Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Waste Not, Want Not has moved!!

The blog has moved to my new integrated website. Includes all site information and the blog. See it at http://jambeck.engr.uga.edu. All of these old posts have been migrated as well. Enjoy!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Send us your Marine Debris!

Many volunteers will be cleaning up debris for the International Coastal Cleanup September 25. I am creating a database of the "average" weight of various debris items, so I need your debris! If you are willing to send marine debris (I cannot fund the shipping at this time) to be weighed in a scientific research project, please send a bucket or large zip-loc baggie full of marine debris along with a piece of paper that has:
1) The date it was collected
2) The beach/location it was collected at
IMPORTANT, I must have the above information or I will not be able to include it in the database. Also note, debris will not be returned. Also, I can only handle U.S. Debris at this time.
Ship to:
Jenna Jambeck
University of Georgia
412 Driftmier Engineering Center
Athens, GA  30602
Phone: 706-542-6454
Any questions, feel free to email me at marinedebrisweights@gmail.com.
Thank you so much for your contribution to science and to the study of marine debris!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Geo-Log

My colleague Kyle Johnsen and I developed a tool for research and teaching to Geotag data. It is a skeleton for a marine debris mobile application I will be putting out this fall as a part of a NOAA grant, but Geo-Log is more general and flexible. You can log and map... ANYTHING! Just make an effort, make a list and start logging. The data is available to view online in a map or list, or download the data into Excel or as a .kml file for Google Earth. We hope it will be useful to many and it will be available on the Android Market and for iPhone soon. To learn more go to the website here >>>

Friday, June 18, 2010

Environmental Science and Technology Commentary on the Oil Spill

Thank you Dr. Schnoor, Editor of Environmental Science and Technology, for your well written and insightful commentary about the Gulf Oil Spill. To read it, click here >>>

Monday, June 14, 2010

A Marine Debris Story

A digital camera in a waterproof case was dropped at sea near Aruba and washed ashore in Key West, FL. It also was carried some way by a sea turtle as shown on this YouTube video. You can see the turtle thrashing about while the camera strap is connected to it. This story gives a first hand look at how any debris or trash at sea can travel many miles... and how it nearly always impacts wildlife. While a nice personal story from the standpoint of the man who located the camera's owner, I also see it as a lesson in marine debris travel and impacts.
More details on the story here >>>

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Map of UGA Trash Cans and Recycle Bins Complete

Thanks to two great undergraduate students who did an independent study with me this spring (Shanell Davis and Malin Dartnell), I now have a map of the trash cans (both permanent and mobile) and recycle bins/cans (both for containers and containers+paper) on the University of Georgia campus. Special thanks to the UGA Office of Sustainability's Mark Milby. Also, a very special thanks to Alex Devine, GIS Technical Coordinator from UGA Architects for Facilities Planning for helping me overcome my Google Earth "bug" to get all my layers in one project. I will update this blog with a link to the project on my website, but for now, here is a screen shot. More spatial analysis data to follow too.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Tiny Creatures, Big Plans (from Waste Age Magazine)

An article on my EREF funded microbial fuel cell research is in the current (May 2010) issue of Waste Age Magazine.
Click here to read it >>>

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Summer Opportunity for UGA Students with iPhone Application Development Experience


UGA student worker needed hourly to assist in the development of an environmentally-focused iPhone application project this summer.  Interested applicants must have iPhone development experience. Experience in Java/C/C++,  HTML forms, XML Web Services, and database (MySQL) interfacing is highly desirable. Salary is $10-15/hr (depending on experience) and must be available to start immediately. Please send resume and any examples of work (documented through report or PPT) to me.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Deepwater Horizon Blowout/Oil Spill

This event is near and dear to my research, as well as me personally. I am following this story closely and I knew from the moment I read "environmental impacts will be minimal" that it was not going to play out that way. I have not posted about it yet because I have been pondering my response and waiting for more evaluation of the potential impacts. However, I can wait no more. While it is going to take a long time to determine the full impact and extent of the damage from this event, there is no doubt in my mind, it is not minimal. Even if it is less than the Exxon Valdez, I would still call it huge. Those that I know of directly involved with the response are working long hours and doing an awesome job; we have an amazing team in NOAA Office of Response and Restoration and other federal agencies.

