Posted on 7 December 2019 by John Hartz

Editor's Pick

Should Climate Scientists Be Climate Activists? One Tells Us ‘We Can’t Wait Any Longer’ For Action

Twila Moon, at left, and Maria Caffrey at the CPR News studios Friday Nov. 15 2019. The two are climate scientists who discussed the line between activism and science.

For decades, scientists have warned of the dangers of human-caused climate change through what they do best — science. But are papers and global summits enough for those concerned that climate change is an existential threat?

More than 1,500 scientists recently signed a declaration in support of Extinction Rebellion, the climate activist group that uses nonviolent civil disobedience to encourage government action on reducing carbon emissions. Notable XR protests have included gluing themselves to the gates of London’s Buckingham Palace and interrupting a summit at the Colorado Governor’s Mansion.

The scientists’ declaration reads, “The scientific community has already tried all conventional methods to draw attention to the crisis. We believe that continued governmental inaction over the climate and ecological crisis now justifies peaceful and nonviolent protest and direct action, even if this goes beyond the bounds of the current law.”

Scientists’ Declaration of Support for Non-Violent Direct Action Against Government Inaction Over the Climate and Ecological Emergencyhttps://t.co/Ps6xQkdxfl

— ScientistsForXR (@ScientistsX) October 13, 2019

There’s community disagreement over researchers supporting or participating in displays of activism. Colorado Matters spoke with Twila Moon, a climate scientist with the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, and Maria Caffrey, who was a partner with the National Park Service, about those differences.

Caffrey was recently catapulted onto the national stage after she filed a whistleblower complaint against the Trump administration. She alleges she lost her job with the park service because she refused to eliminate mentions of human-caused climate change from her research. 

Moon chose not to sign the letter while Caffery did sign on in support of the actions of Extinction Rebellion.

Should Climate Scientists Be Climate Activists? One Tells Us ‘We Can’t Wait Any Longer’ For Action by Michael Elizabeth Sakas, Colorado Public Radio (CPR) News, Dec 5, 2019

Click here to access the entire article as posted on the CPR website.

Articles Linked to on Facebook

Sun, Dec 1, 2019

• Air travel is a huge contributor to climate change. A new global movement wants you to be ashamed to fly. by Umair Irfan, Energy & Environment, Vox, Nov 30, 2019
• Leonardo DiCaprio responds after Brazil's President blames actor for Amazon forest fires by Leah Asmelash, CNN, Nov 30, 2019
• Climate Change Threatens a Giant of West Virginia’s Landscape, and It's Rippling Through Ecosystems and Lives by Kate Mishkin, Inside Climate News, Nov 24, 2019
• Former President Jimmy Carter: How Empowering Women and Girls Can Help Solve the Climate Crisis, Opinion by Jimmy Carter & Karin D Ryan, Time Magazine, Nov 26, 2019
• Americans like Green New Deal’s goals, but they reject paying trillions to reach them by Dino Grandoni & Scott Clement, Climate & Environment, Washington Post, Nov 27, 2019
• With Waters Rising And Its Population Falling, What Is Venice's Future? by Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Nov 30, 2019
• Scientist's theory of climate's Titanic moment the 'tip of a mathematical iceberg' by Graham Readfearn, Environment, Guardian, Dec 1, 2019

Mon, Dec 2, 2019

• Six Inexpensive (Or Even Money-Saving) Things Cities Can Do to Become More Sustainable Now by Nate Berg, Ensia, Nov 25, 2019
• European Union climate investment lags behind US and China by Jorge Valero, Euractiv/Climate Home, Nov 27, 2019
• Leak reveals Brussels’ draft plan for European green deal by Frédéric Simon for Euractiv/Climate Home News, Nov 29, 2019
• COP25: Island states want 'decisive' climate action to prevent inundation by Fiona Harvey, Science, Guardian, Dec 1, 2019
• UN chief warns of ‘point of no return’ on climate change by Aritz Parra & Frank Jordans, AP News, Dec 1, 2019
• Climate crisis: what is COP and can it save the world? by Fiona Harvey, Guardian, Dec 2, 2019
• John Cook on Climate Change, Interview by Joe Virgillito, BTRtoday, Nov 22, 2019
• An introduction to the state of energy storage in the U.S. by Philip Warburg, Yale Climate Connections, Dec 2, 2019

Tue, Dec 3, 2019

• The Downside of Solar Energy, Opinion by Dustin Mulvaney & Morgan D. Bazilian, Observations, Scientific American, Dec 1, 2019
• Poor nations pay price as millions flee 'climate chaos', Oxfam says by Laurie Goering, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Dec 2, 2019
• Vermont Doubles Down on Wood Burning, with Consequences for Climate and Health by Jonathan Mingle, InsideClimate News, Nov 26, 2019
• U.S. House Speaker Pelosi says at climate summit: "We are still in" by Isla Binnie, Reuters, Dec 2, 2019
• Earth's temperature likely marks hottest decade on record - report by Matthew Green, Reuters, Dec 3, 2019
• Huge Lakes Abruptly Empty into Greenland Ice Sheet by Chelsea Harvey, E&E News/Scientific American, Dec 3, 2019
• Activist Thunberg channels youth fury to U.N. climate summit by Victoria Waldersee & Antonio Denti, Reuters, Dec 3, 2019
• It’s possible that Trump doesn’t actually know what climate change is, Analysis by Philip Bump, Politics, Washington Post, Dec 3, 2019

