards, instant transportation, and robots that talk to us, all right!

Marty McFly and his hoverboard-where the heck is this nowadays? Erictheblogger.com photo.

But now, in 2013, I feel like maybe our outlook for our future isn’t quite so positive. With a burgeoning human population, limited resources, and a rapidly deteriorating environment, many of us are left wondering- will the future really be as bright as we once though it would be?

Are we ready for this? drupalbusinessdays.org photo

Are these the "business as usual" employees of the future? image from theruleslawyers.com website.

As a society, I’ve notice lately that we seem to now expect disaster in our future. Whether it be a meteor shooting through space to take out the planet, a zombie plague roaming the Earth, or the “2012” Mayan Apocalypse, it seems to me like we are starting to consider our own fate on this planet. And yet, when the most serious threat to our current existence-the disappearance of a healthy environment- shows itself, we ignore it and try and go on like nothing is happening.

What is worse, I feel an overwhelming sense of apathy from most people about environmental issues.  We don’t often see the direct result of our unsustainable actions in our day to day lives until it’s too late. The problems we face, like plastic pollution, acidification of our oceans, or climate change, seem too big, too overwhelming to tackle. Most people have enough things to worry about already, and so they ignore these issues and continue on with their lives.

However, some of us have a whole lot of hope for the future. We have made fixing these environmental problems our personal challenge. We want to tackle these problems head on.  We know the situation is bad, but we also know that even in the worst of situations, there is always the hope that things can get better. As the saying goes, hope floats, and in the Great Lakes, I believe that this saying applies perfectly.

Can we prevent environmental disaster in the future? I honestly believe that we can.

Recently, I came across a “meme” on Facebook that perfectly describes what I feel about things, and maybe you can relate to it as well.

It’s time to look away from the dreariness of the current environmental picture, and focus on raising hope for the future of our world.

We, at this juncture in time, can act to change our own perception of the future, and that of the following generations.

Wouldn’t it be great if the kids of the future looked back on 2013, and thought, “That was the year people woke up and joined together to keep our planet alive!”

The best part about this is, many people have already begun to come to this exact conclusion, and have already started to contribute to creating a better future for all of us.

If you read the last blog article, you’d know that I am particularly worried about plastic pollution, especially in the Great Lakes, where plastic is beginning to turn these beautiful clear waters into a plastic soup.

I went looking for solutions to this problem all over the web, and I am thrilled to tell you that we  are already creating the technology to help reduce the amount of plastic that is building up all over our planet.

A company called  Algilyx, based out of Oregon, has discovered a way to convert plastic waste into a source for crude oil. While this may not be a perfect solution to fixing environmental problems like climate change, it certainly reduces the amount of plastic filling our landfills and being blown out into our lakes, seas and rivers.

Check out an interview with Algilyx here courtesy of Waste and Recycling News:

Aaron Mickelson's disappearing package models. From his website www.snobbydesign.com

What could be better than breaking down plastic packaging? Having packaging that breaks down itself! Aaron Mickelson developed a brilliant idea to help solve the plastic pollution problem by designing packaging that actually dissolves on its own through use. He designed real prototypes for some of the most common household brands that dissolve and are washed down the drain, or at least require far less packaging than the current production methods use. Check out his prototypes here:

The Plastic Pollution Coalition based out of San Francisco, wants to think big about plastic pollution solutions.  In an effort to motivate young entrepreneurs and out-of-the-box thinkers to come up with new businesses, the coalition has created a contest called  “Think Beyond Plastic”. The coalition is offering a first prize investment of $50,000 dollars for a well articulated idea that reduces plastic production or pollution in industry. $10,000 dollars will go to a winner with the most innovative business idea.  This amazing campaign for innovation is being sponsored by organizations including Rolling Stone magazine, Bonnaroo Music Festival and Conservation International, among others. Read more about the contest and develop your own idea!

