Welcome to the home of Scientist Rebellion in North America – a place known as Turtle Island to some indigenous populations here.  We are a multi-disciplinary group of scientists united by one thought:  we understand the breadth and magnitude of the climate crisis and we are damned determined to do something about it. 

Here is what we think at Scientist Rebellion Turtle Island (SRTI):

  1. The data are clear – humans are causing climate change that threatens life on Earth
  2. This is frigging scary
  3. Humans have a nearly infinite capacity to invent stories that justify inaction on point (1), above.
  4. We have blared our findings to government officials, business officials, and citizens for so long that our faces are turning blue.
  5. We get bummed out by all of this like humans do, BUT – if we get together, share our grief, tell some jokes, paint logos on lab coats or beat bucket drums, we find that our spirits and resolve can be resurrected.  
  6. We have a moral obligation to do more, scream louder, maybe break a rule or two, since the kids are still playing on the train tracks, and the train isn’t slowing down fast enough.
Climate stripes by Ed Hawkins, University of Reading CC-BY 4.0

– and read on

Six scientists stand in front of entrance to JSX charter jets in Oakland, CA, with signs that read "Ban Private Jets", "The Science is Clear: Subsidize Climate Justice Not Billionaire$" and "Invest in People Not Private Jets"
Scientists in labcoats drop a banner that reads "BIDEN+NEWSOM: END FOSSIL FUELS" from a bridge over the Sacramento River in California, as part of a massive climate march with hundreds of participants lining the bridge, and several in kayaks below. 2023, Sacramento, CA.
A scientist wears a labcoat with SCIENTIST REBELLION stenciled on the back, leaning against an oil derrick prop, at a climate protest.

SRTI gets the science

Scientists “get” something that a lot of people don’t… the Earth floats around in an extremely inhospitable place where life is not the norm.  Space doesn’t have oxygen, there’s very little water, it’s nearly as cold as cold can get.  There’s DNA-whacking radiation all over the place. 

Dr. Michelle Merrill prepares to interview some orcas at the Summer of Heat action in New York, June 2024.
Five scientists in labcoats hold a banner reading "Later Is Too Late: Climate Action Now! scientist rebellion" on a pedestrian overpass of I-80 in Berkeley, CA, April 22, 2024

Through a very unlikely series of events, the Earth has air, water, a magnetic field that skirts radiation like a Star Trek deflector shield, and a temperature that nurtures a fantastic diversity of life forms.  For 4 billion years (give or take), plants have been converting the Earth’s native CO2 into oxygen, which has cooled the planet and given animals some nice, reactive gas for powering our chemistry.    What luck!

But the thing about the Earth – it’s still subject to plain-old physics.  Play with the (extremely thin) atmosphere, and the solar radiation absorption/reflection balance shifts.  Cause/effect.  We are quickly returning the planet to a time when animals and most of the plants that grow today can’t survive. 

Dr. Sandra Steingraber is lead away in handcuffs by helmeted police officers during the Summer of Heat Scientists Speak Out Day, June 12, 2024, New York City.
Three scientists in labcoats in a coalition action with the Bay Area Climate Finance Hub, holding a vigil inside a Wells Fargo lobby in San Francisco, April 24, 2024. Protesters hold a banner that reads "Later is Too Late: Your Profit Will Be Our End," and images of some of the destructive projects the bank has invested in.

We have measured this change, reported the extinctions, predicted the floods, and breathed the smoke.  We have also witnessed how money and power affect human psychology.  Perhaps that’s the most disturbing part.  When we point out the facts of climate change and the manipulations and gyrations of power to do nothing, we become targets ourselves.  Not too surprising – oldest trick in the book.  But continue we must…

History of Scientist Rebellion Turtle Island

Dr. Rose Abramoff speaking through a megaphone while chained to a fence at a climate protest in Washington, DC.

Scientist Rebellion Turtle Island (SRTI) was started in late 2021. We had a major action campaign in April 2022 in Washington DC with multiple scientists locked on to the fence of the White House. At same time there was a major action in LA where scientists, including NASA scientist Peter Kalmus chained themselves to JP Morgan Chase bank and were surrounded by >100 SWAT police.

Dr. Greg Spooner, Dr. Peter Kalmus and two other scientists are chained to bank doors.

In 2023 SRTI went from about 20 activists to over 200 activists. We continue to grow.

If you want to help scientists’ voices be heard, as we participate in nonviolent actions to demand change, join us and support our work.