Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather than on taxonomy. Marine biology differs from marine ecology as marine ecology is focused on how organisms interact with each other and the environment, and biology is the study of the organisms themselves.

Marine life is a vast resource, providing food, medicine, and raw materials, in addition to helping to support recreation and tourism all over the world. At a fundamental level, marine life helps determine the very nature of our planet. Marine organisms contribute significantly to the oxygen cycle, and are involved in the regulation of the Earth's climate.Shorelines are in part shaped and protected by marine life, and some marine organisms even help create new land.

Marine biology covers a great deal, from the microscopic, including most zooplankton and phytoplankton to the huge cetaceans (whales) which reach up to a reported 30 meters (98 feet) in length.

Jen Smith is an artist, musician, zine editor, and activist from the United States.

Jen Smith is credited with being the inspiration behind the term Riot Grrrl and being one of the architects of the movement. Writing in Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation's Capital, Mark Andersen and Mark Jenkins report that while living in Washington, D.C., Smith reacted to the violence of the Mount Pleasant race riots in the Spring of 1991 by prophetically writing in a letter to Allison Wolfe, "this summer's going to be a girl riot." Other reports say she wrote, "we need to start a girl riot."

That summer, Olympia, Washington, students Wolfe and Molly Neuman, editors of Girl Germs zine, to which Smith had contributed, moved to Washington, D.C. Having already formed their band Bratmobile, they asked Smith and Christina Billotte (of Autoclave and Slant 6) to join, and the band released one cassette tape, called Bratmobile DC, with this line-up.

As written about in Bikini Kill zine by Kathleen Hanna, Jen proposed they all collaborate on a zine called Girl Riot, which would serve as a networking forum for young women. Molly Neuman began the zine, released under the title riot grrrl, with contributions from Smith, Wolfe, and the members of Bikini Kill.