Dr. Yelda Balkir was gracious enough to let us take a picture with her. In order from left to right: Kai Tsurumaki, Daniela Pierro, Dr. Balkir, Kiyomi Johnson.

Interview: Dr. Yelda Balkir, Director of Environmental Science at Manhattan College, 10/29/14

We are a group of three eighth grade students at LREI: Daniela, Kiyomi, and Kai. We were scheduled to meet with Dr. Yelda Balkir, who is the Director of Environmental Science at Manhattan College. She is originally from Istanbul, Turkey, and is the founding member of the Department of Environmental Science at Manhattan College. As we entered the elevator of Hayden Hall in Manhattan College, I couldn’t help but feel both excited and anxious. I realized how different it is to email a person, look up their contact picture and their occupation, than to actually travel to their workplace and meet them face-to-face. As the elevator doors slid open, my group and I were greeted by a wide white hall with a smooth grey floor and pink doors. There were posters hanging on the walls, displaying in vibrant colors the importance of organic chemistry. Once we found Dr. Balkir’s office, we introduced ourselves. Dr. Balkir was very warm and welcoming. We followed her to a classroom down the hall, where we all sat down. She was gracious enough to allow us to record the interview that we conducted there.
We learned about the way that all ocean issues are connected through the delicate balance of the ocean’s ecosystem. If one element of the ecosystem is disturbed, everything else is thrown off balance. We learned about the connections between coral destruction and water pollution, and how these issues tie into a deficit of fish and marine life. One thing that I found fascinating is that people harm themselves, not only by polluting the ocean water that the planet and humankind needs to survive, but also by directly polluting their own drinking water. I hadn’t known that small amounts of the cosmetics, antibiotics, antidepressants, and other products that people use can eventually end up in the water that we consume. Dr. Balkir made the interesting point that this small amount of pollution every day accumulates over many years and can cause serious health issues.
We also learned a lot about the harm that we are inflicting upon fish, and causing their population to significantly decrease. We learned how Global Warming ties into fish conservation in that fish suffocate because of increased water temperatures. This is because the oxygen level decreases, causing it to be difficult for fish to breathe. When the water temperature rises, coral reefs bleach (lose their color and life) and can no longer act as a safe habitat for the many small fish that had called it home. Water pollution also destroys coral reefs. When the reefs are destroyed, then then fish have no place to live. Also, the big, deep sea fish are being overfished. We learned about overfishing and the “dead zones”, which are places in the ocean that have been completely wiped out because of mass fishing. Everything is connected in the food chain and in the ecosystem of the ocean. Especially the ocean topics of global warming, overfishing, coral bleaching, and water pollution are all tightly connected in that they are all dependant and have a lot of influence on each other. If one aspect of this chain that makes up the balance of the ocean’s ecosystem is awry, the entire ecosystem will be thrown off course and unbalanced. I was moved in hearing that because Life cannot exist without water, if there is a lack of useable water, not only the ocean’s balance but the balance of life worldwide will be out of sync and dysfunctional.
One aspect that really struck me was the way in which these issues pertaining to ocean conservation are also human rights issues. Many people earn their income solely from fishing, and so a deficiency of fish would mean no income for these fishing communities. This would impact their entire lifestyle. A lack of money means less resources and it would be more difficult to become well educated. We learned that the people who go to college and are more educated will know more about these issues, even though it is the less privileged people who are more intensely affected by the consequences of these issues without knowing it.
We also learned about the importance of education and awareness for ocean issues. I was really impacted by hearing Dr. Balkir demonstrate her firm belief that education in the science behind these issues is what our world needs to make better decisions. She stated,
“Become more educated. Learn about the topics. Not just from some website, but try to learn as much as possible, and be optimistic. When you start talking about environmental issues, people become so pessimistic. Every problem has a solution. If you just know the science, and if you know the real problem, then there are ways that we can solve it, but knowing it is the first step. If you don’t know what is going on in the world, the only thing you will have is the scare. It will be very easy to get scared. But if you know the reality, and especially the science behind it, you can actually make suggestions, even in your own life.”
I became convinced that if we know the science, we can know what we can do to make a difference. We all need to become scientists in a way. Science can solve the environmental issues. If you understand an issue on a scientific level, knowing the biology and chemistry behind it, you can find the right solutions to the problem. Education is key.
Dr. Balkir recommended to us that we should study the science behind our issues, and to educate the public so that they, too, can become more informed. She also recommended “Riverkeepers”, as well as the “Hudson River Conservation” if we were interested in freshwater rivers as well as the ocean.
Thank you, Dr. Balkir, for your gracious generosity with your time and knowledge. Thanks to you, we have had a truly valuable experience.
Daniela Pierro