You can now watch videos from the UCI’s 15^th Annual Future of the Ocean Symposium and Champion of the Ocean Awards Luncheon online on our event homepage. With a theme of “An Ocean for All: Ecosystems, Economies & People,” the Oct. 22 symposium gathered nationally recognized experts to share insights on the future use and conservation of our oceans, including how science and technology can inform our choices.

At the luncheon, the UCI presented its highest honor, the National Champion of the Ocean Award, to Rear Admiral Timothy Gallaudet, deputy administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; the Regional Champion of the Ocean Award to Bradley Campbell, Conservation Law Foundation president; and the Coastal and Ocean Leadership Award to Scott Glenn, distinguished professor in the Rutgers University Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences and co-director of the Center for Ocean Observing Leadership.

Related Links/Resources

• Photo album
• Symposium Brochure (PDF, 600KB)
• Associated Press coverage of the symposium

Rechnitz Family/UCI Endowed Chair in Marine and Environmental Law and Policy Randall Abate was a featured guest on the Sept. 13 edition of the Green Inside and Out radio show on WUSB in Stony Brook, NY.  Abate was interviewed for 30 minutes on topics including his upcoming book, Climate Change and the Voiceless. Visit https://greeninsideandout.org/episodes/ to hear the interview.

Rechnitz Family/UCI Endowed Chair in Marine and Environmental Law and Policy Randall Abate delivered two talks on his forthcoming book, Climate Change and the Voiceless: Protecting Future Generations, Wildlife, and Natural Resources, on Oct. 8.

The first lecture for approximately 60 law students at the University of Florida College of Law in Gainesville was co-sponsored by the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Environmental and Land Use Law Society. Later that day, Abate traveled to Orlando to deliver another book talk at the new downtown campus of the University of Central Florida (UCF). Approximately 30 law professors, law students, political science and legal studies professors, attorneys, and undergraduate students attended the event. The event was hosted by UCF’s Center for Law and Policy.

The Monmouth University Polling Institute and Urban Coast Institute (UCI) hosted “Marine Plastics: Law, Science and Action” at the Woods Theatre on Oct. 2. The event assembled experts from the legal, scientific, and grassroots activism communities to discuss plastics and microplastics in the marine environment, with a focus on challenges and potential solutions for New Jersey. The panel discussion featured Prof. Susan Faraday, of the University of New England; Prof. Keith Cooper, Rutgers University; Clean Ocean Action Executive Director Cindy Zipf; and Polling Institute Director Patrick Murray, who served as moderator. UCI Director Tony MacDonald delivered introductory remarks.

The Urban Coast Institute (UCI) will host its 15th annual Future of the Ocean Symposium and Champion of the Ocean Awards Luncheon on Oct. 22 at the historic Great Hall at Shadow Lawn. With a theme of “An Ocean for All: Ecosystems, Economies & People,” the symposium, which is free and open to the public, will gather nationally recognized experts to share insights on the future use and conservation of our oceans, including how science and technology can inform our choices.

Monmouth University President Emeritus and UCI Ocean Policy Fellow Paul G. Gaffney II will moderate the panel discussion, which will present perspectives from the government, ports/maritime, offshore wind, ocean sciences and marine conservation communities. Rear Admiral Timothy Gallaudet, deputy administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will deliver plenary remarks.

The panel will include Bradley Campbell, president of the Conservation Law Foundation and former New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection commissioner; David Hang, president of Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind; Bethann Rooney, deputy director of the Port Department at the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, and Scott Glenn, distinguished professor in the Rutgers University Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences and co-director of the Center for Ocean Observing Leadership.

“The U.S. and New Jersey’s ocean economy, ranging from commercial fishing to recreational boating to travel and tourism, depends on clean water and healthy ecosystems. Many now find themselves competing for space with new and expanding industries such as offshore wind and shipping,” UCI Director Tony MacDonald said. “At the same time, ecosystem changes, including ocean warming and shifting marine life habitats, are forcing those who make a living at sea to change the way they’ve done their work for generations. Through collaborative research and data sharing, we can reduce conflicts and ensure those whose livelihoods depend on a healthy ocean thrive in the future.”

The symposium will run from 10-11:45 a.m.

Following the symposium, the UCI will host its Champion of the Ocean Awards Luncheon from noon to 2 p.m. At the luncheon, the UCI will present its National Champion of the Ocean Award to Gallaudet, the Regional Champion of the Ocean Award to Campbell, and the State, Coastal and Ocean Leadership Award to Glenn.

“We congratulate our latest class of Champions of the Ocean – a prestigious group that counts Sylvia Earle, Robert Ballard, Jean-Michael Cousteau and Leon Panetta among its members,” Monmouth University President Patrick Leahy said. “It is always a great opportunity to bring these leaders to campus, where they can engage our students and the community in a dialogue on the most pressing public policy and environmental issues of our time.”

