As a thinking community, we face a conundrum: Scientists uncover some of the empirical knowledge we need to save our planet and ourselves. Yet their devotion to neutrality — an unquestioned necessity in the lab — impedes their voices in the wider world.
Category » Terra Blog
February 26, 2013
Roots of Relationship
Under the pine needles lies one of the secrets to forest health
The summer is warm and sunny in Corvallis, but my travels draw me east. Over and past the Cascades is an open land where the cold sparkling waters of a river flow north, and the sweet smell of Ponderosa pine blends with the fresh scent of lodgepole — the Deschutes National Forest. My one-person tent [...]
February 1, 2013
10 Steps for Innovators
The journey from idea to innovation turns, twists and hits the occasional roadblock. Follow the progress of an Oregon State idea that is making the wood-products industry more sustainable. Research by wood-science professor Kaichang Li has enabled Columbia Forest Products, North America’s largest manufacturer of hardwood plywood, to switch from adhesives made with formaldehyde to [...]
January 29, 2013
Documenting the Giants
Canopy science for old-growth forests
Forest scientist and Oregon State University alumnus Steve Sillett studies and climbs the largest trees in the world. Since 1987, he’s climbed more than 1,000 of these arboreal giants, many of which reach heights greater than 200 feet tall and diameters upwards of 20 feet. Sillett’s study of old-growth forests — and in particular redwood [...]
January 24, 2013
Volunteers for Science
Citizens contribute valuable data
I get to call myself a scientist because I’ve got a Ph.D. in oceanography, but is that a prerequisite? No. Before there were “scientists,” even “ordinary people” did science. They learned to grow crops and domesticate animals. They associated the heavens with the seasons and events on Earth. Keen insight into plant properties, animal behavior [...]
January 23, 2013
Normative Science
It is easy — and wrong — for scientists to become stealth policy advocates
Too often, however, scientific information presented to the public and decision-makers is infused with hidden policy preferences. Such science is termed normative, and it is a corruption of the practice of good science.
December 26, 2012
How Fire Saves Water
Controlled burns can keep water-hogging juniper in check
Parts of the Oregon outback are a poetic juxtaposition of passionate color scattered among charred, stalagmitic trees piercing the sky above like mighty javelins. In autumn, the understory blazes in hues of red, orange and yellow — colors that light the burnt forest as if it were once again on fire.
November 27, 2012
‘Tis the Season
Winter brings flu — and drug awareness, too
PORTLAND – It was a nippy November day in Pioneer Courthouse Square. The city’s annual Christmas tree was going up — a giant evergreen to mark the holiday season. But that wasn’t the only super-sized object with a seasonal message. A couple of strides from the mega-tree stood a monstrous nose, a reminder that the [...]
November 15, 2012
Tethered by Respect
Forging a bond with a wild bird
It was a chill December day in Eugene. I was with my falconry sponsor, Christian Fox, who was there in the park with me to observe a training session. I had been training Inanna, my 3-pound red-tailed hawk for about three weeks. Chris was evaluating whether she was ready to come off the creance (a [...]
November 6, 2012
Octo-Enchantment
Finding solace and stress relief in an elusive cephalopod
A volunteer told me later that the nocturnal octopus rarely comes out during the day.
November 2, 2012
Ground Lines
Maps guide us through unfamiliar terrain
I remember my first day at what’s called “baby field camp” in the Oregon State geology program. Outside Bishop, California, we mapped the area around a cinder cone, long since dead. I quickly learned that the hot sun is a never-ending force of nature, not to be underestimated. I drank at least a gallon of [...]
October 12, 2012
After Fukushima
Nuclear power's future remains strong
As concern about climate change has grown, nuclear energy — long a polarizing subject — has gained increasing favorability. Its low carbon footprint, reliable power supply and strong safety record convinced many critics that nuclear power should be a bigger part of our energy mix. That newfound favorability suffered a setback on March 11, 2011, [...]
September 26, 2012
Degrees of Separation
Scientists weigh in on biodiversity quest through Facebook
Facebook may be great for cute kitty videos and baby pictures, but who knew it could play a role in science? Brian Sidlauskas, an Oregon State University fish biologist, and his team used the popular social network to advance their study of biodiversity in a South American rain forest. This video produced by Facebook, Degrees [...]
August 24, 2012
Beyond Junk Food
The science of flavor could lead to a better diet
Did you ever wonder why so many people are attracted to junk food? Why ice cream, french fries and soda pop so often win out over brown rice and broccoli? It’s not actually a conspiracy by fast-food companies to bewitch people into eating things that aren’t good for them. Well, not completely. It’s largely due [...]
August 6, 2012
Space Dreams
Don Pettit talks about exploration, colonizing other planets and raising zucchini on the International Space Station
When he’s on Earth, Don Pettit dreams about space. But when he’s in space, he dreams about walking on Earth. “Dreams may have something to do with humans never being satisfied, which is why we go exploring in the first place,” he says. If there’s a gene for the urge to explore new worlds, Pettit [...]
