Introduction

A bit about myself; I am a scientist, an ecologist and an ecotoxicologist. I've worked as a consultant for 10 years, assessing the impact of oil spills, chemical spills, old oil refineries, coal seam gas wells and proposed mines on the environment. I became a scientist because I have always loved the environment; an initial interest became a passion that was, in no small part, fueled by my family. I blame my grandmother and aunt in particular - they are both botanists and they encouraged my curiosity from the time that I could walk.

What do I hope to achieve with this blog? I'd like to disseminate some of the things I've learned on-the-job about the toxicity of some of the compounds that we all use on a daily basis. I'd also like to share some of the things I've learned while reducing my own personal exposure to these compounds. Finally, I'd like to be quite scientific about things, using references from peer-reviewed journals. I may also occasionally ramble on about random things that interest me.