scientific activism
scientificactivist | July 19, 2006Since January, I've been covering Oxford's animal rights movement, and the response of local scientists, primarily through the organization Pro-Test. This post from the archives describes a particularly informative Pro-Test event.
(26 May 2006) On Monday, May 22nd, an audience of about 100 people joined the pro-research organization Pro-Test at a public meeting in the Oxford Town Hall, and in standard fashion The Scientific Activist was there to report all about it. The purpose of the meeting was to make the case for animal research from a variety of perspectives, get feedback from the…
scientificactivist | July 4, 2006This week's Ask a ScienceBlogger question is "What are some unsung successes that have occurred as a result of using science to guide policy?" I think there are several good answers to this question, including several successes in basic science (the NIH, basic science funding), health (vaccination, AIDS relief), space (NASA, the Hubble Telescope), and environmental (the formation of the EPA, the Kyoto Treaty) policy. One success that might not be so obvious, though, was the Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT).
When it was signed and ratified in 1963 by 113 countries, including almost all of the…
scientificactivist | July 2, 2006I've been following Oxford's pro-research organization Pro-Test since its inception, and a few weeks ago I wrote a post describing its second large march through the streets of Oxford. Pro-Test has received quite a bit of well-deserved press in general, but I was recently directed to another very comprehensive account of the latest march. On his blog, freelance journalist Kieren McCarthy also wrote a long post on the event that's about the same level of detail as my account, but he ends up putting me to shame with professional-quality photographs and, even better, audio recordings of almost…
scientificactivist | June 9, 2006Welcome to the new home of The Scientific Activist, a growing source of news and commentary on science, politics, science policy, and everything in between. The Scientific Activist was first launched on January 11th, 2006, at scientificactivist.blogspot.com/, and the goals were ambitious: by providing information and insights on recent scientific developments, political issues in science, and the proper role of science in an ever-changing world, I hoped to make strides toward increasing public understanding of science, clearing up misconceptions, and opening up a dialogue on these important…
scientificactivist | June 9, 2006I published the following post on my former blog on June 3rd, but I'm republishing it here because it serves as an great introduction to the inspirational scientific activism currently taking shape in Oxford.
The only sounds were those of passing traffic and the whispers of interested observers as close to 1,000 people marched together in silence today down Oxford's High Street. Although the stated reason for the quiet was to avoid disturbing the many Oxford students currently taking their exams in the nearby Examination Schools, the symbolism was as tangible as the warmth of the brilliant…