| Volume 12 | No. 4 | Fall 2010 |
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This Scientist Is A Man of Action |
This Scientist Is A Man of Action
“In high school I was a romantic—and I still am. Far-away places have always filled me with wonder. That’s why I chose a career that takes me to our planet’s most inhospitable climates. I get to mountaineer my way to new discoveries. My research on Arctic glaciers has revealed how our world is warming like never before. My name is Cameron Wake, and I’m a concerned scientist.”
This is how Cameron Wake, a glaciologist at the University of New Hampshire, describes his lifelong love of science in one of our new “Curious for Life” ads. These ads are the latest product of our Weight of the Evidence campaign, which aims to build momentum for decisive federal action to deal with global warming by focusing the public’s attention on climate science.
Cameron’s work aligns with the UCS mission to create a healthy environment and a safer world. He believes his scientific research findings are “put to their highest purpose when they address our most pressing societal challenges.” His research, drilling and analyzing deep cores of glacial ice in remote locations such as the Tibetan Plateau and Denali National Park, illuminate thousands of years of climate history—and detail how our climate is changing.
Collaborating for a Cooler Future
As a contributing author of our 2007 report Confronting Climate Change in the U.S. Northeast, Cameron has testified before state and federal legislators to advocate for energy efficiency and renewable energy policies that would reduce emissions of heat-trapping gases. He has also spoken at countless community meetings and in radio interviews to explain how the changing climate will affect our quality of life, and that of generations to come.
Cameron feels strongly that, “Climate scientists need to be more engaged with society. It is simply not enough to publish our research and expect the public to figure out what it means.” He has therefore been promoting an inclusive and mutually beneficial approach called engaged scholarship. Unlike the usual top-down process in which scientists work in isolation and then disseminate their findings, engaged scholarship brings together all the relevant parties—policy makers, business leaders, nonprofits, and scientists—to collaborate on a project from start to finish. As a group, they identify the key scientific questions, shape the research effort, discuss the implications of the findings, and decide how best to communicate the results.
Fifty Heads Are Better Than One
Working with UCS on the Northeast climate report was, in Cameron’s opinion, a prime example of engaged scholarship—a collaborative effort between UCS and more than 50 experts from universities and research institutions. “It took a lot of work to translate the scientists’ complex research into key messages that non-scientists could understand,” he recalls, but the end result was well worth the effort. The report is widely viewed as the definitive study of how emissions choices made today will affect the region over the coming decades.
Cameron credits UCS for making him a more vocal agent for change. “UCS showed me why both science and advocacy are important. It is gratifying to see that my efforts can help policy makers make better decisions,” he explains. “We might actually be able to meet the challenges we face if scientists are more willing to engage with society.”
Also in this issue of Earthwise:
What is the environmental impact of the batteries in hybrid vehicles compared with those in conventional vehicles?