Wed, Dec 4, 2019

• Global greenhouse gas emissions will hit yet another record high this year, experts project by Chris Mooney and Brady Dennis, Climate & Environment, Washington Post, Dec 3, 2019
• Bushfire smoke lingers over Sydney for fourth day as fires burn across NSW by Matt Bungard & Jenny Noyes, Sydney Morning Herald, Dec 4, 2019
• Without urgent action, yearly extreme heat waves await Europeans by Jonas Ekblom, Reuters, Dec 3, 2019
• How Peru’s potato museum could stave off world food crisis by Dan Collyns, Environment, Guardian, Nov 29, 2019
• Birds are shrinking. These scientists say it’s a consequence of global warming., by Ben Guarino, Science, Washington Post, Dec 4, 2019
• Cranky Uncle: The smartphone game designed to fight climate denial by John Cook, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Dec 4, 2019
• Climate models have accurately predicted global heating, study finds by Dana Nuccitelli, Environment, Guardian, Dec 4, 2019
• CMIP6: the next generation of climate models explained by Zeke Hausfather, Carbon Brief, Dec 2, 2019

Thu, Dec 5, 2019

• New projections show that South Florida is in for even more sea level rise by Alex Harris, Miami Herald, Dec 4, 2019
• 'Exceptional heat': Urgent climate action needed to avoid extremes by Peter Hannam, Environment, Sydney Morning Herald, Dec 3, 2019
• Climate change to steer all New Zealand government decisions from now on by Eleanor Ainge Roy, World, Guardian, Dec 3, 2019
• Warming at the poles will soon be felt globally in rising seas, extreme weather by Cheryl Katz, National Geographic, Dec 4, 2019
• Climate change: The COP25 talks trying to change the world by Imran Rahman-Jones, BBC News, Dec 3, 2019
• Freak storms of 2019 Atlantic hurricane season left trail of destruction and revealed climate change fingerprints by Matthew Cappucci, Capital Weather Gang, Washington Post, Dec 4, 2019
• Historic US towns endured wars, storms. What about sea rise? by Jeffrey Collins, AP News, Dec 5, 2019
• Why you should talk about climate change – even if you disagree by Sarah Matusek, Environment, Christian Science Monitor (CSM), Dec 5, 2019

Fri, Dec 6, 2019

• Climate crisis is 'challenge of civilisation', says pope by Fiona Harvey, Environment, Guardian, Dec 5. 2019
• Dozens of out-of-control bushfires burn across NSW as conditions expected to worsen by Helen Davidson & Agencies, Guardian, Dec 5, 2019
• Replacing beef with chicken isn’t as good for the planet as you think by Leah Garces, Future Perfect, Vox, Dec 4, 2019
• Atmospheric Rivers Fuel Most Flood Damage in the U.S. West. Climate Change Will Make Them Worse. by Bob Berwyn, InsideClimate News, Dec 5, 2019
• Activist Thunberg completes intercontinental dash to Madrid climate summit by Isla Binnie & Antonio Denti, Reuters, Dec 6, 2019
• COP 25 video: What needs to happen by COP 26 to keep the Paris Agreement on track? by Josh Gabbatiss, Carbon Brief, Dec 6, 2019
• NSW bushfires close in on Sydney from two sides as weather forecast deteriorates by Riley Stuart & Selby Stewart, ABC News (AU), Dec 6, 2019
• Even as 500,000 March in Madrid, Greta Thunberg Warns Climate Movement Has 'Achieved Nothing' Until Emissions Fall by Andrea Germanos, Common Dreams, Dec 6, 2019

Sat, Dec 7, 2019

• The Emotional Toll of Climate Change on Science Professionals by Daniel Gilford, Susanne Moser, Becky DePodwin, Rebecca Moulton & Sarah Watson, Eos, Dec 6, 2019
• Leading scientists condemn political inaction on climate change as Australia 'literally burns' by Lisa Cox, The Guardian, Dec 6, 2019
• Disappearing frontier: Alaska's glaciers retreating at record pace by Yereth Rosen, Reuters, Dec 6, 2019
• Cranky Uncle game takes on climate crisis denial and fake news by Jessica Murray, Games, Guardian, Dec 7, 2019
• Should Climate Scientists Be Climate Activists? One Tells Us ‘We Can’t Wait Any Longer’ For Action by Michael Elizabeth Sakas, Colorado Public Radio (CPR) News, Dec 5, 2019
• Australia fires: blazes 'too big to put out' as 140 bushfires rage in NSW and Queensland by Ben Doherty and Helen Davidson, Guardian, Dec 7, 2019
• World’s Oceans Are Losing Oxygen Rapidly, Study Finds by Kendra Pierre-Louise, Climate, New York Times, Dec 7, 2019
• Analysis: Global fossil-fuel emissions up 0.6% in 2019 due to China by Zeke Hausfather, Carbon Brief, Dec 4, 2019