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Dive Deep into the Blue Mind Summit May 11th in DC

Mission Blue had the pleasure of catching up with Dr. Wallace J Nichols, water scientist, conservationist, best-selling author and leader of the Blue Mind movement. With the 5th annual Blue Mind Summit coming up this month in Washington DC and the release of his best-selling book, Blue Mind, in paperback, we had a lot to discuss. Read on to learn more about Nichols’ remarkable Blue Mind movement and the growing understanding of how water helps us in more ways than you might imagine.
So tell us more about the Blue Mind Summit. What’s happening this year?
This year it’s in Washington DC and the theme is “Urban Blue”. Most people in the world live in big coastal towns or cities and thus interact, or have the great opportunity to interact, with the urban blue.…

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Science Isn’t Enough: Mexico Risks Embargo Over Dead Sea Turtles

By Mission Blue Partner, Wallace J. Nichols
We’ve been studying and working to protect loggerhead sea turtles in Mexico for nearly 20 years. As a scientist and conservationist, one strives to acquire the best available information, build the best team possible and to use the most appropriate tools to solve a problem, be it pollution or dead endangered animals.
A combination of incentives, referred to as “carrots” and “sticks” are commonly used to nudge or force a solution ahead. Sometimes a “silver bullet” technology saves the day, but that’s rare.
The work of conservation is typically slow, incremental, and human.
It’s been our experience that those who would spend two decades or more working closely with fishermen to understand and protect sea turtles typically have the best interests of both people and nature in mind, although sometimes they are called “turtle-huggers” or scapegoated over another competing agenda. …

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BRINK: It’s About Love

By Wallace J. Nichols, LivBlue.org
Feature Photo: Troy Mayne, OceanicImagery
The producer of the new Weather Channel series called BRINK asked about our team’s work over the past three decades to save Pacific sea turtles. 
I told him that it’s about love. Love for animals, special places, and people. That’s what makes the difference.
 
He listened, and nodded. In that New Yorker sort of way (as a native New Yorker, I can say that). But I could tell he knew exactly what I meant.
 
I guess it’s no surprise that they named their sea turtle episode “It’s About Love”.
 
Have a look, and check out the other 3 minute films about fellow scientists and advocates who love big cats, rhinos, bears, dolphins and seals.
 

Warning: Some of the footage in this short film dates back to nearly two decades ago when Lisa Landers joined us in Baja for a documentary she was making.…

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Blue Mind 3 rocks Block Island this week!

The latest from Mission Blue partner, Wallace J. Nichols – Blue Mind 3 will be held on Block Island in just a few days on May 30! ~ Ed.
Summer unofficially begins with Memorial Day weekend, and thoughts turn to warmer weather, longer days, and water. Some of our favorite places to chill out, vacation, and connect with friends and loved ones involve water: lakes, rivers, pools and oceans.
A group of neuroscientists, oceanographers, artists, film makers, educators, poets, and explorers will gather on Block Island this week to consider the science behind the poetic question, “why do we love water?”
Celine Cousteau’s grandfather famously said “we protect what we love.” Ms. Cousteau will be joined by Harvard Medical School’s Dr.…

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Water On My Mind

Mission Blue partner, Wallace J. Nichols is our guide today, taking us deep into the realm of Blue Mind – something many of us know intuitively, but haven’t even begun to explore. What makes our Blue Minds tick?  And you won’t want to miss the embedded video from Nautica! ~ ed. 
Take a stroll through your favorite bookstore.
Notice that lining the shelves in the best-selling non-fiction section are a great many books about the neuroscience of magic and happiness, memory and fear, music and our subconscious.
A quick scan of any of these books–and their relatives–for the words “ocean”, “water”, “nature” will largely come up short. Try it yourself.

Teaching a recent course at Stanford University to a room full of graduate students in ocean conservation I asked a series of unusual questions and received some surprising answers.…

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