Expanding the motivations of The Prosaic Mosaic in 2018
I took a brief hiatus from The Prosaic Mosaic to pursue certain professional goals. Now that they are in progress (I am hoping to share more about this in the coming months), I plan to re-commit myself to this blog series in 2018 and share both the incredible work that so many people are doing while confronting adversity and the work that remains to be done.
This blog has given me the opportunity to meet and share the challenges that marginalized scientists (#marginsci) face. Some have undertaken projects to unveil the diverse STEM workforce that operates beyond the stereotypical white male in a lab coat, while others have committed themselves to increasing the accessibility and inclusivity of the science they conduct and share.
My original intention for this blog was to regularly showcase diversity within STEM fields and I have no intention of abandoning this goal. But, as I have immersed myself in the complexity, pain, and toxicity of hegemony, subjugation, and privilege, I see reason now to expand the lens through which this blog envisages and discusses the ideal future within which we are all properly included and equal.
In 2017, we saw “Climate change doesn’t discriminate , but people do” manifest as Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria barreled through the continental United States and its unincorporated territories in the Caribbean. As politicians stalled emergency funds for recovery (and continue to stall in the case of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands), the reality of our future as a species and mine as an ocean and climate scientist began to crystallize — our planet had finally realized the predictions that climate scientists had been making for decades (centuries, really, if you harken back to Arrhenius’ predictions in 1896). And, all of this before climate change came knocking on my door and the California wildfires razed so many of the communities I have grown up in.
Yes, these tragic moments invoked incredible stories of humanity — altruistic rescue efforts, conversion of trade into service, and creation of new memories that celebrate incinerated old ones. But, within this silver lining exists that cruel & gruesome truth — there are so many more who were and are untouched by these acts of heroism. As the impacts of climate change continue to intensify, marginalized communities will experience disproportionately greater impacts than others. As a scientist studying climate change, I would be remiss if I neglected to include their stories.
In 2017, I began to come to terms with my own climate grief & then struggled with the emotional outfall of the #MeToo movement. The allegations against Harvey Weinstein broke upon a dam that supported many public figures & insidious predators. Given that one such predator has a slipping grip on the presidency and another was narrowly NOT elected to public office this past year, it is not enough to know OF their victims — their stories also deserve to be told. We must see them, hear them, and learn from them how we can prevent creating future victims.
Thus, in 2018, I hope The Prosaic Mosaic will amplify MORE marginalized and unheard voices, scientists or otherwise. I will continue to highlight minority scientists, but I hope to also talk about communities impacted by climate change, and more broadly discuss dismantling the pervasive, systemic injustices that persist.
I hope that you will join me in weaving these stories.
— P
