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Illustration showing a fossil trackway slab with color-coded footprints in the foreground and a reconstructed early reptile walking beside it in a natural Australian landscape. Front foot (manus) prints are highlighted in yellow, hind foot (pes) prints in blue. The background features a lake and eucalyptus trees. Fossil photo credit: Grzegorz Niedźwiedzki. Reptile reconstruction by Marcin Ambrozik.
Biodiversity Conservation | Evolution | Paleontology

They Walked the Earth 35 Million Years Earlier Than We Thought

A fossil of a prehistoric marine reptile embedded in rock, with two cartoon dice overlaid near its skull—suggesting chance or randomness in fossil discovery
Biodiversity Conservation | Evolution | Paleontology

Why Some Creatures Fossilize While Others Vanish Without a Trace

A giant panda eating bamboo in a lush green setting, with an illustrated conservation symbol showing hands holding a tree and landscape overlaid on the right side
Biodiversity Conservation | Ecology

Why Aren’t You Trying To Save Pandas? Rethinking the Faces of Conservation

A close-up of a white alpine flower superimposed over a scenic view of the Rocky Mountains, with snow-dusted peaks, dense pine forests, and a turquoise glacial lake under a clear blue sky.
Biodiversity Conservation | Climate Change | Ecology

Can This Wildflower Keep Up With Climate Change?

This image illustrates the powerful ecological role of ants using a striking visual metaphor: a colony of leafcutter ants carrying vegetation beneath a toppling line of dominoes. The dominoes symbolize the cascading effects ants can trigger within ecosystems — from soil health to plant diversity. It hints at how small creatures can have disproportionately large impacts, much like a single domino can start a chain reaction.
Biodiversity Conservation | Ecology

What Ants Can Teach Us About Ecosystem Collapse

Why Planting Baby Corals Isn’t Enough to Save Reefs
Biodiversity Conservation | Ecology

Why Planting Baby Corals Isn’t Enough to Save Reefs

This image shows a vintage-style illustration of a fish, likely a cod or similar bottom-dwelling species, swimming over a sandy seafloor. The background suggests a shallow marine environment. The composition likely represents the ecological concept of bioturbation—the process by which organisms like fish or invertebrates stir up and rework sediments, influencing nutrient cycling and ocean health
Biodiversity Conservation | Science Outreach

Cod, Eels, and the Quiet Power Beneath Our Feet

This visually striking image shows a waxwing bird perched on a snowy branch, tossing a berry into its beak. Overlaid on the right is a stylized globe, likely symbolizing global migratory patterns or species range shifts. The composition suggests a connection between bird behavior and broader environmental themes like climate change, habitat shifts, or biodiversity on a global scale.
Biodiversity Conservation | Climate Change | Science Outreach

When Smart Birds Struggle: What Arctic Birds Taught Me About Climate Risk

This image shows a bee approaching a white flower, with a superimposed warning sign featuring a skull and crossbones. The visual suggests the danger of toxic chemicals or pesticides present in flowering plants—an issue that poses serious threats to pollinators like bees. It’s a powerful representation of the hidden dangers bees face in agricultural and urban landscapes.
Biodiversity Conservation | Pollution | Science Outreach

When Good Intentions Go Toxic: What Urban Wildflowers Are Hiding from Bees

This creative image overlays complex molecular structures onto a lush tropical rainforest, symbolizing the biochemical richness of jungle ecosystems. The chemical diagrams highlight the potential of rainforest plants in drug discovery, natural product chemistry, and ecological research. It’s a striking visual metaphor for the hidden scientific treasures encoded in biodiversity.
Biodiversity Conservation | Climate Change | Evolution | Science Outreach

