Policy

GeoPolicy: One American’s way into the European Commission

Aaron McKinnon September 27, 2019

The EU Commission's Blue Book Trainees Oct 2017 - Feb 2018. Credit: EU Commission via Twitter

An unsolicited email to a LinkedIn connection holding the title “science communicator” led me to the European Commission. My journalism master’s thesis was now complete, and I was in hasty pursuit of a career in citizen engagement of science. The EGU’s Policy Officer Chloe Hill responded to my spontaneous request for career direction and forwarded me a running list of science-policy traineeships a ...[Read More]

Pole to Paris: Communicating climate change in a divided society

Erlend Moster Knudsen August 2, 2019

In today's politically divided landscape, what is the role of science? Climate scientists Daniel Price and Erlend Moster Knudsen established an outreach campaign, Pole to Paris, to break down barriers and create dialogues on climate change. Right photo: London February 15 2019 (27) School Students Strike for Climate Action. Credit: David Holt via Flickr. Left photo: Trump Digs Coal LAGOP GOTVR Dec2016 140. Credit: Tammy Anthony Baker via Flickr

The recent European Parliament election illustrated how divided Europe has become politically and intergenerationally. While the established parties lost their ground, both far-right populistic, anti-EU and liberal, green pro-EU parties grew in popularity among voters1, with the younger generation favoring the latter and the generations above the former2. What role is there for science in this div ...[Read More]

GeoPolicy: What really drives political decision-making?

Chloe Hill July 26, 2019

Credit: Angelocordeschi, Adobe Stock, 2019

On July 17 2019, the EU Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) published a report highlighting how thinking is challenged by today’s information environment and the role of evidence-informed policymaking in a well-functioning democracy. Titled Understanding our political nature, the report was produced with the assistance of 60 international experts in the humanities, behavioural and socia ...[Read More]

GeoPolicy: Preventing mercury leakage from a WWII submarine

Chloe Hill July 5, 2019

U-864 Submarine Wreckage. Credit: NGI - Norges Geotekniske Institutt (distributed via Youtube).

I recently had the opportunity to interview Matthias Kaiser, a professor at Bergen University and, at the time of the interview, Director of the Centre for the Study of the Sciences and the Humanities. He is part of an expert team that has given scientific advice to Norwegian policymakers, highlighting the issues that should be considered when dealing with the U-864 submarine wreckage and its carg ...[Read More]