The second weekend of March saw two important calls to action: Stand Up for Science (across the US and around the world) and CERA Week (in Houston, TX). Scientist Rebellion also hosted a global panel on the ways academics are being attacked for their activism. But we continue to show up, and to advocate for nonviolent direct action (NVDA) in response to escalating threats to research, to activism, and to the very well-being of people, places, and planet.
Stand Up for Science, March 7, 2025
The current occupants of the White House have been shredding federal support for science (background below). We won’t take this lying down. We commend the organizers of SUFS for their initiative and hard work; these events brought out thousands of people at more than 30 places around the country, and showed the strong support that exists for science and the outrage over the current assault on the scientific enterprise. We urged scientists to show up in a Scientist Rebellion labcoat, bring some handouts to help bring more people in to SRTI, and offer to be a featured speaker.
At least three of our Turtle Island scientist rebels took the mic at Stand Up For Science rallies across the US. On the West Coast, Jennifer Krauel spoke to the crowd in Salem, Oregon.
Salem, OR
CSU Fullerton, CA
San Francisco, CA
Sacramento, CA
San Francisco, CA
In Boston, Massachusetts, Zev Imani delivered the following address:
Hi everyone, my name is Zev Imani. I’m a graduate student at Tufts University studying particle physics. But today I’m here representing Scientist Rebellion. We are a global collective of scientists and academics who strive to expose the reality and severity of the ongoing climate and ecological emergencies.
For decades we’ve watched our politicians fail to act on the science of climate change. We’ve seen the influence of fossil fuel lobbyists, corporate interest groups, and the billionaire class grow exponentially. And now, in this critical time, which may well decide the future of life on our planet, the Trump administration is not just ignoring us, they are trying to destroy us. Destroy science.
And we can not let that happen. We will not let that happen.
They are dismantling federal agencies like the EPA and the Department of Health & Human Services. Since their creation, these institutions have protected the American people’s food, air, water, and medicine. The very things we need to live. People fought and died to bring us these protections. And we must fight to keep science working in the public interest.
The current administration is also defunding the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration including our country’s weather service and cutting funding for all climate-related research.
One of Project 2025’s many terrible, terrible goals is for us to stop researching climate change.
Trump and his MAGA regime are taking climate denial to a whole new level, they want to destroy the science that is revealing the severity of the crisis. They want to stop us talking about climate change. Or even knowing that the climate is changing.
Why?
Because fascism is first and foremost an attack on reality. They are afraid of our knowledge. They are afraid of hearing the truth. They are afraid that big issues, like climate change, will wake us up to the realization that our society is on the wrong trajectory.
We can’t continue to burn fossil fuels. We can’t let billionaires shred our government institutions and put profit ahead of people. We can’t let them silence science.
They want to hide from us one of the most basic truths that science has shown us. That by working together we can build a better future. A sustainable future. A just future. A future for everyone and all life on Earth. We don’t need fossil fuels, we don’t need billionaires and we sure don’t need Elon Musk!
I want to end by specifically talking to my fellow scientists in the crowd – whether you’re someone that wears a lab coat or not – what it means to be a scientist at this unique moment in the history of our planet has changed.
At Scientist Rebellion we are not politicians or celebrities, we are scientists with all kinds of expertise and backgrounds. Most of us don’t want to be doing this. We don’t want to be activists. We want to be in our labs, quietly doing research and writing our papers. I don’t want to be here, I don’t like public speaking.
But when you are living in the midst of a planetary emergency and literally everything is on the line then what we have to do as scientists changes. We can’t be quiet anymore. We have to be loud and stand up for science. We can’t just keep following the rules. Sometimes we actually have to break the rules.
That’s why we at Scientist Rebellion believe non-violent civil resistance is the most effective way to create the real, systemic change we so desperately need. And because we’re scientists we don’t just believe this, we have the data to back it up! We’ve learned from social psychologists and movement historians and peer-review studies that: when you are living in an emergency you need to help the broader society understand what’s at stake by acting like it’s an emergency. And sometimes that means being loud and disruptive and putting our bodies on the line.
We have been compelled by the urgency and severity of what climate science is telling us. There is a clear message: to get out of the labs and into the streets!
I implore you to join us. You can find Scientist Rebellion online. Or join another organization, but the important part is we, as scientists, must not be silent.
Science is under attack. So it’s up to us – scientists and everyone who believes in the value of science to stand up, to fight back and DEFEND SCIENCE.
Scientist Rebellion Global Panel on Attacks on Academia
Academia under attack – How do we speak up and organize?
On Sunday March 9th, Rose Abramov, Zoë C. Miller and zephyr penoyre discussed what attacks on academia in Turtle Island and Europe have in common.
