_BLUEMiND is a project conceived of by ocean scientist Dr. Wallace ‘J.’ Nichols.  BLUEMiND is an attempt to formally partner with the neuroscience community in order to scientifically document the impact that the ocean has on the brain.  The thinking is that if we can begin to understand what happens to our brains at the neuro level in the presence of the ocean and why it has such a calming, stress reducing effect on humans, conservationists can begin to position the ocean as a public health necessity.  If this link can be made, it will have profound implications on policy, ocean activism and conservation and our overall ability to make the case for protecting the ocean.

Krista Comer is an Associate Professor of English at Rice University. She is the author of Landscapes of the New West: Gender and Geography in Contemporary Women’s Writing. In her most recent book, Surfer Girls in the New World Order, Krista explores surfing as a local and global subculture, looking at how the culture of surfing has affected and been affected by girls, from baby boomers to members of Generation Y.   She develops the concept of “girl localism” to argue that the experience of fighting for waves and respect in male-majority surf breaks, along with advocating for the health and sustainable development of coastal towns and waterways, has politicized surfer girls around the world._