Workshop: Making the Leap from Science to Action: Grassroots Activism for Ecologists

Making the Leap from Science to Action workshop (Thurs 11:45am, Room 102C) – details

Activists in Scientist Rebellion labcoats protest illegal oil drilling permits at the entrance to Synergy Oil in Long Beach, California. One sign reads OUT OF THE LAB - INTO THE STREETS. August 9, 2024.

The SRTI team at the Ecological Society of America scientific conference in Long Beach, CA, wrapped up it’s “official” week of activities with a 90 minute special session.  The session – “Making the Leap from Science to Action” – was structured as a workshop on scientists engaging in non-violent direct action, and featured a short documentary film on the experience of NASA Earth scientist and SR activist Dr. Peter Kalmus as he entered into his first NVDA action.  The workshop used the film (and cast!) as a springboard to engage attendees in group activities around planning their own hypothetical street theater NVDA, which the team revealed at the end of the workshop would become a real street theater action!  Some attendees ended up joining SRTI and XRLA outside and performed a theatrical plea to the ESA scientists to come out of the labs and join us in the streets.

We showed the full video of ARRESTING SCIENCE as a centerpiece of this workshop. Below is a special short preview of the film, in honor of the Summer of Heat actions taking place from June to August 2024.

Please add your name to this contact list if you would like to be notified about future screenings of the full ARRESTING SCIENCE film. 

Workshop Abstract

Climate change is an existential threat to humanity and as a scientific community, it is our responsibility to treat it as such. In collaboration with historically marginalized communities and activists, ecologists can engage in a variety of tactics to apply pressure on those in power to take action now. Attendees will engage directly with colleagues experienced in a range of effective activism options with opportunities to explore what works best for their career stage. This special session is a follow-on companion to the related Inspire session. All speakers attending the meeting in person will be available for in-depth questions and discussion on a variety of topics, which may include practical ways to get involved with local and online groups; choosing demands, targets, tactics, and organizing principles; creating support structures; building collective power; interacting with media; harnessing privilege, allyship and conflict resolution.

Organizer: Jennifer Krauel (South Dakota State University, Scientist Rebellion)

Speakers:

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A Few Key References_

  1. IPCC, 2023: Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, H. Lee and J. Romero (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, pp. 35-115, doi: 10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647.2.
  2. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Emissions Gap Report 2022: “The Closing Window – Climate crisis calls for rapid transformation of societies” (https://www.unep.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2022)
  3. IPBES (2019): Global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. E. S. Brondizio, J. Settele, S. Díaz, and H. T. Ngo (editors). IPBES secretariat, Bonn, Germany. 1148 pages. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3831673
  4. Gardner et al. 2021, From Publications to Public Actions: The Role of Universities in Facilitating Academic Advocacy and Activism in the Climate and Ecological Emergency
  5. Engler & Engler 2016 This is an Uprising, ISBN 978-1568587332
  6. Jason Hickel 2021, What does degrowth mean? A few points of clarification, Globalizations, 18:7, 1105-1111, DOI: 10.1080/14747731.2020.1812222.
  7. Engler & Engler 2024 “Why protests work, even when not everybody likes them”, https://wagingnonviolence.org/2024/07/why-protests-work-even-when-not-everybody-likes-them/ 
  8. 198 Methods of Nonviolent Action – https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/198-methods-of-nonviolent-action/

The World Needs Scientists Engaged in Advocacy and Activism – Here’s Where to Start

Christopher Marchesano of the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund spoke briefly in our workshop, which happened just after he gave his own detailed presentation on how scientists can protect themselves legally when engaging in advocacy and activism. Concerns about career repercussions can be one of the things that holds us back, but there are ways to mitigate that risk.