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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 13h

How do urchin tube feet type a bad review? We’re not asking. News of experimental sunflower sea star outplanting has upset the all-you-can-eat kelp crowd. Hear Sunflower Star Laboratory’s side Oct. 22 at Ocean Hoptimism, Faction Brewing. Come for the science. Stay for the alleged buffet sabotage.

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 13h

Feeling numb from relentless headlines, environmental rollbacks, and science & expertise pushed aside? Ocean Hoptimism opens a door to community, hope, and renewed agency to act for the ocean. Help us open that door even wider. Donate to our Ocean Voices Fund. 💙 www.zeffy.com/en-US/donati...

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 06/10/2026

There are a lot of moving parts to sunflower sea star recovery—and we’re not just talking about all those Pycnopodia arms! Join the Sunflower Star Laboratory folks for Ocean Hoptimism Oct. 22, Faction Brewing, for an unforgettable night of science and hope. Find your place in the comeback story. ⭐🍺

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 05/10/2026

This spooky season, raise a glass to raising sea stars. 🍻 Join us for “Brewing Up Sea Stars” and a dose of hope for our kelp forests. Find your part to play as well. Thurs., Oct. 22 • 7–8 PM Faction Brewing, Alameda Free. Bring your curiosity—and a friend who needs a little ocean hoptimism.

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 05/10/2026

Cue the laboratory scene. 🧪 Through conservation aquaculture, collaborative breeding, and research, scientists are working to give sunflower stars a future. Come hear how Sunflower Star Laboratory fits into that growing recovery effort. Hope has arms. Lots of arms.

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 05/10/2026

Sunflower sea stars are the stuff of nightmares… if you’re an urchin. But their near-disappearance is scary for kelp forests, too. Ashley and Andrew will introduce their otherworldly biology, explain what went wrong, and explore what it takes to bring them back.

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 05/10/2026

While everyone preps for spooky season with costumes, we’re thinking about zombies. Urchin zombies. Meet Sunflower Star Laboratory’s co-founders Ashley Kidd & Andrew Kim at Ocean Hoptimism, Oct. 22. Kelp forests need a comeback story. Sunflower stars are key characters in that story.

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 04/10/2026

Twinkle, twinkle, little star... how we wonder who you are. ✨ Our October 22 Ocean Hoptimism guests? Still under wraps till tomorrow. But the soundtrack might know something. 🍺 🌊 www.oceanhoptimism.org

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 04/10/2026

This week: California turned its offshore-drilling firewall into law, reported major—but mostly land-based—30×30 progress, and a global assessment exposed accelerating ocean stress and weak MPA monitoring. Three consequential shifts—and ways to respond.

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 03/10/2026

Something is brewing for Oct. 22. ✨ Our next Ocean Hoptimism guests have a few things up their sleeves. Possibly more sleeves than you’d expect. For now, admire the Van Gogh paintings. The clues are hanging in plain sight.

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 03/10/2026

Hope grows when you know how to help. 💙 Your tax-deductible gift brings inspiring speakers to Ocean Hoptimism’s free events—helping people find their role in protecting our ocean. Turn voices into action. Donate to the Ocean Voices Fund: www.zeffy.com/en-US/donati...

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 02/10/2026

We’ve said it before. We’ll say it again: Ocean Hoptimism has the best venue in the Bay Area. 😍 Last night at Faction Brewing brought receipts. Ocean science, conservation, advocacy, culture experts, consider this your invitation to speak: we make your ocean work look SO good. www.oceanhoptimism.org

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 02/10/2026

Why does Ocean Hoptimism matter to Dr. Meghan Holst? Hear it from her. Dr. Holst helps us see a place for ourselves in protecting the ocean. Help more ocean experts make that connection: support our Ocean Voices Fund, covering speaker travel so more voices can join us. www.zeffy.com/en-US/donati...

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 02/10/2026

70+ curious people, a brewery, and so much shark love! 🦈💙 Thank you, Dr. Meghan Holst, for bringing Bay Area sharks & rays to Ocean Hoptimism—and opening doors through OSEA for us to help study & protect them. To everyone who showed up: there’s a place for you in this work, too. www.oseascience.com

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 02/10/2026

Here’s where hope gets hands-on: Dr. Holst’s Ocean Science Expedition Academy (OSEA) opens access to field research and training, with community participation at its core. Volunteer, sponsor or donate to help build the science our local sharks need. There’s room for you in this story.

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 02/10/2026

How do you recognize a returning shark? Try its spots. Researchers are developing AI-assisted tools to identify young sevengills by their patterns, while investigating nursery habitats, contaminant buildup and shark health. Knowing these animals better can help us protect them.

