Reimagining Futures: The inclusion of diverse voices as a path forward to solving the climate crisis

In recent decades, despite glaring and increasing evidence of climate change, much of this knowledge remains abstruse, cumbersomely documented, and opaquely presented, making engagement with it by "nonscientists" difficult. Perhaps this is the reason why a large segment of the general population remains convinced that human beings have not caused the observed 20th and 21st century climate change.

As we begin imagining what the next world we build will look like, it is more important than ever that we include diverse voices. As a trans and queer scientist that teaches full-time at an art school, I remain convinced that the only path forward that contains viable solutions to the climate crisis is one that includes a diversity of perspectives. This includes queer and trans people and it also includes artists.

One way that we can ensure that trans voices, in particular, are included is by changing the way trans authors are allowed to revise their old names on previously published manuscripts. In this brief presentation I will highlight some of the recent successes that myself, and other trans folks, have had in pushing editors and publishers to be more inclusive of transgender name changes.

I tell my students that they live in the perfect moment to be truly revolutionary; a moment when radical, imaginative thought is not only encouraged, but necessary. Perhaps the revolution we need to address climate change begins by making the human engagement of art-making an integral part of the scientific method. As a climate scientist teaching full time at an art university, I am uniquely positioned to explore these possibilities.

Through the examples presented here, there is real potential for diverse voices to dramatically improve the way climate research is conducted and communicated. As we update our understanding of the environment, we must also update the tools we use to study it and the methods we use to present it to the public.