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InterViews
Jane Lubchenco
environmental science
(recorded 2004)
 Listen to the Interview (mp3, 56 mb)
(1 hour)
 Environmental scientist and ecologist Jane Lubchenco’s interests range from searching for specimens in the Oregon coastline’s tide pools to promoting the public’s understanding of science. She also advocates responsibility toward care of the Earth, and her research interests include plant-herbivore interactions, biogeography and global change. Lubchenco earned her B.A. in biology from Colorado College in 1969, her M.S. in zoology from the University of Washington in 1971 and her Ph.D. in ecology from Harvard University in 1975. She is currently the under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She is the first woman to hold the post of Administrator of NOAA.
Listen to the Interview (requires free RealPlayer software):
TRACK 1: Woods Hole, Washington State, and Points Beyond
Lubchenco, who grew up in Denver, discusses her early interest in science and a formative educational opportunity at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass. As an undergraduate, she attended a summer class in Woods Hole, her first glimpse of ocean ecology and independent scientific research. That experience led Lubchenco to graduate school at the University of Washington, where she was first exposed to experimental and evolutionary ecology and met her husband. She discusses her time in Washington, the compromises necessary in balancing two academic careers, and her move to Harvard University where she earned her Ph.D. in 1975. (11 minutes)
TRACK 2: Paradise Lost
While completing her doctorate, Lubchenco began researching types of ecological systems off the rocky shores of New England. She later became interested in the human interaction in these systems; after becoming familiar with locations all over the world and doing repeated research at these sites, Lubchenco says that change as a result of human interaction is only visible once you know how the system actually should be, or was. She taught a class on coral reef ecology at Jamaica’s Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory as an assistant professor at Harvard. More than a decade later she returned to find the reef completely “trashed” because of overfishing, logging and dumping. (8 minutes)
TRACK 3: The Dead Zone
Lubchenco discusses how human actions have changed many ecological systems. Humans have introduced excess nitrogen into natural ecosystems through the use of fertilizers, as well as through sewage dumping. So much excess nitrogen is used in fertilizers -- more than double the amount necessary -- that plants are unable to process it all in the nitrogen fixation cycle. Excess nitrogen is now found in drinking water; it also triggers algal blooms (which can infect shellfish, prove poisonous to humans and create fish kills) and creates what are known as “dead zones.” There are 30 to 40 dead zones all over the world, and all are near the mouths of rivers with large amounts of fertilizer runoff. Lubchenco emphasizes that the scientific information available should be used to change practices and policies not only to ameliorate the current damage, but also to prevent further harm to the environment and to humans. (9 minutes)
TRACK 4: Ecological Economics
Ecological systems work like a system of goods and services, according to Lubchenco. The goods are things like fish, trees and other natural resources for which societies compete. The services are the less tangible results of ecological systems: pollinators or forests’ flood control are two examples. Lubchenco advocates finding a way to use the information available in decision-making processes so that the services, as well as the goods, create a sustainable world. (10 minutes)
TRACK 5: Sea Change
In 1969, the Stratton Commission on Oceans wrote a report encouraging harnessing all that the oceans had could provide by improving technology to reap the rewards of fishing and mining. Just over 30 years later, the Pew Oceans Commission emphasized that sustainable policies must be put into effect immediately in order to stop the rapid decline of the world’s ocean resources. Lubchenco, who served on the Pew commission, talks about how scientists have social contract with the public, and how science communication is key for policy changes, for the media, and for the work of both corporate and non-governmental groups. Communicating science so that it becomes usable is another key focus of Lubchenco’s work. The Aldo Leopold Leadership Program -- which she started through the Ecological Society of America -- trains mid-career scientists in communication techniques so they can explain their work to audiences outside the science community. (13 minutes)
TRACK 6: The Day After Tomorrow
Pop culture and environmental disaster stories do not always scare people into change. Lubchenco explains how doom-and-gloom scenarios only further society’s apathy, while making certain changes now adds a sense of hope and empowerment. She also discusses her current research, focusing on PISCO, and how the group works with the scientific community as well as policy-makers and coastal communities. (9 minutes)
Last Updated: 09-02-2009
The audio files linked above are part of the National Academy of Sciences InterViews series. Opinions and statements included in these audio files are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Academy of Sciences.
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