March Update: Our Commitment to Scientists
Our Commitment to Scientists
Last month we celebrated climate scientist Michael Mann’s court victory over his right-wing defamers. Yet, his story is just one among many. Not even four months into 2024, we’ve already helped over two dozen researchers—more than we helped per year when our organization was first founded.
Climate and other researchers are regularly harassed and attacked by anti-science forces desperate to slow or prevent scientific progress. Through our work defending researchers, we see evidence of another aspect of the anti-science movement. Women and people of color, despite being underrepresented in the scientific community, encounter disproportionate levels of silencing and attacks. Not only do they routinely face unwarranted challenges to their credibility and research integrity, but they also face sexist and racist threats and harassment.
These assaults undermine scientists’ personal and professional well-being and, too often, push them out of academic, research, and other important positions. They also have a chilling effect, preventing scientists from speaking out about the abuses they are facing. Such a hostile environment also discourages future generations from pursuing careers in STEM fields, perpetuating the cycle of underrepresentation.
CSLDF has stood alongside climate scientists in this fight. Since our founding, we’ve remained steadfast in our commitment to supporting those researching climate science and solutions to the climate crisis as they face the onslaught of fossil fuel-funded attacks.
We’ve been privileged to assist hundreds of scientists, including many women scientists and scientists of color, with cases involving censorship of their work identifying the human causes of climate change and harassment by climate change deniers and detractors from within the predominately male scientific community. Yet, the vast majority of our clients have chosen to remain anonymous out of fear of professional reprisal or concerns for their personal safety.
We stand resolute in our solidarity with them and steadfast in our mission to safeguard and advocate for all climate scientists for as long as the need persists.
Welcome New Board Members
We are very excited to announce our two newest Board members, Aradhna Tripati and Cymie Payne!
Aradhna is a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and is the faculty director and founder of the Center for Diverse Leadership in Science. She is also a professor at the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability (IoES), the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, the Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, the Institute for Geophysics and Planetary Physics (IGPP), and the California Nanosystems Institute (CNSI).
Cymie is an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Ecology at Rutgers University and the School of Law–Camden. She is known for her work on global governance of the environment and natural resources and the consequent evolution of international law, with a focus on climate change, ocean resources, and protection of the environment in relation to armed conflict.
Both bring a wealth of experience, knowledge, and commitment to climate science and the law, and we are delighted to welcome them to CSLDF.
Stand with Scientists
Thank you for subscribing to and reading this newsletter. Your support of our mission is more important now than ever before.
If you haven’t already, please consider joining our community of donors. Together, we can continue to protect and support scientists in their critical work of finding solutions to the climate crisis.
CSLDF News
CSLDF Supports Proposed Connecticut Senate Bill to Protect Scientists and Academics
March 13, 2024 | CSLDF
Open records laws have a vital role in government transparency but, in the specific realm of higher education, they can easily be exploited by bad actors to harass and intimidate scientists and academics whose research they dislike. CSLDF Executive Director Lauren Kurtz testified before the Connecticut General Assembly in support of Connecticut Senate Bill 394 to protect certain higher education records under the state Freedom of Information Act.
Michael Mann beat his defamers. But climate scientists are still under attack.
February 28, 2024 | Yale Climate Connections
It’s hard to downplay how much disinformation and outright lies have undercut science and truth in recent years — and how much damage that has done. However small, this judgment represents a step back toward living in an evidence-based world. But getting back to that world will take time. The vast majority of researchers who are similarly attacked are unwilling or unable to fight back this aggressively, whether over concerns for their professional well-being, their personal safety, or simply to avoid becoming the target of further attacks.
See more news coverage of this and other stories, as well as CSLDF blog posts, at csldf.org/news.
We were recently informed that our building has been experiencing issues with mail delivery. If you mailed a check and it was returned to you, please call us at 646-801-0853 or reach out to Lucy Wells at lwells@csldf.org with the subject line “Returned Check,” and we’ll be happy to help.
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