Tickets are required for the luncheon, with proceeds supporting Monmouth University student research activities through the UCI Scholars Program.

For more event details, or to purchase luncheon tickets or sponsorships online, visit monmouth.edu/uci. Additional questions may be directed to uci@monmouth.edu or (732) 263-5662.

Randall S. Abate, professor in the Department of Political Science and Sociology and Rechnitz Family/Urban Coast Institute Endowed Chair in Marine and Environmental Law and Policy, delivered the first of this year’s endowed chairs lecture series entitled, “Climate Change and the Voiceless: Protecting Future Generations, Wildlife, and Natural Resources.”

The lecture, sponsored by the Monmouth University Council of Endowed Chairs, gets its name directly from Abate’s new book set to be published next month by Cambridge University Press, and explores how the law, through the context of climate change, can evolve to protect the interests of three seemingly unrelated groups, which Abate refers to collectively as “the voiceless.”

Read the full article at Monmouth Now.

By Mary Lou Pardey, UCI Communications Assistant

The Monmouth University School of Science and Rumson kicked off the Two River Seminar Series with “Our Watershed as a Living Laboratory” on Sept. 26. Community members joined School of Science and Urban Coast Institute faculty and students for an interactive evening discussion of historic and emerging research questions centered on the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers.

Dr. Jason Adolf, endowed professor of marine science, stressed that “hands-on science is absolutely crucial for emerging scientists,” such as the students from the university and local schools who are now researching the rivers. Throughout the evening, the panelists detailed some of Monmouth’s student and faculty efforts to study the intricacies of the area’s waterways.

Adolf and fellow speakers John Tiedemann, assistant dean of the School of Science, and Thomas Herrington, UCI associate director, noted that the university is a frequent research collaborator with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the federal government, NGOs and other organizations with an interest in the watershed’s health. During the question and answer session, residents shed light on potential new research topics for the upcoming summer. See additional photos from the evening.

The Two River Seminar Series resumes on Oct. 24 with “Rivers Alive: Wildlife Habitats of the Two River System,” featuring three speakers from the School of Science’s Marine and Environmental Biology and Policy Program. Scheduled speakers and topics include: Dr. Pedram Daneshgar, on wetlands and shallow water habitats; Dr. Keith Dunton, on fishery resources; and Dr. Sean Sterrett, on reptiles and amphibians.

The event will be held at Bingham Hall, located at 40 Bingham Ave. in Rumson. There is no cost to attend.

The Two River Seminar Series is part of a broader educational collaboration between Rumson and Monmouth. Plans are underway to develop a Monmouth Marine and Environmental Field Station on municipal property located behind Borough Hall on the Navesink River. With an array of classrooms, laboratories and meeting spaces, the field station will provide a waterfront location for educational programs and facilitate research opportunities for Monmouth University students, alongside K-12 students from the Rumson School District and surrounding communities.

For more information, contact Karl Vilacoba at kvilacob@monmouth.edu or (732) 571-3688.

Most New Jerseyans initially support a single-use plastic bag ban, but many back away from that support when considering the impact on consumer shopping habits, according to a Monmouth University Poll conducted in partnership with the Urban Coast Institute (UCI). The vast majority of Garden State residents say that ocean pollution caused by plastics is a serious problem, but few have heard much about the issue of microplastics in the environment.

Nearly 2-in-3 New Jerseyans (65%) claim to support a ban on single use plastic bags, while 29% are opposed. Just over half (52%) also say they support a ban on plastic straws, with 44% of state residents opposing this. However, support for a plastic bag ban appears to be less absolute when residents are presented with specific ways this could be handled. When given a number of options, just 31% want a complete ban on single use plastic bags, while 27% say that customers should pay a small fee if they want a plastic bag when shopping. Another 39% of state residents feel that stores should continue to have the option to give away plastic bags for free. Read the full results of the poll.

The poll will be the subject of further discussion at Marine Plastics: Law, Science and Action, co-hosted by the Polling Institute and UCI at the university’s Lauren K. Woods Theatre on Oct. 2. The event is free and open to the public.

Rechnitz Family UCI Endowed Chair in Marine and Environmental Law and Policy Randall S. Abate drafted an article in the summer 2019 issue of the George Washington Journal of Energy and Environmental Law, which was published in September. The article, “Atmospheric Trust Litigation: Foundation for a Constitutional Right to a Stable Climate System?,” analyzes the viability of the Juliana v. United States case, the world-famous climate justice case pending in federal court that involves several youth plaintiffs from around the nation seeking to compel the federal government to regulate climate change.

The summer 2019 issue of the journal also features articles from nationally recognized environmental law professors from Lewis and Clark Law School and Florida State College of Law, two of the nation’s top environmental law programs.