How Tropical Trees Became Chemists in a Battle for Survival

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Illustration showing a fossil trackway slab with color-coded footprints in the foreground and a reconstructed early reptile walking beside it in a natural Australian landscape. Front foot (manus) prints are highlighted in yellow, hind foot (pes) prints in blue. The background features a lake and eucalyptus trees. Fossil photo credit: Grzegorz Niedźwiedzki. Reptile reconstruction by Marcin Ambrozik.
Biodiversity Conservation · Evolution · Paleontology
They Walked the Earth 35 Million Years Earlier Than We Thought
Satellite image of a large hurricane swirling over the ocean, with a cartoon illustration of hands checking a wristwatch in the lower left corner—symbolizing urgency in addressing climate change
Climate Change · Paleontology
Earth Took 269,000 Years to Recover From This Climate Event
A fossil of a prehistoric marine reptile embedded in rock, with two cartoon dice overlaid near its skull—suggesting chance or randomness in fossil discovery
Biodiversity Conservation · Evolution · Paleontology
Why Some Creatures Fossilize While Others Vanish Without a Trace
A giant panda eating bamboo in a lush green setting, with an illustrated conservation symbol showing hands holding a tree and landscape overlaid on the right side
Biodiversity Conservation · Ecology
Why Aren’t You Trying To Save Pandas? Rethinking the Faces of Conservation

climate_ages

Where Paleontology, Conservation, and Climate Meet
Founder of Climate Ages
& the Medium Publications Fossils et al. and STEM Parenting

Omg! Thanks!! My newsletter is #30 Rising in Cli Omg! Thanks!! 

My newsletter is #30 Rising in Climate and Environment on Substack!! 🤯
Did leaving academia mean that I gave up my life p Did leaving academia mean that I gave up my life purpose?
Here are 5 things that helped me find a better answer.

1. I stopped seeing “quitting” as failure.
Leaving academia wasn’t giving up.
It was choosing a path that was better for me at that point

2. I let go of the identity trap.
I wasn’t just a scientist.
I was also a storyteller.
A systems thinker.
A human with something to say.

3. I followed the spark.
Writing publicly lit it.
Talking to people outside my field fed it.
Eventually, it grew into Climate Ages.

4. I found meaning in becoming a bridge between science and society.
I started sharing what no one told me:
The behind-the-scenes of the scientific world.
Sharing the human stories behind pipettes and field boots.

5. I realized purpose isn’t a title.
It’s not a job, a grant, or a degree.
Purpose is the connection between your story and someone else’s change or “aha moment.”

I thought I had to stay on the academic path to make an impact.
Turns out, I just had to step off it to build my own path.

Have you left academia or thought about it?
What helped you make peace with it (or what’s holding you back)?
I should probably whisper this in a Science confer I should probably whisper this in a Science conference's hallway…
Here are 5 reasons facts alone won’t change the world.

1. Stories move people.
Humans evolved to remember narratives, not numbers.
If your work lacks story, it often lacks staying power.

2. Facts inform—stories transform.
A graph can explain climate change.
But a story makes someone care about it.
Meaning beats data every time.

3. We act when we feel.
Emotion is the bridge between information and action.
And story is how we build that bridge.

4. Stories give science a pulse.
They carry purpose.
They connect past and future.
They turn “what happened” into “why it matters.”

5. You don’t need to be a writer to use story.
You just need to be a scientist who remembers you’re also human.

I used to think I had to convince people with citations.
Now I know:
Connection starts when someone sees themselves in the story.

What’s one moment that changed the way you share your science—or made you realize something was missing?

I’d love to hear your experience.
This might get me kicked out of the ‘serious sci This might get me kicked out of the ‘serious scientist’ club.
Here are 5 things no one tells you about writing science in the real world.

1. It’s not a quiet office with soft jazz.
It’s typing one sentence between school pickups.
And rewriting it three times while reheating coffee.

2. It’s not neat.
My notes are scribbled on the back of a grocery list.
My citations live in four folders I always have to search for because “I forgot the path”
I once outlined a piece with sidewalk chalk.

3. It’s not just about science.
It’s about the meaning behind the science.
The story that helps someone feel it.
The connection between the past and the future we’re shaping.

4. It doesn’t feel like “serious work.”
Because it’s not in a lab.
Or peer-reviewed.
Or tied to funding.
But it matters more than ever—because someone out there gets it.

5. It’s incredibly human.
You sit with a fossil, or a paper, or a headline.
And you ask:
“How can I help someone care about this?”

I used to think I needed permission to share my voice.
Now I know the purpose of science isn’t just to publish.
It’s to make change.
And change starts with connection.

What does your creative process actually look like?
Messy? Quiet? Mid-chaos?
Tell me what people don’t see when you’re making your science real.

👉 Send this to someone who needs to feel seen.
🌀 Want more stories like this? Join 11,000+ curious minds (link in bio)
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