The SETAC North America Annual General Meeting was held in Long Beach, California, from 11–15 November. The theme of the conference was “Catching the Next Wave: Advancing Science through Innovation and Collaboration.” The conference hosted a variety of engaging sessions. Nanoparticles in the environment was the topic of a number of platform sessions and an interactive poster presentation. The sessions on the Canadian oil sands were also well attended, indicating that interest in the science related to the development of this resource is not exclusive to Canadians. A session commemorating the 50th anniversary of Rachel Carson’s book, Silent Spring, was particularly inspiring. The presenters showcased how far academia, government, and industry have come in the last 50 years. Collaboration between these groups has developed to be the standard over the last 50 years, which will be essential to solve global issues we will face in the next 50 years. Standing room wasn’t even available when a debate was held on whether the no-observed effect concentrations (NOEC) should be banned. Wayne Landis and Dwayne Moore provided a compelling argument for the use of effect concentrations (ECx) over the NOEC. John Green and Tim Springer outlined instances when the NOEC can be useful and advocated providing guidance on how and when to use NOECs as opposed to banning the approach. I encourage you to read the SETAC Globe article, “Hot Stuff from the Long Beach Meeting” for more details on the highlights of the Long Beach meeting. The next SETAC North America Annual General Meeting will be held in Nashville, Tennessee, from 17–21 November, 2013. The meeting will be returning to Canada in 2014, when Vancouver hosts from 9–13 November. Submitted by Ryan Prosser (Vice President, Laurentian SETAC)
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