CARE OUT LOUD
Interview with Emily Part 1
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Mary Coughlin: [00:00:00] So I am just so wicked excited to interview my next guest, Emily Solomon. I met Emily, gee whiz several years ago. I want to say it was pre pandemic,
Emilie Solomon: wasn't it, Emily? I think it, I think it was. Yeah, it was around that time. Yeah. And
Mary Coughlin: Emily's mom is also a NICU nurse and a good friend. And she was sharing about her daughter, Emily and the work that she's doing as a marine biologist and an educator.
And and how some of the some of your interests were around this idea of planetary health. And so I started getting a. You know, be in my bonnet about the relevance of maybe a trauma informed parent, a paradigm from a planetary perspective and figured Emily would be the best person on the planet to talk to about this because I don't know anybody in that world.
And we just had the best conversations. We did a wicked cool summit and had a big turnout. Lots of people were really, really interested in the concept. And of course, [00:01:00] You know, things are only escalating, at least with my, you know, limited understanding about global warming and global planetary health. And so it really just felt like the right time to, you know, reconnect Emily and pick your brain.
I know you've been doing a lot of work in this field on your own now since we've last connected. Yeah, so I'm just wicked excited. But before we dive into the meat and potatoes of this topic just for everybody listening, I wanted to kind of get a sense from you, if you wouldn't mind just sharing what brought you into marine biology?
You know, just kind of as a young woman, you know, looking to find your path in life, what drew you to marine biology? Oh,
Emilie Solomon: thank you, Mary. I appreciate your introduction. That's kind of a loaded question because it's not something that just sparked itself a couple years ago. I've actually been really fortunate to have always known kind of that I That I wanted to get into this field.
I mean, [00:02:00] I remember just from high school years, even having the path to pursue marine biology, the college that I chose, I chose it because they had a marine biology program. So it's been Pretty much my whole upbringing. I've lived in Florida my whole life, lived on the coastlines been at the beach all the time.
So I, I don't know exactly why I chose marine biology versus a more broader. scale of say environmental science, but I think there's just something about the other worldliness of the ocean that really drew me in. I mean, as a kid, I was always so enraptured by any kind of story or movie that had other worlds like J.
R. R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings. I love Lord of the Rings. It's just anything that kind of takes you to this other world. And the fact that. We live in a world where we don't even understand [00:03:00] or have explored the majority of it. The ocean, we, there's so much that we do not even know about it. We know more about the moon than we do about the ocean, which is pretty crazy.
That is so crazy. Yeah. So I think it's just that that mystery is what really drew me in and, and knowing that there's so much to. Save and so much yet to be discovered that I just I wanted to learn more about it,
Mary Coughlin: and I love that you chose the word otherworldly because then you know my mind started going to this place like here.
We are living on this planet and we have this other world. That is so under explored or under understood. From your journeys now in your studies and and discoveries in the work that you're doing. How does this other world of the ocean and marine biology in general You know, how does it impact planetary health or how is it being influenced by our current [00:04:00] state of planetary
Emilie Solomon: health?
Yeah. So, I mean, just by understanding the whole paradigm of what planetary health is, it's You know, the health of the planet also influencing our health and what we do to the planet. We ultimately do to ourselves that interconnectedness you know, the ocean is a really, really big part of that. And as many of the listeners may know already.
You know, climate change is having a really big impact on our ocean via ocean acidification and increasing the temperature of the ocean and also a global sea level rise. So, I mean, that is kind of just an overarching nutshell of, of the big issues that we're facing. But there are, of course, other cascading effects that go along with that.
But planetary health for the ocean is, is looking at that big, big picture of what are [00:05:00] we doing in our own societies? What are we doing to ourselves? And what are we doing to the ocean? And, and how is that relationship intertwined.
Mary Coughlin: I love the word relationship. It actually popped into my head just as you were making that really nice description.
It's really inviting us as a species to shift our existing paradigm to a more relational Exchange or relationship with with the world around us, with the ocean world for sure, because I think just historically we've been a very antagonistic species to the world around us and certainly to the ocean.
It almost feels like, you know, out of sight, out of mind. You know, when you think about all of the pollution and the waste and all the dumping into the oceans and other bodies of water can you share a little bit of maybe background on that or Is that okay? Just that historic perspective in the, in the historic injury that the [00:06:00] planet has had to endure as a consequence of us kind of.
You know, running around like a bunch of crazy people.
Emilie Solomon: So like the trauma that the ocean has endured essentially. Yeah, I got you. Yeah, so I mean, if you want to go back to where things really started to take a turn when we came around humans, we can kind of look at the industrial revolution. That's really what sparked all of this because all of the Innovations that humankind had created from the locomotive train to really huge factories that really spiked the emissions the carbon emissions.
