Laura Byrne is a marine biologist who lives and works near Miami, Florida.  She recently talked to us about school, saving the world's oceans, and the joy of dolphins.

Why did you become a marine biologist?
Actually, I was all set to become a math teacher when I went into college. You could say I got side-tracked. I started taking more and more science courses that had nothing to do with my major, until someone asked me "What are you doing?" And I said, "Well, I can tell you what I'm not doing. I'm not becoming a math teacher." And it turned out that I was becoming a marine biologist. Because it was what really became my passion.

What's the best part of your job?
Well, there's this wonderful idea that all marine biologists do is play around with dolphins. Which is untrue. But in the past I did get to do some work studying dolphin behavior and that was fun. And I get to muck around the beach quite a lot. A lot of the work I'm doing now deals with how different types of pollution affect marine life. And some of that work is hard, in a way, because you're studying some pretty sad and scary stuff about the environment and how we're hurting our earth. But, on the other hand, I get to try to draw attention to the problems, so that hopefully they can be fixed.

Do you think that they can be fixed?
Some of them can't really be "fixed." Some of the things we have done are irreversible, at least with our current technology and level of understanding. We change the world in incredible ways.  But we can certainly prevent further damage. And work on ways to improve the current situation.

What can an EcoKid can do to help marine life?
There are some wonderful animal adoption programs out there, which are excellent because they not only let kids help out, and are designed for kids, but they also educate. And there are many, many [enviromentalist] groups out there that encourage kids to participate actively. And, really, if you want to know the number one thing a kid can do everyday to help out marine life, actually it's two: recycle, and don't litter. Sea life, all life really, has big problems with litter. Some animals will swallow almost anything, or play with it and end up swallowing it. And recycling prevents the growth of land-fills. A lot open land-fills [where the garbage is not covered over by dirt] are near enough to the ocean that trash is blown or carried by birds out to sea.

What would you say to a young person who has an interest in marine biology?
First, I'd say don't go into it for the money. No, really, I'd tell that person to do everything they can to learn about anything that interests them, marine biology included. But at the same time, you can't the things that you think now are "boring." Because then you'll say to yourself, "I'm absolutely sure that I'm going to become a marine biologist, or a hot dog vendor, or a nuclear physicist, or whatever. Therefore, I do not have to pay attention in English anymore." And you will be completely wrong, of course. Because you will grow up to be a brilliant marine biologist who can't earn a penny because you never learned how to write a convincing grant proposal. Or you will be in your senior year of college and you'll wake up one morning and realize that you really want to be a writer. So that's my wisdom: learn everything you can. Even if you don't want to and even if you think it's not important.

Want to know more?  Laura would be glad to answer questions from any EcoKids interested in marine biology.  You can reach her via e-mail at byrne_l@hotmail.com.