We asked each of our scientists to give us their thoughts on their professions and what they think the future holds for humanity.

What would you recommend for students wanting to pursue a similar career?
Study Latin. You'll understand why later... Constantly set achievable goals for yourself and when you reach them, reward yourself. Study science and seek to learn about traditional ecological knowledge with equal weight. I would also recommend that students be prepared to "manage" a rapidly changing natural world.

What do you like best about your profession?
I love being out living and working in the natural world with the water, land and wildlife. I learn something new and exciting about the relationships between living things every day I'm out there.

What makes you most fearful for the future?
[I am fearful] that big oil may some day win their battle in the United States Congress and the Senate to develop the calving grounds of the Porcupine River caribou herd in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the state of Alaska. An ancient people and their culture would then suffer a slow and painful death. If there is no caribou there will be no Gwich'in — it's that simple.

What makes you most hopeful for the future?
[I am hopeful that] the world is beginning to heed nature's warnings of climate change and that when we find these warnings, wherever they may be, that they are no longer considered trivial. In my opinion it's a "no brainer" that we must now act on the consumption of fossil fuels and the production of greenhouse gases.