For the general public looking to help, you might be able to help clean marine debris from the coastlines in anticipation of the oil's arrival on the shoreline. If debris gets oiled, it has to be specially handled as a part of the cleanup, so removal of debris before it becomes oiled is essential. On the ground oil assessment and cleanup typically requires 40-hour HAZWOPER training and for NOAA, Shoreline Cleanup and Assessment Training may be required. I am providing websites I have found helpful so far.

Here are some good resources to keep up with:
NOAA Deepwater Horizon Status Updates 
(also follow NOAA on Facebook)

For Volunteer and Reporting Opportunities:
  • (From NOAA) To report oil on land, or for general community information, please phone 866.448.5816.
  • (From NOAA) To report oiled or injured wildlife, please phone 866.557.1401.
  • (From NOAA) To learn about volunteer opportunities in all areas and what training is required, please phone 866.448.5816. 
State websites:
 Many people may want to help, but will not be able to directly work with the oil spill. I have a few ideas for people who still want to do something... you could clean up marine debris (any trash or debris on any coastline) in your area. Debris can be a transporter of other contaminants besides oil. And debris causes detrimental impacts to wildlife (from entanglement or ingestion) even without being oiled. Keeping coastlines clean has a multitude of positive impacts on human health and the environment no matter the locale. Also, consider conserving gas and energy - without our large demand for oil, we may not need as much offshore drilling. Think about reducing your oil use and about alternative and renewable energy sources. We can use this time to reflect on the true cost of oil as our primary source of energy and how we can strive for a more balanced and integrated energy strategy.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Undergraduate Research Opportunities in Environmental Engineering

Great opportunities at UGA!
Undergraduate research opportunities on campus are being expanded through a partnership between the Honors Program’s Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities and the Faculty of Engineering. Click for more information >>

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Letter from my 9-year old Recycling Guru

If I ever have a bad day, I just have to read this. It will always make me smile!

Presentation at Barrow Elementary

So I did present at Barrow Elementary on Feb. 26. I spoke for about 20 min. about microbial fuel cells and using leachate as a substrate. Then, we had about 40 min. of question and answer time. I got some of the best questions I have ever gotten from 9 year olds. Really. Their freedom to ask anything and unbridled inquiry was incredible! They wrote me thank you cards, but I am grateful to them. It was a truly rewarding experience.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Rare Snow in Georgia

I was supposed to give a presentation at a local elementary school today on energy from waste, specifically talking about my microbial fuel cell project, but the schools were let out two hours early for a snow storm! Snow in the south does not happen very often, so it is a big deal. I am happy to say my talk was rescheduled for later this month and I am looking forward to it! Here are some photos of the snow thanks to the Athens-Banner Herald >>

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Roll-off in Aruba

While I take photos on my own travels, I also ask my students who travel to take photos of waste receptacles (especailly if they will be missing class). Many of my students have traveled to interesting and unique locations - and brought me back a photo. I will post some here, with their permission. Ahhhhh, there is nothing like thinking about waste management on vacation! Thanks to this student who just got back from Aruba with a tan and a dumpster photo.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Slideshow of Waste Receptacles Throughout the World

I take photos of garbage cans everywhere I go; this is a sideshow of some of them. From the informal to the formal solid waste sector, I am fascinated at how waste is managed all over the world. The human dimension of waste management is critical, and yet, unpredictable.
Click to play this Smilebox slideshow: Web Slides
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Create your own picture slideshow

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Athens Greenlife Expo

My family and I went to the Athens Greenlife Expo today and I saw one of my students in the ENVE program. It was a great little expo with a large amount of information available to the public for free.
http://www.greenlifeathens.com/