Ten activists from Scientist Rebellion Turtle Island (SRTI) attended the Ecological Society of America (ESA) conference in Long Beach, CA August 4-9, 2024. We were joined by allies from XRLA and Climate Science Legal Defense Fund, plus lots of local activists with other organizations, for activities inside and outside the conference. We made a lot of new friends (and a little good trouble) as we worked to grow the movement confronting the intersecting climate and extinction crises.

Here are a few highlights from the week:
Claiming a Booth
Sunday night, after being informed we shouldn’t be handing out event cards at the opening networking event (well, we are troublemakers, after all), Scientist Rebellion Turtle Island went legit and got a booth in the Ecological Society of America exhibit hall. Thanks to all who stopped by to talk to us about our dire situation and what it means to be a scientist climate activist.
Social Mixer: Beers & Scream Pillows for Scientists
Monday evening, after a good first day of networking and conference events, Scientist Rebellion Turtle Island invited everyone from the Ecological Society of America conference to join them for a social mixer at Altar Society Brewing and Coffee Co. Drinks were had, pillows were screamed into, and everyone got a chance to get to know each other and make new friends.
Climate Cafés at ESA
Tuesday and Wednesday’s in-person and virtual Climate Cafés at the annual ESA conference were a welcome break from sessions and talks to attend to one of the more difficult aspects of ecological work: climate emotions. Scientist Rebellion offered a safe space to share, explore, and just feel, reminding us that responding to our emotions is not only a necessary tool of self-care, but that having conversations about climate emotions is in itself a form of climate activism.
Mini-talks Inspire Ecologists to Become Activists
One of the highlights of our week at ESA 2024 was our Inspire session, Science to Action: Grassroots Activism for Ecologists! Seven scientist activists gave 5-minute TED-talk-style presentations about their journeys from being scientists to being activists.
Poster Session Conversations Build the Movement
Our poster session on Science to Action: Grassroots Activism for Ecologists gave us a chance to share our call to action in conversation with the crowd. Five Scientist Rebels presented their personal experiences with non-violent direct action. Hundreds of ESA attendees strolled through the row and scanned our posters.
Making the Leap from Science to Action workshop
This workshop explored scientists engaging in non-violent direct action (NVDA). It featured the short documentary film Arresting Science about Dr. Peter Kalmus embarking on his first NVDA action, then engaged attendees in planning a hypothetical NVDA.
“We Know You Know”: Street Theater to Summon Scientists to Action
We teamed up with XR LA for an action just outside the doors of the conference, calling on ecologists there to join us in action. We scientists have the privilege to know, and therefore the duty to act, on climate change. Sometimes, we need to make a little noise.
Supporting Summer of Heat: Sending a Message to Citi Credit Card Collaborators
A few of our SRTI Rebels who were in Long Beach after the ESA conference showed up in their labcoats to deliver petitions to local Costco, Home Depot, and Best Buy stores. The focus of Summer of Heat has been Citibank (one of the biggest financers of new fossil fuel projects), and these retail companies partner with Citibank for co-branded credit cards.
Good Activist Synergy over Bad Synergy Oil
To sum up a week of action at the ESA conference, Scientist Rebellion Turtle Island joined local climate activists at Synergy Oil and Gas in Long Beach to protest illegal drilling. SRTI experienced again the solidarity and joy of working to protect local residents and indigenous rights, while a conveniently out-of-order stoplight in front of the protest led to increased public visibility of the issue during rush hour traffic.
XRLA Podcasts
Greg and Bernadette discussed Scientist Rebellion at the ESA on the Extinction Rebellion Podcast Episode 82 aired during the conference. Jennifer and Marina offered further reflections in Episode 83 that aired after the conference.
Seeing Signal Hill

The Signal Hill neighborhood of Long Beach was such a study in the ugliness of oil drilling, we couldn’t resist a few more photo ops along the way.




In sum, we made a lot of new friends, had a lot of good times, learned a lot, and hopefully got a lot of scientists thinking about how they should engage in activism as we confront the intertwined crises of climate change, habitat loss, and species extinction. Now’s your chance to join in the fun: join Scientist Rebellion!