I am an environmental scientist blogging about environmental and development issues that interest me. I prefer to be anonymous(e) because I work with some of the companies I may talk about and I want to avoid conflict of interest issues at work. This gets tricky because I am at the periphery of a lot of events happening in the world of my greatest expertise, persistent organic pollutants, endocrine disrupting compounds, their effects on health and the policy fights around chemicals, their use the controversies! So, I’ve reluctantly moved away from writing about what I know most about, which means this blog suffers severely. I still soldier on, though!
I was born, and grew up in India, so I am interested in all things South Asian and tend to view most all Western government and Western institution actions through a colonialist scratched lens! I am also becoming much more active about my feminism, so who knows what that will do to this blog. I have been meaning to write a monstrous essay about women, the environment and justice, but that’s a task!
I used to live in Chapel Hill, NC with a partner of long vintage (the partnership, that is, not her!) and a crazy cat who thinks he’s a dog. We moved to Victoria, BC in 2008 and I’ve been busy learning about Canadian policy, enjoying this most beautiful town I live in.
Why Olive Ridley? Well, the Olive Ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys Olivacea) nests on the coasts of Madras, India and I got my start in the wonderful world of conservation working on the Olive Ridley with the Students’ Sea Turtle Conservation Network. So, I do have fond memories for this beautiful creature. And yes, as my dear partner reminds me, I did meet her on the beach when I was doing this work.
Questions? Just leave a note on the blog posts/email at theoliveridley at gmail dotcom.
Once again, let me remind you that this blog represents my opinions, and mine only. Clearly, if I am not professional enough to separate my personal opinions from the work I do, or if the work I did conflicted seriously with my ethics and opinions, I have more serious issues than being anonymous(e).
hey, there are two “the”s before olive ridley.
…”nd I got my start in the wonderful world of conservation working on the Olive Ridley with the Students’ Sea Turtle Conservation Network”..
not to mention finding our wonderful life partner in the process.
Nice blog.
when you put write oliveridley together (as in the url) you can get two things:
Olive Ridely
Oliver Idley
Being from Madras, I get hungry when I look at the latter for too long.
Hi. Would like to post the current state of Olive Ridley’s in Andhra Pradesh, India.
http://www.visakhaspca.org/programs/seaturtles.php
The news has been particularly bleak this year with thousands washed up in Orissa mostly due to trawlers and perhaps pollution. Our animal shelter has a sea turtle program and we are doing our part and we have witnessed too many dead sea turtles this year but can use all the publicity and support we can. Lots of news links in The Hindu news about our work. Could I write a comment with the news links that you might publish in your blog? Thanks.
Eileen Weintraub, Seattle, Washington USA
Visakha SPCA Volunteer Global Outreach
http://www.VisakhaSPCA.org
Visakha SPCA
26-15-200 Main Road
Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh 530001, India
email: Pradeep Nath, Founder and President
A good compendium of news on Olive Ridley. Carry on the good work. I’ve met several environmental biologists in the country, who have reported that their passion for environmental conservation grew from their Turtle Walks, early in their life.
You may want to look up a small article and s amall video clip on the olive ridley hatchlings boiling out of their nests…
cheers,
ramjee
Hi the olive ridley turtle is my favorite :]
Hi Olive Ridley Crawl,
I was recently invited by an acquaintance into her home at the Bear Mountain Resort in BC, Canada. As I drove up the mountain past numerous single-family homes, I noticed that the houses got bigger and the view more spectacular on the way to the top. Her home was at the very end of the road, on what is now the top of the mountain. It was enormous, had more than one lawn, was close to the resort club and sprawling golf green, and came with its own swimming pool.
I know I felt sick to my stomach that evening, but I am not sure exactly why.
So here’s my blog post request. If you had to write in fairly simple terms, the environmental-ecological-social-human impact of Bear Mountain, and all the reasons why it is a bad idea, what would you say?
Thanks! Looking forward to being better-informed!