Joye: Standing Firm

UGA marine scientist continues to influence policy as a scientist, teaching and inspiring as she brings relentless energy to complex problems in our marine ecosystems:

Today, on World Oceans Day, Joye has invited the press to tour the research vessels, Endeavor and Point Sur, that she and other scientists and students use to reveal what's happening under the deep blue waters. Journalists and photographers, as well as two documentary film crews, will follow her all day, but Joye has insisted on also inviting local youth to tour the boats and meet the ECOGIG team. "The kids are our only hope," says the UGA Athletic Association Professor of Arts and Sciences and professor of marine sciences. "Adults are set in their ways. We love our SUVs and air conditioning too much. Too many people are disconnected from the natural world."

That doesn't mean Joye hasn't tried talking to the group normally described as "grown-ups." In the aftermath of the Deepwater explosion, she was interviewed, quoted or featured in more than 4,000 news stories. Later she would testify before Congress and help author a report on the damage.

Joye was one of the first scientists to investigate the disaster. She did her research firsthand, taking samples with her group on the research vessel Walton Smith, breathing acrid, burning air as they scooped up dead jellyfish and birds along with oil-tinged water. Their findings would contradict what the public had heard from BP CEO Tony Hayward ("The oil is on the surface. There aren't any plumes") and the U.S. government's National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) chief, Jane Lubchenco, who initially insisted Joye's team's research findings were inconclusive. Lubchenco would change her statements in a press conference just prior to Joye's appearance before Congress: Thick oil and gas plumes did indeed exist, 1,000 meters below the surface. Joye questioned the effectiveness of dispersants in removing the oil, rather than simply rendering it invisible. She described some parts of the seafloor to The New York Times as "a graveyard."

Her reports drew the fire of an angry horde of skeptics who claimed she had sought the spotlight and exaggerated her findings to burnish her own career and fame. Through it all, Joye remained steadfast, reporting what she knew to an incredulous nation. The issues involved revealed how little scientists know about the ocean-"much less than the moon or Mars, and it's here on Earth," says Joye-and how the Gulf ecosystems would respond to the spill. She was criticized not only by industry and government, but also those who pressured her to cross the line from advocacy to activism. The difference between the two is "not even a fine line," says Joye. "It's a four-lane highway. I believe I'm a responsible advocate. The best way to influence policy is to publish papers that document important things that then drive science and policy changes. I feel I can do much more as a scientist than as an activist."

Terrific feature in the new Georgia Magazine on one of our best, so make sure you read the whole thing. Not only do we proudly support Joye's efforts in the classroom as well as on research voyages and in press conferences, we read her quiet signals on the role of public scholarship loud and clear. Careful not to fall into advocacy despite the evidence and her passionate intensity, Joye's work strengthens scientific inquriy as it informs public policy, something from which we all benefit.