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 02/10/2026

The stakes come into focus with sevengill sharks: research documents long-term ties to the Bay, where their habitat overlaps with recreational fishing. Understanding how these sharks use our waters can help us protect the places and life stages they depend on.

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 02/10/2026

That’s the foundation Dr. Holst is helping build: which sharks and rays use the Bay, when they’re here, where young animals grow, and what healthy looks like. Blood samples, tracking and contaminant studies help turn scattered observations into a clearer picture.

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 02/10/2026

The Bay has a long history of shark catches and research, but the last comprehensive survey dates to 1984. Individual studies offer clues. What’s missing is the baseline understanding of today’s sharks and rays needed to recognize change and guide conservation.

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 02/10/2026

A vitamin boom became a shark bust. Meghan showed how California shark landings surged after 1937 as demand grew for vitamin A, abundant in shark livers. Long before we understood much about these animals, we were hauling them ashore for what was inside them.

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 02/10/2026

There are sharks in SF Bay. But who’s here, how many, and how are they doing? Last night, over 70 folks joined us at Ocean Hoptimism as Dr. Meghan Holst explored what we still don’t know about our finned neighbors, and why answering these basic questions is essential to protecting them.

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 02/10/2026

Us in 3 hours. Be there. www.oceanhoptimism.org/save-the-date

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 01/10/2026

What’s pairing with SF Bay shark science and Faction beer tonight? Curry & Combo’s tikka masala, crispy chicken, loaded fries, salad, or wings? Come hungry for Bay science and something delicious. 🦈🍻 Ocean Hoptimism • 7–8 PM Faction Brewing, Alameda • Free!

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 01/10/2026

You wanted sharks. We’re giving you sharks. TONIGHT. 🦈🍻 Meet SF Bay’s sharks, rays & skates w/ Dr. Meghan Holst—and discover how you can take part in their research and conservation. 📍 Ocean Hoptimism, Faction Brewing, Alameda 🗓 Tonight, 10/1, 7–8 PM 🎟 FREE Come curious. Leave a little sharkier.

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 01/10/2026

Deeply conflicted about an entire book/movie built around “sperm whale swallows diver.” Entirely unconflicted about needing to eat popcorn out of a sperm whale bucket. Apparently scientific reservations are no match for butter delivery systems.

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 30/09/2026

Tomorrow at Ocean Hoptimism: shark T-shirts to give away in every size you can imagine!* *Provided all you can imagine is medium and large. The ocean is vast. Our size selection is not. 🦈👕 While supplies last. SF Bay Sharks with Dr. Meghan Holst Oct 1 • 7–8 PM Faction Brewing, Alameda • Free!

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 30/09/2026

Yeah! That’s right… BONUS Ocean Hoptimism TOMORROW! 🦈 Kick off sharky season w/ Dr. Meghan Holst. Meet SF Bay’s sharks & flat sharks, learn how YOU can help protect them, & enjoy our shark swag giveaway! 7–8 PM • Faction Brewing, Alameda Free. Come get sharkier. www.oceanhoptimism.org/save-the-date

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 30/09/2026

Ocean Hoptimism stands with Canadian neighbors on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. We honor Indigenous children, survivors, families, and communities—and commit to listening, learning, and supporting Indigenous-led healing and justice here in the U.S. too.

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 30/09/2026

Done. But… does this look right?

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 29/09/2026

Join us this Thursday and kick off sharky season with… your finned neighbors! 🦈 Dr. Meghan Holst dives into SF Bay’s sharks & rays—and how YOU can help protect them. Plus shark swag! Ocean Hoptimism • Oct 1 • 7–8 PM Faction Brewing, Alameda • Free! www.oceanhoptimism.org/save-the-date

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 28/09/2026

Your neighbors have fins. How well do you know them? 🦈 Meet SF Bay’s sharks & flat sharks with Dr. Meghan Holst—and discover your part in protecting them. Ocean Hoptimism, Oct 1, 7–8 PM at Faction Brewing, Alameda. Free. Come curious. Leave a little sharkier. www.oceanhoptimism.org/save-the-date

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 27/09/2026

We were today years old when we discovered Rose Schmits’ wonderfully weird ceramics. Tentacles! Spidery legs! Exquisite, functional art that looks ready to crawl off the table. Apparently what’s been missing from our lives is pottery with just the right number of appendages. roseschmits.com

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 27/09/2026

That may be the most honest hope deep time offers: the future is constrained, but not fully written. What we cut, protect, restore and stop destroying now will help determine which species—and which version of the ocean—cross into the future with us. Hope isn’t certainty. It’s leverage.

