Book review in American Scientist
January-February, 2011
Escape from the Ivory Tower: A Guide to Making Your Science Matter. Nancy Baron. xxii + 246 pp. Island Press, 2010. $55 cloth, $27.50 paper.
Explaining Research: How to Reach Key Audiences to Advance Your Work. Dennis Meredith. xvi + 357 pp. Oxford University Press, 2010. $35 paper.
As a child, Joanie Kleypas was drawn to the television programs of Jacques Cousteau, and they played a role in inspiring her to become a marine ecologist when she grew up. But she never dreamed that she herself would get involved in communicating science to the public. Decades later, however, she was forced into that role when her research uncovered important information. Working at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, she was one of a handful of scientists investigating the effects of rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide on ocean acidity. When the first model results came in, showing that ocean acidity would increase greatly, the realization hit her that this would pose a huge threat to marine life. She had to excuse herself from a meeting to go throw up.