I live in DC and mostly grew up here, and have been somewhat involved in environmental issues for as long as I can remember, and the same is true for STE(A)M fields.
To SUMMARIZE this comment i would say my guess is that in the long run the most 'impactful' thing that could be done is something along the lines of Thoreau, Rachel Carson, John Muir, and even Bill McKibben, Al Gore and Naomi Klein--except the result would be a short , easily comprehensible mathematical formula similar to I=PAT, or others (Human ecological fooitprint, ISEW, GPI, I=SNT(t) etc.)
This would be similar to a report card or what the DC CAP aims to do---'how are we doing on the metrics'?
Is DC 'resilient', happy eg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Happiness_Report
For me personally the most impactful thing might be to go to a hospital to fix my broken arm if possible. Problem with that is its too complicated.
I think i need 'physical therapy' but i will be told i also need religion , new clothes, drivers liscense and car, a hobby and fitness regimen such as watching sports tv and ordering pizzas from my couch (and i'd need to buy a couch and tv).
Also i would have to give up bad habits such as hiking, music, and reading articles like
https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.04288
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( I actually lost a few jobs or opportunities because the people who made the decisions on these objected to either the A (arts--in my case music) or the M (mathematics).
They said A was 'unnnaceptable'----we focus on 'ecology' not music. So you' leave your guitar at home or you don't get the job'.
They defined ecology as identifying plants and animals--go for a 15 minute walk, find a plant or small fish and then spend 5 hours inside figuring out what kind of plant or fish it is using books and microscopes.
i didn't think that was all of ecology. i was into biomes. (one group relented and let me study biomes so i walked 5 hours instead and went through maybe 5 ecological biomes and made a map. i couldn't identify every flora and fauna i saw but it was a different view--eg one fro a plane versus walking through a jungle. .).
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I also missed a good job opportunity because i often went to places almost noone went to ---- no trails---so some of the ecologists said they would pay me if i wrote up a report on what i saw there. They were mostly looking for trout and rarer plants like ginseng, yew trees, paper birches. spruce, arborvitae and more. I sort of knew where these were--they are fairly common in other areas but not in that area .
Some naitve arborvitae trees while very small are 1000 years old. I am aware of some native hemlock trees which are at least 10 years old --probably 20---but are only 2 feet tall--they grow on cliffs.)
This was because they said M was irrelevant--'we are studying nature, not mathematical physics--which is irrelevant apart from our computers.' .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theoretical_ecology https://arxiv.org/abs/2004.11124
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'Diversity and inclusion' while often stated goals does not include math or music in my experience.. Politics is even further off the table. (I remember when i tried to start a science club in my area I used the statement from my university which basically said 'everyone is welcome so long as you are interested in contributing '. I also had quotes from Einstein, B Russsell, and J Monod ('chance and neccesity') on the group theme. I was told the 'diversity statement' i used was ' not ok--maybe its ok in the ivy league but not here'.
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I just downloaded the the DC CAP (titled 'Resilient DC').
I was briefly involved in two environmental/science discussion groups and we discussed some of these issues and I suggested we develop a model for a 'Sustainable DC'.
It basically was same idea as Resilient DC.
One was specifically for developing 'social-ecological indicators' or 'metrics' to measure how DC people and neighborhoods, and the entire DMV/Potomac/Chesapeake bioregion (and one could broaden it to include the rest of the USA, neighboring areas like Canada, Mexico and the Carribbean, and the rest of the world) are doing.
(I have noticed the DC government now has a program called Sustainable DC--i am on their mailing list but not really invited to participate. The only things I get invited to participate in are trash cleanups and invasive plant removal in rock creek park or along potomac river. Or, I can spend an hour taking metrobus, go through a security check, and sit in a DC council meeting for another hour or 5, and then offer 'testimony'' or 'my opinion' for 4 minutes . What is the cost/benefit ratio?
Maybe 4 minutes/(5 hours+stress). Stress includes what you may face on the bus or when walking from the bustop to where you live.
The people in these groups (some with PhDs in STEM fields ) did not want to look at the 'big picture'. They measured 'social-ecological health' in terms of how well their small personal or community garden was doing.
I live in same Ward as the Mayor but a different part.
I live in a 'red zone'---the map is on page 61 of the CAP--- most 'red zones' are in ward 7 and 8 but there are some in ward 4.
I looked at census data for median or average household income in neighborhoods of DC and these range from around 20,000$ to 200,000$/yr.
My neighborhood household median or average (i'm not sure which) income is at 46,000$ . My income is half that and 2/3rds or more of that goes for rent , utilities and internet.
I view the climate (or in general environmental) issue as similar to education (including STE(A)M fields).
You have some schools and colleges (usually private) with very high achievement in STEM fields. Many of them also might score high on some environmental indicators---eg they recycle.
On other indicators they might not score as well-eg you have 17 year olds driiving new cars.
Then there are other mostly public schools with very low achievement. )This is described in the CAP . I went to DCPS so i have some familiarity with this.)
A sort of glaring example is Baltimore. You have JHU (center for COVID research . and alot of high level STEAM. It seems to be in a nice area.
Then you go to downtown baltimore and its a whole different story or city. 65 homicides so far this year (DC had 39) . I dought most people in the poor part of Baltimore think much about climate change. Some do worry about new trash incineration plants and jails.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damu_Smith brougt this issue up long ago.
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Mart Malakoff
Other
Washington DC
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-10-2021 06:00 PM
From: Daniel Barry
Subject: What science policies matter most in your community or state?
It's no surprise that climate change is impacting all of our communities in different ways. In Washington D.C., where I live, our local government passed the Climate Action Plan, which is a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% below 2006 levels by 2032 and 80% by 2050 to help address this. Before I came to AAAS, I was the senior climate policy analyst in DC when we developed and released CAP, and I was thrilled to be part of it and help influence change in my community.
While the city is committed to reducing its own carbon footprint by switching to energy efficient fleet vehicles and investing in renewable energy, we are also heavily dependent on the education and support of homeowners and builders to switch to clean, renewable energy.
Which science policies are most impactful today in your community? Which are most critically needed?
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Daniel Barry
Director, Local and State Advocacy
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Washington DC
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