July 25, 2012
Bug Problems? Call in the Chickens
Oregon State Extension experiments with pest control in organic apple orchard
“Aw, no bugs!” exclaims Betsey Miller after meticulously pouring over a wheelbarrow’s worth of decomposing leaf litter and manure. “The chickens are doing a great job, but it’s still fun for us entomologists to find insects once in a while!” A pen of praiseworthy red-ranger chickens peck away at the grass a few yards away, [...]
June 29, 2012
Science Without Borders
Want to do science today? Make sure your passport is up to date.
When land grant universities were created 150 years ago, science was already an international activity. Well before the signing of the Morrill Act in 1862, American scientists aboard six U.S. Navy vessels had circumnavigated the globe, collected thousands of plant and animal specimens and mapped parts of the Pacific Ocean from the Columbia River to [...]
May 30, 2012
Life-Saving Science
At a recent meeting of the American Meteorological Society in New Orleans, I participated in a discussion of early warning systems that give the public time to take cover from tornadoes and to prepare for hurricanes. Today, we have hours or days to get out of harm’s way. Contrast that with the hurricane in Galveston, [...]
May 25, 2012
Evidence for Change
Rigorous climate science trumps our senses
Some people take a dim view of the idea that Oregon, as well as the rest of the world, could be expected to continue warming in coming decades. They may cite March snowfall in the Willamette Valley or unpublished comparisons of mean temperatures over a given time period in specific places. Appealing as it is, [...]
May 25, 2012
Green mulch
More veggies and more fruit = more plastic mulch on farms. Oregon State students look for alternatives.
Bear with me; here’s the problem. Plastic mulch — those shiny sheets spread across row upon row of veggies, strawberries and other crops — enables farmers to produce more types and greater quantities of food. It makes farming more profitable, preserves soil moisture, reduces weeds and saves on labor costs. But this type of mulch [...]
April 11, 2012
Toward a scholarly embrace
Environmental Humanities Initiative brings science and the humanities together
Ambling along the oaky trails at Finley Wildlife Refuge last Saturday morning — one of the first days without rain in a long, long time — my two friends and I paused at the edge of a pond along Woodpecker Loop. Just under the murky surface, several rough-skinned newts were swimming in slow motion, their [...]
March 18, 2012
From concert hall to lecture hall
How music set the stage for a life in science
James Cassidy doesn’t fit the stereotypical image of a scientist. Two star-shaped earrings dangle from his left ear. A fetching fedora is perched on top of his head. He’s swapped his white lab coat for a charcoal sports jacket. A chic checkered shirt peeks out underneath. His alert grey eyes are framed by dark glasses. [...]
March 2, 2012
Fishing for Facts in Guyana
For two weeks in 2011, dawn signaled the beginning of another day of fish sampling for Oregon State University professor Brian Sidlauskas and his small team of colleagues and graduate students. Their camp was wedged within a mountainous area of northern South America called the Guyana Shield.
February 21, 2012
Climate roulette
If you like to gamble, you might think that nature is bluffing. With each passing year, it appears she is not.
February 21, 2012
Reality check on climate
Climate science is moving from “what if” to “when,” “how,” and “with what practical consequences.”
February 20, 2012
River of change
A resilient future for the Willamette River
Although population growth and development will add stress to the Willamette River, environmental restoration projects are already under way.
February 20, 2012
Learning to think like a planet
In a rapidly changing environment that will challenge human relationships, how can we maintain a respectful and ethical culture?
February 17, 2012
Communicating about climate change
Knowledge of concerns and values leads to a respectful conversation on difficult topics
I remember when I felt that the climate change workshop would go well. After a period of planning and preparation, our Oregon Sea Grant team arrived in Port Orford not knowing how the diverse community group would respond to the issue of a changing local climate when we were all actually face to face. So, [...]
February 15, 2012
Leave it to the beavers
Vanessa Petro wants to find out if these "nuisance" animals will create valuable salmon habitat
It’s on the Oregon state flag and a symbol for Oregon State University: the North American beaver (Castor canadensis). But how much do you really know about these semi-aquatic mammals? Likely, not a lot. It turns out that not even scientists have a firm grasp on beaver ecology, despite the animal’s prominence in the Northwest. [...]
January 11, 2012
Just cook it
Visiting science historian Ken Albala challenged Oregon Staters to cook from scratch
I admit it. I’m an armchair chef. I enjoy perusing heavily illustrated cookbooks. I fantasize about delicious dishes, with names like “Gnocchi Gratin with Gorgonzola Dolce.” But when it comes time to make dinner, I’m stumped. I’m usually too intimidated by actual recipes with expensive ingredients and complicated techniques to cook up a meal from [...]