Since the beginning of Trump’s mandate, US scientific institutions have seen mass firings, grant terminations, and an overall attack on DEI programs and critical scholarship. Unfortunately, these attacks are also echoed elsewhere by attempts to silence critical voices in academia and overall cuts to higher education.
This was a conversation between engaged academics based in the US, Germany and the Netherlands, to discuss the situation in the three countries and how we can respond to these developments as a critical academic community.
Speaking Out at CERA Week, March 9-10
Hundreds of demonstrators were on the scene at CERA Week in Houston, TX, protesting against one of the largest gatherings of fossil fuel profiteers in the world. Chris Wright, the new Secretary of Energy and former fracking CEO, was the keynote speaker at CERA Week. Police rode horses into the crowd of protesters outside the event, and arrested eight brave activists.
At least one SRTI scientist was part of the protest, participating in some street theater. Characters in this play include the scientist, who helps march the arrested CEOs to prison, Trump with red tie, a grandmother with her grandchild, and three CEOs with badges showing their company: Exxon, Chevron, and Conoco.
Speaking to “the prez”
Addressing the crowd
Escorting away the corporate climate criminals
The CERA Week protests got some media coverage, including in the Houston Chronicle, on Drilled News, and on Democracy Now!, in addition to coverage on social media like Instagram.
History shows that attacks on scientists, other academics, and students are a characteristic part of authoritarian takeovers. When Christina Pagel categorized 76 actions the Trump Administration took in the first 3 weeks, she counted 16 as attacks on science, environment, health, arts, and education. Democrats on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology are now looking for stories of federal workers fired by the new Administration. Recent cuts at NOAA are particularly alarming for climate science, and impede global capabilities for predicting extreme weather events that could result in thousands more deaths.
Other places tracking anti-science actions by the Trump Administration:
In this new environment, protest is also being silenced, both through directly detaining individual protesters for exercising their rights as permanent residents or holders of student visas, and through spurious lawsuits (SLAPP suits) against organizations known for effective protest actions.
Drilled News has an excellent, detailed post on March 9th discussing CERA Week, Stand Up for Science, and the SLAPP suit by Energy Transfer against Greenpeace for their support of indigenous resistance at Standing Rock.
Indigenous community speaker at Greenpeace rally outside US Army Corps of Engineers offices in San Francisco, February 18, 2025. The rally was organized in response to the SLAPP suit by Energy Transfer. At least one SRTI activist joined the protest.
NVDA and the Radical Flank Effect
Yet as each rally or march comes to a close, the inevitable question arises–what next? We know these rallies will not end the assault of science-based research and policy. We know we have not solved the pressing existential crises we face. Visible public support is gratifying and important, and it helps to build community, and yet we need more. It is necessary but not sufficient. Not by a long shot. What else can we do? SR Turtle Island promotes responses that include civil disobedience and nonviolent direct action (NVDA).
NVDA is a lot harder than attending a rally or signing a petition, or talking to your elected officials. In fact, because it is harder is exactly why it is so powerful. Not everyone agrees with the tactics of direct action, and certainly not everyone can or should participate in it. And yet studies show that dramatic and risky, and yes sometimes illegal, actions in defense of a worthy cause help people to sit up and take notice. And then more people support the cause. This is known as the radical flank effect.
For example, Ostarek et al 2024 were able to conduct public surveys before and after disruptive protests in London. While respondents did not look favorably on the disruptive action, approval of a similar but more moderate organization increased significantly within that two week period. In this way, more radical disruptive action serves an important role in shifting the parameters of social discourse for the topic. This is why SR and other activists engage in seemingly futile or even illogical actions – if you have the capacity to take the risk, you can push progress much more effectively than you might believe. And even if you can’t or aren’t willing to participate directly, you can bring attention to the disruptive actions and suggest to others that the underlying cause has merit. In fact, in these dangerous times, many groups not known for direct action are supporting the need for scientists and academics to get out in the streets (cf., the Union of Concerned Scientist’s message from Gretchen Goldman).
March 7th was a particularly significant date for direct action–the anniversary of the march across the Edmund Pettus (now John R. Lewis) bridge in Selma in 1965: a nonviolent action by an incredibly courageous few who encountered a dramatically violent police response. That civil rights action shook the world, and changed the course of history. That was the radical flank effect in action.
We’re continuing to assemble a list of papers, books, websites, podcasts and webinars about NVDA. Check it out, and let us know about anything we missed in the comments below.
Here’s a basic “How To” guide to help you represent Scientist Rebellion when you show up for actions like Stand Up For Science or CERA Week (whether you’re planning to speak or not).
We need your support to help more scientists join the struggle and show up for critical actions. We’re currently developing “hub kits” to help local SRTI groups get engaged.
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