Free aquarium admission (plus science!)

The best thing about reporting (outside of the free books) turns out to be the people you get to meet, and during my previous stint as a science writer I got to meet all sorts of brilliant people at Hollings Marine Laboratory on James Island.

On Monday evening, a bunch of those people will be on display in front of the South Carolina Aquarium's Great Ocean Tank for a seminar on coastal contamination issues. This is part of an ongoing series of seminars by local marine scientists who are busting-hump to get the public to pay attention to policy issues, and I've got to give them credit for stepping out of their comfort zones. They've been going on TV, reaching out to interest groups and trying to figure out how to help people understand what they're learning through research.

Because they get it, even if the rest of us aren't paying attention: What happens to our water happens to us. When these folks look at the implications of the trends they're studying, they can see the issues that will be affecting all of us in the years to come. Their outreach program strikes me more as a wake-up call.

I tossed a Five List (read it after the jump below) their way this week as a way of trying to draw a bit more attention to their cause. This week they're holding a panel seminar on coastal contamination at the S.C. Aquarium. They've invited non-scientists to sit on their panel, too, since the issue isn't just what's happening to our waters, but how to enlist the public in solving the problems. They're doing it in a setting, and with a format, that should make attending it ... well, a pleasure. And they really, really want regular people to show up.

So here's the drill: At 5:30 p.m., the doors to the S.C. Aquarium open for this seminar on coastal contamination issues. Half an hour later, everyone will gather in front of the Great Ocean Tank for a presentation, followed by a question period (transparency note: I'll be on that panel to address media issues). After that, refreshments and chatting begin at 7:30.

If you're not used to scientists, fear not. Few of them actually bite. And it's not as if this setting will place you face-to-face with a bunch of serious, official people in a stuffy conference room. Worse comes to worst, you get into the aquarium for free and learn a bit about conserving our marine environment.

Anyway, that's my pitch. Read on for a summary of five emerging contaminant threats to our coastal waters...