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 27/09/2026

The fossil record also shows that rapid changes in carbon, temperature, oxygen and ocean chemistry can push ecosystems beyond their limits. Our trajectory is dangerous. But unlike past drivers, this one comes with a species capable of understanding—and changing—its behavior.

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 27/09/2026

Half a billion years of history says life is remarkably resilient—but that is not the same as saying everything will be fine. After mass extinctions, the ocean recovered on geological timescales, often with very different ecosystems. Survival is real. So is irreversible loss.

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 27/09/2026

When we asked UC Berkeley paleontologist and ocean-extinction expert Dr. @sethf.bsky.social to read his “crystal ball” for the ocean’s future, he offered some cautious optimism—in that careful way scientists do when asked to speculate. 🧵

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 27/09/2026

Sharks arrive at Ocean Hoptimism in 4 days! 🦈 Ready to kick off the Bay Area’s sharkiest season w/ a bang? We’ve got Dr. Meghan Holst, a shark swag giveaway, & a role for YOU in shark science. Just when you thought it was safe to make other plans. Oct. 1 • 7–8 PM • Faction Brewing, Alameda • FREE!

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 26/09/2026

Closer to home—and our own time—another jaw-dropper from Seth’s talk: at the last ice age’s peak 20,000 years ago, so much water was locked in ice that the Bay Area shoreline lay roughly 25 miles farther west, near today’s Farallon Islands. Your beach day would’ve required quite a commute.

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 26/09/2026

Perhaps the biggest gasps from Dr. Seth Finnegan’s Ocean Hoptimism talk last Thursday? The volcanic nightmare behind the Permian mass extinction: flood basalts in Siberia, with enough lava to cover an area the size of the continental U.S. over a kilometer deep. Deep time. Deeply unsettling.

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 26/09/2026

We’re seeing stars on October 22. And for once, it’s not the beer. Something worth making a little room on your calendar for is coming to Ocean Hoptimism. We’ll let you connect the dots a little longer. 🌟 Big reveal on October 5.

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 26/09/2026

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! 🦈 A special BONUS edition of Ocean Hoptimism kicks off SF Bay Area shark season Oct. 1! Meet Dr. Meghan Holst, find your role in shark science, and score shark swag. 7–8pm • Faction Brewing, Alameda • FREE!

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 25/09/2026

FREE shark swag giveaway at Ocean Hoptimism! Come for the science. Leave suspiciously well accessorized. 🦈 📅 Thursday, October 1 | 7–8 PM 📍 Faction Brewing, Alameda Bring a friend. Bring your questions. Your emotional support shark enthusiasm is welcome here. www.oceanhoptimism.org/save-the-date

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 25/09/2026

Another ocean mass extinction is a real risk. But we can still bend the curve: reduce fossil fuel use, bring others into the conversation, and vote for leaders who act on science. We’re part of the life support system we’re fighting for. Thank you, Professor Finnegan, for a remarkable night.

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 25/09/2026

Some hope came in microscopic form: plankton like coccolithophores. Their tiny carbonate plates accumulate on the seafloor, helping buffer ocean acidification over long timescales. Seth reminded us that today’s ocean has tools ancient seas didn’t. More reason to study its smallest inhabitants.

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 25/09/2026

After walking us through all that upheaval, Seth paused: “I was encouraged to try to find something hopeful about all of this.” [a few laughs] But he delivered. The fossil record reveals how profoundly life can change. It doesn’t mean our future is already written.

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 25/09/2026

By contrast, during the Permian, enormous volcanic eruptions—and magma heating coal deposits—released carbon that helped drive planetary warming and catastrophic losses of ocean life. The geography was different. The connection between carbon, climate and survival felt uncomfortably familiar.

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 25/09/2026

That survival story gets complicated. The Late Ordovician extinction, which Seth studies, wiped out species but left the major branches of ocean life intact. Other extinctions cut deeper into the family tree. Why? To understand the losses, we need to understand what drove them.

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 25/09/2026

Those abundant shells let researchers track which species lived where—and when they disappeared. Their chemistry also holds clues to the water they inhabited. Together, they help Seth’s lab piece together what changed in ancient seas, and what survived those changes.

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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 25/09/2026

Last night, Dr. @sethf.bsky.social took Ocean Hoptimism through half a billion years of ocean history, first broadening our picture of paleontology beyond dinosaurs. To understand how life responds to a changing planet, a hillside full of fossil shells can tell us far more than a single T. rex.

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