And from there, it kind of just took off. So from the industrial revolution, we have seen over the course of time, a drastic spike in carbon emissions. And although the earth exhibits. cycles, just like many other biological things do here. There has, yes, been periods [00:07:00] of warming and cooling that naturally occur on our planet.
However, it's really the rate of that change that is driving this whole conversation of climate change. So it's not just that carbon is being released. There are Tons and tons of carbon being released all the time, even before humans were around, it's the amount that's being released and it's how fast and how quickly it's being released.
That is the problem. And it's the, the shakeup. And the imbalance of that whole system that we are causing that is really the problem. So while we are emitting and releasing all of this carbon dioxide, there's only so many natural systems that are able to draw that back down. And we have not learned how to properly balance that yet.
We know how to do it. But of course, there's [00:08:00] many economic and political barriers. To that in human, you know, natural human to that. So that's, that's kind of where we're at right now.
Mary Coughlin: Well, you know what, what I thought was so fascinating kind of in the wake of the, of the pandemic and I mean, I didn't verify any of this stuff.
I was just like listening to it on the radio or reading on it, on my social media about how The atmosphere and carbon. I think this is correct, but carbon level seemed to be falling or there. There seems to be some effort at like a an innate healing process that the earth that the planet itself was almost recovering from the decades and the centuries of insult and injury that humans had been.
Imposing on the planet is it was there truth in that? Or was that just a lot of social media who have
Emilie Solomon: no, no, there was absolutely some truth to that. And [00:09:00] while the COVID 19 pandemic has been, you know, one of the biggest disasters, I'd say that we humankind have seen, you know, for a long time, you know, causing millions on the
the havoc that it's wreaked on our society economically, you know, physically, mentally, especially they're, they're at, there is actually a lot of good that has come. You know, the whole remote work, that's a completely different. But you know, there's, there's that, but also from a biological standpoint, yeah.
During, during the whole quarantine in, in the midst of the pandemic, when everyone was actually inside, not going anywhere, not shopping, you know, physically for the most part a lot of production stopped a lot of transportation. Stopped and therefore there was a lot [00:10:00] of carbon emissions that were saved.
There's a really, really great documentary on Netflix with Sir David Attenborough. I don't know the title of it off the top of my head, but it, but they, they did a whole documentary about the impact, the positive impact that COVID had on. wildlife in many places. And as there were, because there were less human traffic in some areas, for instance, there were wildlife coming into these urban spaces that had never been seen before because there was less.
Cargo ships going, you know, across the Atlantic ocean for the first time, whale researchers were able to capture all of these sounds from these migratory whales that we had never been able to before because of the sound pollution. So there's a lot of really great [00:11:00] things that came from it and it gave us a chance to see what our world could be like.
If we were to reduce our emissions, but, of course, that was short lived.
Mary Coughlin: Well, well, but you know, I mean, I, I, I think when you were saying that about, you know, obviously, you know, significant tragedy as a consequence of the pandemic, but there were a lot of insights you know, definitely insights and healthcare, you know, I mean, people certainly talking about a lot of the burnout that clinicians experience.
It's not so much that COVID caused that, right? It just exposed, you know, the, the crazy work environment of healthcare professionals. So I think, you know, taking those discoveries, I mean, from an environmentalist perspective, that's fascinating that the absence of that sound pollution really you know, increased a better understanding of just the natural order of life, you know.
Undersea and probably in many other [00:12:00] environments as well. Do you feel like that? There's a good body now of some information that can and passion that can help us take this understanding this new discovery and really shifted into some serious activism and advocacy. I mean, I know that there's been a lot of, you know, advocacy and activism for this, but do we have some more fuel to the fire?
Do you think?
Emilie Solomon: I do think so. I mean, just as time progresses naturally, we are learning a lot more about our natural systems. We're learning a lot more about us as a species, as well as our history. And I think now more than ever, we have all the tools and resources necessary to make those actions and those solutions a reality.
It's, it's more so just. The, the human barriers that that tend to get in the way of that, you know, more so the, [00:13:00] the economic, the political barriers you know, just the barriers in themselves to planetary health things such as you know, authoritarianism, social dominance, orientation, narcissism, humorism, you know, those things they deserve their own.
Individual time to discuss, but you know, those are the overarching things that we still have not learned how to overcome as a whole yet, but we do possess the solutions. Absolutely
Mary Coughlin: Well, I mean that certainly is good to know that we possess the solutions and I like how you kind of articulated the scope of the the challenges and and the issues even I mean from even from a human perspective You know, the magnitude of systemic oppression and systemic trauma that is just interwoven into every facet of our society.