Think Beyond Plastic's Logo. Photo From www.causes.com

All of these initiatives give me hope. They make me realize that as a society, we are waking up to the huge environmental problems we face, and that if we don’t act now, we may not see a rosy future. I have faith that as an intelligent, creative and innovative species, we can rise above our environmental failures, and create a future that is healthy for not only ourselves, but our environment as well.

References:

Algilyx website. 2013. “Converting Plastic Waste to Crude Oil”.  Accessed March 4. http://www.agilyx.com/

Plastic Pollution Coalition. “Think Beyond Plastic”. Accessed March 4 http://plasticpollutioncoalition.org/projects/think-beyond-plastic/

Mickelson, A.2013. “Snobby Design”. Acessed Online March 4.http://snobbydesign.com/

PR Newswire. Feb 20, 2013. “”Think Beyond Plastic” Competition gains sponsorship from Rolling Stone Magazine, Bonnaroo, One Pacific Coast Bank, FSB.” Accessed online March 4. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/think-beyond-plastic-competition-gains-sponsorship-from-rolling-stone-magazine-bonnaroo-one-pacificcoast-bank-fsb-192092141.html

Neddo, B. July 16, 2012.” Dr. Sherri Mason leading first ever Great Lakes plastic pollution survey.” Acessed online, March 4. http://ww2.fredonia.edu/news/AllNewsReleases/tabid/1101/ctl/ArticleView/mid/1878/articleId/3619/Dr_Sherri_Mason_leading_first-ever_Great_Lakes_plastic_pollution_survey.aspx

Asta Mail

Great Lakes Expedition Coordinator

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

February 25, 2013

Last weekend, the crew of Pangaea spent the weekend showing the world the Sea Dragon at the Miami Boat Show and Strictly Sail.

Figure 1 The crew of Pangaea chats with the many guests of the Miami Strictly Sail show February 14-18, 2013.

As a new member of the Pangaea crew, I was thrilled to talk about our organization with the many kind, interesting people who came to visit. From hardy adventurers, to day cruisers, and even people experiencing whole new world of nautical fun, we met an incredible assortment of people. We heard their stories while telling them ours.

One moment in particular really struck me while at the boat show. It inspired me to really consider what Pangaea was truly discovering with their work.

A lovely woman from Toronto came aboard the Sea Dragon. As I guided her around the galley, she mentioned to me that she ran a resource conservation organization. Our conversation was very interesting. As I guided her about the boat, blathering on as per usual, I unthinkingly reached for my drink from lunch.

As I lifted my chin to sip (and tried not to dribble on myself in front of my guest), I froze. There I was, talking to an environmental activist, on board an environmental research vessel studying plastics…and drinking from a plastic, single use bottle.

The hypocrisy of the moment was evident, as was my sudden onset embarrassment. “Way to be the change, Asta”, I thought to myself. I looked around our elegant galley, and felt trapped. Not by the boat, or by the situation I had unwittingly put us both in. At that moment, I felt trapped by plastic.

Plastic is everywhere. We use it constantly, and it is almost unavoidable.  Since this moment happened, I have been able to stop thinking about the amount of plastic we use without thought, almost every day. Yes, even us environmentalist “save the world” types use plastics, and I realized we all ought to know better.

Another one bites the dust. Sierra club image.

If you think about the plastic we use as a society, you’d be pretty shocked. Americans discard 33.6 million tons of plastic per year.

To give you an idea of how much that really is, I looked up the heaviest thing I could think of off the top of my head. The Empire State building in New York weighs an approximate 365,000 tons. The amount of plastic we consume per year weighs approximately the same as 92 Empire State buildings.

Many of us use the “out of sight, out of mind” motto to avoid thinking too much about plastic in our lives The problem with plastics is however that even though they may be out of your mind, they are not out of your world.

Americans use more than ½ a billion water bottles every week, more than enough to circle the globe five times. I learned of this shocking number from a short film made about plastic bottle use, from the Story of Stuff project. Check it out here:

The Empire State Building. Wikipedia Commons Photo.

