@savewildbees
Associate Professor #YorkU, York Research Chair in Interdisciplinary Conservation Science, #GND, #MarginSci, #Mesothelioma Survivor, #Ecology and conservation of wild #bumblebees www.savethebumblebees.ca
(This thread is commentary, not criticism!)
The "anti-science" label is tricky, because the attacks on science are being framed in the rhetoric of good science: transparency, rigor, objectivity, open debate
How can promoting these values be *anti* science? 1/
If science is understood narrowly as the pursuit of truth, it's hard to explain what's wrong with any of these things, because they self-evidently promote the pursuit of truth
In the jargon of #philsci, they're all clearly epistemic ("truth-promoting") values 2/
Screenshot from the original piece: For me, silence has never been a comfortable option. My work addresses climate change and the extensive challenges associated with freshwater resources, including the failure to provide universal safe water and sanitation, the links between water and energy, the human right to water, and the growing risks of water-related violence
But notice that Gleick's science isn't aimed narrowly at the pursuit of truth. His aims are much broader, addressing important threats to human health and the environment. 3/
I've argued that this is true in general. Most scientific fields don't just have epistemic aims, like truth and understanding. They also have pragmatic or practical aims. 4/
www.frontiersin.org/articles/10....
And members of the general public think so too! In my survey work (still under review), we've found that even political conservatives tend agree that a primary aim of science β along with truth β is to improve our understanding of threats to human health and the environment. 5/
osf.io/ks2ta_v1/
Because science typically has practical aims, the standards of good science need to go *beyond* truth. Just exemplifying those epistemic values at the top of the thread isn't good enough. Science should be "fit-for-purpose." 6/
link.springer.com/10.1007/s131...
Bacoh
Scientists have often been trained to adopt value-free, politically nonpartisan positions in social controversies. (See Marcia McNutt's comments this morning.) But this posture is itself anti-scientific, when it enables the weaponization of purported scientific values. 13/
Instead, I think scientists should be explicit about the values that motivate and influence their work. In my survey work on this β which has been published! β disclosing values like protecting human health seems to *increase* trust relative to value-freedom. 14/
www.frontiersin.org/articles/10....
Take home message:
Science and advocacy aren't mutually exclusive, because most science are *already* advocates. They just don't present themselves as *partisans*. Scientists should be explicit that their work is about making a better world. 15/15
YESS to everything you share in this amazing thread. It was @savewildbees.bsky.social who I first learned about this article from, and I find it resonates with students at my tech school since it's from a fellow scientist
academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...
#HappyBeeDay
Mmmmer33tmΖmyα»³
if you are feeling helpless, a simple but incredibly valuable thing that many of us can do after a catastrophe is sign up to donate blood and plasma. www.blood.ca/en
In some ridings, it may make more sense to vote for another party like the NDP to get the conservative out.
Bumblebee foraging on goldenrod
Every day is ##EarthDay.
#SaveWildBees
"If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you." - President Lyndon B. Johnson
I hope people are still interested in habitat gardening. It should not be a fad to support the ecology that supports us.
Euro HBs came here with colonists and continue to extract pollen and nectar from native pollinators. Canadian bees don't make honey. The HB industry is for sure capitalist. Worst analogy ever. Flies are critical pollinators, esp. in Northern Canada. Go to school.
Euro HBs came here with colonists and continue to extract pollen and nectar from native pollinators. Canadian bees don't make honey. The HB industry is for sure capitalist. Worst analogy ever. Flies are critical pollinators, esp. in Northern Canada. Go to school.
Euro HBs came here with colonists and continue to extract pollen and nectar frome native pollinators. The HB industry is for sure capitalist.
This guy needs a biology lesson but yes wild bees pollinate. Euro HBs make honey & pollinate at a smaller scale than wild bees would if we took care of ag-lands. Flies (depending on which) have their own benefits whether its pollinating, esp in the north, parasitism (keeping populations in check).
Congratulations to @savewildbees.bsky.social, a recipient of the NSERC Awards for Science Promotion. Iβve learned so much about pollinator conservation and ecology from Dr. Colla over the years @csee-scee.bsky.social π§ͺπ #WomenInSTEM
www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Prizes-Prix/...
Thank you!
Meghan Markle's new @netflix show sure isn't going to help with this.
The difference is chickens are contained and don't feed off of natural resources like flower nectar. So they are a bigger threat to wildlife bees.
Thank you!