We are also tremendously concerned with the warming of our planet and are continuously searchings for ways to align our behaviors with practices to limit our carbon footprint (in addition to advocating for policy change). Below we outline some points and resources.
This year Nicki will be limiting work travel that requires flights. For context for why, please see what others have written (more eloquently than I could) about this topic.
Inline with above, we encourage all lab members to add a section to their CVs/Resumes for “invited presentations declined due to concerns about environmental impact.” This helps to acknowledge the honor of being invited to share our research, while reducing carbon footprint. We acknowledge that this is not an option for everyone, and care must be taken to balance building a career within a culture that has traditionally required (or at least expected) frequent travel. (Although recent research suggests that less-frequent travel may have limited impact on career success). We also will facilitate and encourage “virtual” collaborations/talks or travel that can be done with ground transportation. These changes help normalize a change in academic culture away from frequent travel, if possible. Note that reducing in-person travel also helps increase equity for a number of reasons some individuals may be less able to travel than others (financial resources, family considerations, caregiver requirements, differences in ability, etc).
The lab is working to limit use of disposable research materials – re-using when possible.
See helpful resources from the Aron lab at UCSD (Nicki’s thesis lab) here.
Here is an important article outlining the need for climate action by neuroscientists. (Open access version here).