Screen shot from the Story of stuff. For more, go to www.storyofstuff.org.

The Story of Bottled Water

What is saddest about our staggering level of plastic use is that it is unnecessary. In most communities, drinking water is free or very inexpensive, and of similar quality to packaged products. Despite this, every day people buy and consume water from plastic bottles, without ever considering what happens to the bottle itself.

Plastics; are they really recycled? Image from www.banthebottle.net.

So, what does happen to that plastic bottle, anyway? Of the 33.6 million tons, only about 6. 5% of this material gets recycled. Another 7.7% is burnt to create energy. But that leaves 85.8% of plastic pollution every year, just sitting in landfill facilities. If the plastic doesn’t end up in these facilities, natural processes carry the waste away.

Having spent the weekend with Carolynn Box of the 5 Gyres Research Institute, I learned a lot about where plastic ends up in the ocean. We showed guests on board the Sea Dragon samples taken from the 5 subtropical gyre areas of the planet, places where currents and wind flow gather plastic pollution en masse.

As I thought more about this issue and discussed the Great Lakes expedition with Carolynn and the guests, I started to wonder; are plastics building up in the lake water too?

Turns out that the answer is sadly yes. The 5 Gyres institute partnered with SUNY Fredonia University last summer to study plastics pollution in the Great Lakes. Led by Dr. Sherri Mason, a student research team discovered that the lakes had plenty of plastic in them. Lake Eerie in had the highest concentrations of plastic pollution of any water body in the world.

Figure 3 Plastic Pollution in Lake Eerie. Photo by Lynn Ischay of the Plain Dealer.

The plastic found in the lakes last year wasn’t mostly whole plastic bottles, or even large chunks of plastic. It actually built up from tiny particles, known as micro plastics. Micro plastics are created by the degradation of larger pieces of plastic, or for abrasive products that utilize plastic beads.  These tiny particles are worrisome because they could potentially litter our beaches, and disrupt the food chain of the lakes. Read more about what the 5 gyres research discovered here.

So what are we going to do about it? How are we going to tackle this issue?

This is a question that the world is only beginning to understand.

What I learned from last week’s beverage blunder was that we all must take responsibility for our use of plastics. Each of us contributes to the plastic pollution that is clogging our lakes and oceans, but each of us can contribute to fixing this problem. It’s about personal decisions, as well as action as a society.

The situation is pretty bad right now. However there is hope. Stay tuned the blog for more information on what we are doing to slow the cycle of plastic pollution, and learn how you can get involved.

References:

Blackwell, B. June 19, 2012. “Plastic Pollution Study to be conducted on Great Lakes for first time”. The Plain Dealer, published online on Cleveland.com.

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2012/06/plastic_pollution_study_to_be.html

Blackwell, B. December 29, 2012. “Record Levels of Plastic pollution found in Lake Eerie.” The Plain Dealer, published online on Cleveland.com.

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2012/12/record_levels_of_plastic_pollu.html

Cho, R. January 31, 2012. “What Happens to All that Plastic?” State of the Planet Blog Article. The Earth Institute, Columbia University.

http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/01/31/what-happens-to-all-that-plastic/

Neddo, B. July 16, 2012. “Dr. Sherri Mason leading first-ever Great Lakes Plastics Survey.”  Fredonia University Article. Published online.

http://ww2.fredonia.edu/news/BrowseallNews/tabid/1101/ctl/ArticleView/mid/1878/articleId/3619/language/en-US/Dr_Sherri_Mason_leading_first-ever_Great_Lakes_plastic_pollution_survey.aspx

Ellsbury, H. May 31, 2012. “5 Ways you can Help reduce Plastic Bottle Waste” Ban the Bottle article.

http://www.banthebottle.net/articles/5-ways-you-can-help-reduce-plastic-bottle-waste/

The Story of Stuff Project. March 17, 2010. “The Story of Bottled Water”. Youtube video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se12y9hSOM0