If the #science community truly wants to make our work more accessible to policymakers & the public + increase support for & trust in our research, we shouldn't publish our work behind ridiculously expensive paywalls that very few can access.

I understand that newspapers need support through subscriptions, but I often worry about about how this makes reliable information a luxury for those with the means to afford it.

Meanwhile misinformation & disinformation is widely accessible & free. #news #journalism

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My research explores how senior congressional staffers make decisions about science policy.

There’s also a chapter on barriers to serving in these roles, which largely focuses on how socioeconomic factors limit who gets to participate in the legislative process & why certain already marginalized communities may go unseen https://sheril.substack.com/p/a-dissertation-on-democracy

If you’re interested in reading a bit about my work, I was recently interviewed: https://www.bushcenter.org/publications/presidential-leadership-scholar-spotlight-sheril-kirshenbaum

This Q&A is part of a series featuring alums of the Presidential Leadership Scholars program. I am forever grateful for the opportunity to be part of this inspiring community.

Today a group of remarkable young people in Montana won a landmark lawsuit when a judge ruled that the state’s failure to consider #ClimateChange when approving fossil fuel projects was unconstitutional. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/14/us/montana-youth-climate-ruling.html?unlocked_article_code=XItIeJpyG1NyXp6_DPR0oa-IWSb7zA4xuefMTXzZ4GMt6tFUvyspi_vmGYU8ULXZ1kL3MzHMLyr1y1tV_-F2SEwvphDbXBhoNLkEs7D5ivPX0QA-QkerTdk9obEhymIZiko_vsG_sr_HrtBichdT4C502ZSQ0hy1IlApVF0gPqcGrSMZn0FSKm2IPvkdVLN1T_Io8xQMav3WxNodEmN9_Lw6MLdrTOVOEXOGMLPzpM3eOpGDXJVr9Cizv8GzChPjzI6OG6sJv9AgBwhRjwHUQDRKKNi_3wP5oAYU2EjlzCiiG5v7Jp5PQslPnPUPGaM9mRkXB-2156bygVQzgjupjmxa&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

#SilentSunday

Last night I shared two posts. The first was positive (Fred Rogers) & the second was abysmal (normalized gun violence).

On #Twitter, I suspect the latter would have garnered far more attention bc a race for publicly visible RTs, likes & follows favors promoting shock & outrage.

But here on #Mastodon, Mister Rogers wisdom was shared more widely.

This isn’t a scientific analysis but a mere observation reinforcing that social media will be what we make it. And I like this neighborhood.

What the dystopia?

Virginia School Board attorneys argued that Abigail Zwerner - the 1st grade teacher shot in her classroom by a 6yo - is not entitled to more than worker’s compensation bc the shooting was “a workplace injury” & “hazard of the job.”

https://www.denverpost.com/2023/05/03/educators-outraged-teacher-shot-in-school-workplace-injury/

“What really matters is helping others win, too, even if it means slowing down and changing our course now and then.”

- Fred Rogers

Not every mass extinction in Earth’s history has occurred due to #ClimateChange.

But fossil & temperature records over hundreds of millions of years show climate change is consistently associated with mass extinctions.

Not every mass extinction in Earth’s history has been associated with #ClimateChange, but fossil & temperature records over hundreds of millions of years show climate change is consistently associated with mass extinctions.

nostr:npub14p7dm8h4mhzwcg7sypzjtv9frn5m88wandphy54d9qpm45ha7k2sugsyjd It really is lovely. I only discovered it recently thanks to the invitation, but have been enjoying so many episodes like the one on Anne Lister. I especially appreciate episodes where Kate discusses sexism and women’s roles through history.

I haven’t been sharing interviews here, but it was an absolute delight to join Kate Lister on #BeTwixtTheSheets to talk about the #history & #science of kissing.

Yes, I’m a scientist focused on policy, sustainability & communication, but 12 years ago, I wrote a book called The Science of Kissing. We contain multitudes.

https://play.acast.com/s/betwixt-the-sheets/history-of-kissing-why-do-we-lock-lips

Physicist Lise Meitner’s brilliance led to the discovery of nuclear fission. But her long time collaborator Otto Hahn, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry without her in 1944, even though she had given the first theoretical explanation.

Albert Einstein called Meitner “our Marie Curie." She also adamantly refused to work on the atomic bomb during WWII. https://whyy.org/articles/lise-meitner-the-forgotten-woman-of-nuclear-physics-who-deserved-a-nobel-prize/ #science #history

An observation on how #Mastodon is growing 👀

Over the past month, multiple journalists from top outlets have contacted me related to content I’ve shared.

While this was not uncommon on #Twitter when I was active there, it’s relatively new for me in the #fediverse. I suspect this suggests professional news outlets are becoming more comfortable here & posts have increasing impact. Good.

Explore ~14 billion years of time in this fascinating graphical summary of events from the Big Bang to the present day by talented artist Pablo Carlos Budassi.

Beginning at center of the spiral, every billion years is represented by a 90-degree stretch, with the exception of the last 500 million years represented as the last 90-degree stretch for greater detail. https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/nature-timespiral-the-evolution-of-earth-from-the-big-bang/ #art #science

A cost-effective, scalable & available solution to reduce the #climate impact of flying?

Yes please. https://blog.google/technology/ai/ai-airlines-contrails-climate-change/

Contrails - those thin, white lines behind airplanes - account for ~35% of aviation's #ClimateChange impact.

New research reveals how #AI & satellite imagery can help us reduce their warming effects.

It’s worth noting that by Fall of 2012, the majority of both Republican & Democrat voters acknowledged #ClimateChange is occurring. But not the majority of all politicians.

Back then, I ran large public opinion surveys out of UT Austin & it was the first time citizens from both parties agreed. (Here’s a 2015 SciAm piece w totals https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/plugged-in/over-3-out-of-4-americans-now-acknowledge-climate-change-is-occurring-including-the-majority-of-republicans/)

We can’t said what changed attitudes, but a drought had impacted U.S. crops that summer & the pope was also discussing #climate. /2

NYT’s opinion writer Paul Krugman is declaring #climate is now a culture war issue 🤔

I worked in the U.S. Senate ~20 years ago. Covered climate as a journalist. Cofounded an NGO focused on science policy issues during elections. Am finishing a dissertation on how Congress has made decisions about #science policy for the last 1/2 century - with climate as a central theme.

This isn’t new. #ClimateChange has *always* been a culture war issue.

I see a lot of posts here about why the other social media platforms are terrible & #Mastodon is the one to rule them all*.

Personally, Mastodon is my favorite & I prefer the #fediverse with decentralized servers & open source standards.

But I also don’t mind coexisting with the others. Rather, I think it’s a good thing. All of us should settle in where we feel comfortable & find community.

* Overstatement, but a Tolkien reference always seems appropriate.