Spring 2017
Table of Contents
Why Science Can’t Be Silent
In Depth
Explore SectionFrom the Editors
Why Science Can’t Be Silent
Up against the White House’s “alternative facts” and attempts to hide climate data, new allies—citizens and science—can prevail against politicians and corporations.
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Science Isn’t Just for Scientists—We Can All Take Part
The internet and new technology are reviving the role citizens can play in documenting the world around us.
Madeline Ostrander
To My Fellow Climate Scientists: Be Human, Be Brave, Speak Truth
With climate deniers sweeping into the White House, it’s time for scientists on the front lines of climate change to speak from the heart.
Peter Kalmus
A Small Act of Scientific Civil Disobedience
Big science publications put important peer-reviewed research behind expensive paywalls. But some scientists have found creative ways around them.
Margaret Beaton
What DNA Ancestry Testing Can (and Can’t) Tell You
The social justice implications of spitting into a test tube.
Zenobia Jeffries Warfield
Wildfires Are Essential: The Forest Service Embraces a Tribal Tradition
The Karuk were once denied the right to practice an ancient tradition. Now scientific and resource management circles are seeing the merits of controlled burning.
Nathan Gilles
What It Takes to Change Hearts and Minds
To get someone’s support, you need more than just facts.
Colin Beavan
How Public Money Supports Big Pharma
Public money and public universities boost Big Pharma’s profits, so shouldn’t the public be able to afford the drugs?
Clo Copass & Tracy Matsue Loeffelholz
6 Ways to Put Public Interest Ahead of Big Pharma Profits
Increase access to generics, end “evergreening” drug patents, and other ways to put people before profits.
Clo Copass
6 Ways Citizens Across the U.S. Are Using Science to Build a Better World
By collecting climate change data, monitoring air quality, and reverse-engineering insulin, locals are creating a more just and equitable society.
Shannan Lenke Stoll
Solutions We Love
Explore Section
A Woman in Trump’s America: 5 Simple Ways to Support Your Sisters
Here’s how to show other women you have their backs.
Melissa Hellmann
How Chicago Became the First City to Make Reparations to Victims of Police Violence
The ordinance provides a meaningful model for creating reparations at the local level.
Sarah Macaraeg & Yana Kunichoff
The Woman Giving Refugee Kids Free Lawyers
And two other people advocating for immigrants and refugees.
Jaime Alfaro
How Norway Avoided Becoming a Fascist State
Instead of falling to the Nazi party, Norway broke through to a social democracy. Their history shows us polarization is nothing to despair over.
George Lakey
None of Texas’ Members of Congress Support Trump’s Wall
And 23 other facts you should probably know.
Olivia Anderson & Paulina Phelps
Culture Shift
Explore Section
An Outside-the-Doctor’s-Office Approach to Health Care
Research is showing that health care can be an engine for community change.
Daphne Miller
How to Reinflate the Dream of College-for-All
Financial aid doesn’t work unless we’re honest about costs.
Valerie Schloredt
Why You Should Be Saving Seeds (Even If You Don’t Have a Garden)
Watch this movie to get inspired about saving seeds. And then do it.
Doug Pibel
Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things
“Love people, use things, because the opposite never works.”
Kim Eckart
Incarcerating US: The Failings of America’s Prison System
The documentary dates the problem to the war on drugs and the establishment of mandatory minimum sentences.
Kim Eckart
5 Old-Fashioned Ways to Predict the Weather
Have you noticed how nature gives its own subtle forecast clues?
Lydia Cain