You know, you think about sexism, racism you know, xenophobia, [00:14:00] ageism, ableism, you know, the whole kit and caboodle. I mean, within our own species, we struggle, you know, with that. But I think that You know, kind of you had spoken earlier about creating or reconnecting with our relationship with with Earth, right?
With, you know, more of a that we're not dominating Earth, that we really are in partnership and, and like, a symbiotic relationship with our planet, right? And with nature. I mean, if the ship goes down, you know, We're going down with the ship, you know, and it just kind of makes sense that you know, we need to take action for this, but is it fair to ask you what are some of those solutions that, you know, we can, we can advocate for you know, I think there's folks from lots of different walks of life you know, listening in, and I think, you know, everybody could do their small pot maybe to just kind of get more, [00:15:00] you know, Feet activated, if you will.
Emilie Solomon: Yeah. And I love this question because I, I try to have a different answer because it is such a commonly asked question. There are people that want to know, what can I do? And so often I hear just your very. Blanketed response of recycle and ride your bike and, you know, use less this or less that. Yeah, we are at the point where we should already be doing those things.
And we need to kind of step it up a little bit. And yeah, but by stepping it up, it doesn't mean we have to try harder. We just have to work smarter. Right. And so, yeah. In that regard and this is one of the things that I touch on in my class that I teach in my high school class with my, with my students is [00:16:00] really delving into understanding high level wellness.
Because if you can understand and strive for high level wellness within yourself, that will expand to everyone and everything around you. And so, without, I guess, going too far in the weeds here, high level wellness is basically a, it's a stridence towards a higher set. of a higher state of being what mentally, physically and spiritually.
It is not something you will ever be able to achieve because you can't be perfect, right? But you can always strive to be better mentally, physically, and spiritually. And. That sounds so simple, but you know, there's there's a whole field of study about this. And if you really look into what that [00:17:00] means and how you can achieve and the lifestyle, you can live to achieve this.
I think the world would be such a better place. And one of the biggest parts of that is having and, and showing empathy, not just to yourself, but to other people and to everything, you know, in our world. Yeah.
Mary Coughlin: Oh, my goodness. So so yeah, I am so on board with you, my friend. I think any kind of real sustainable change begins with yourself that it isn't so it's not a checklist and I'm we're so hung up with on that.
I mean, from a healthcare perspective that that makes me cuckoo house you know when I think about as a nurse, you know. quantifying or qualifying the service I bring by how many check boxes I make just completely undermines the magnitude and the scope of what it is that I as a human being and as a unique human [00:18:00] being too, right?
I mean, with my own lived experiences can bring to the healing or the journey of healing for another person, but unless I am dialed into that, unless I understand my own story. And my own, you know, frailties my own challenges and difficulties without knowing that I really can't be fully present and aware to the suffering of another, whether that's another human, or whether that's.
Another living organism, you know, living animal living, you know, anything on the planet. So I love that you started with that and I love that you also brought up empathy because I, I mean, I always think of empathy, you know, within the context of human beings and even animals and that sort of thing.
But thinking about being empathic to the planet, you know yeah, I mean, that's just really, really powerful. And it yeah. You're giving us language that we understand [00:19:00] that we can then. broaden our understanding of how to operationalize, you know, these concepts of being compassionate, being empathic, you know, to the flora and the fauna and the planet at large.
I mean, that, that is really powerful and And inspiring because I think I'm sorry I'm talking so much, but you just really hit a nerve. It's just that idea. I mean, yes, recycling. Yes, you know, use less of this, you know, be conscious of that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you do hope that most folks are doing this because gee willikers they've been talking about this since the cows came home, you know, so I hope people are paying attention.
But there is so much more and to be able to articulate it in such a personal way. Then, you know, it, it fosters that connectedness of, you know, of my well being can be transmitted and expressed towards, you know, other [00:20:00] living beings, other living organisms and other living entities, right? I mean, as the, as the planet at large, Ooh, and you're teaching this to high school kids.
Emilie Solomon: Yeah. And so it's really all encompassing, right? Because if you practice that empathy for yourself and for others and for everything around you, that will include every type of environmental action that I could spend an hour listing off one by one, or I can just be like, why don't we practice more empathy?
And then so. That will naturally allow you to be more conscious of what you're throwing away will allow you to be more conscious of, you know, the materials that you buy and you're thinking about who is making that is that. You know, is, is this a product of cheap labor? Labor is you know, when, when I'm done with this product, is it just going to sit in [00:21:00] a landfill or, you know, in clean water, you know, where is that coming from or how is that impacted by other people?
So just that empathy can really, really go a long, long way beyond just those individual actions. Practicing that and really getting a better understanding of what that is, is truly, I think what's going to be most beneficial for us as a society.
