Engaging the Public with science

For the first hour of my service learning I helped blow up balloons and organize tickets for the Archie Carnival. From that I could definitely tell a lot goes into these events. However, for the last part of my service learning requirements I went to a panel discussion. It was titled “Keeping Climate Justice in the Center of Climate Policy.”  There were two main speakers, the first Elizabeth Marino and the second was Anthony Oliver-Smith.

Dr. Elizabeth Marino
 https://osucascades.edu/people/elizabeth-marino

Both speakers centered their discussion on climate displacement and the implications this can hold on poorer countries. Disasters are not shared equally by communities, most often un-industrialized countries can not bounce back as fast and experience a higher death toll. These ingenuous communities are even more vulnerable to weather disasters. Scientist also worry demographics will be reshaped due to the growing populations in low elevation places and the sea levels rising forcing a mass relocation. Dr. Marino coined this a “slow and rapid onset disaster.” So science can predict the likely outcome so the question then becomes what federal policies can be used to relocate? There are still many issues, for one, some policies still privilege certain groups and secondly there is no sense of urgency. If climate policies are enacted while in crisis, the climate justice will get pushed back. The proposed solution for this is to be rigorously compassionate, use scientific information and remember to be open when making policies.

Dr. Anthony Oliver-Smith
http://anthonyoliver-smith.net/

Dr. Oliver-Smith really touched on the logistics of resettlement and how it is disaster and climate change that induce displacement and resettlement. As mentioned earlier some societies have a higher chance of being greatly impacted by disasters, he coined this “historical construction of risk.” He talked about the importance of understanding the culture of these communities and how we must understand the political, economic, and institutional contexts of resettlement. Ultimately, resettlement impacts people’s well-being and resilience because resettled communities can not restructure society 100% the same. There will be a loss of culture. A great example to emulate is Gramalote Norte de Santander Colombia. They experienced a massive disaster and were forced to relocate, but their government proposed a different and unique solution. They rebuilt the communities and moved the communities back in how they were before, beside their old neighbors. Dr. Oliver really stressed how America in

The rebuilt community of Gramalote
http://gramalote-nortedesantander.gov.co/index.shtml

particular, is really bad at relocating and how we need to stop funding the construction of risk.

I really enjoyed this panel discuss and probably will attend more in the future. Apparently, this panel was all part of a series, I personally think this is a great way to spread understanding of science related topics. There were also other organizations there that share similar beliefs and provide more ways to spread knowledge, with websites, news papers/letters or word of mouth. In today's society there is so much access to science its almost impossible to ignore. The internet offers endless information and if you just know how to determine what information is unbiased and credible then access is limitless.