Geoscience and society: “Small shifts to a better future”

August 18, 2022 | 4 minute read

The 2022 recipients of the Geological Association of Canada (GAC) national medals are incredible researchers and practitioners making their mark in geoscience.

The Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, principal journal of the GAC, congratulates:

Dr. Brendan Murphy, tectonism philosopher and recipient of the Logan Medal and VIP Career Achievement Award
Dr. Britta Jensen, volcanic ash expert and recipient of the W.W. Hutchison Medal
Mika McKinnon, science communication specialist and recipient of the E.R. Ward Neale Medal

In this post, Mika McKinnon answers the question: What is an opportunity or challenge that the geoscience community can take action on?

Mika McKinnon | E.R. Ward Neale Medal

Mika McKinnon is multifaceted. Her biography tells it all: “Field geophysicist, disaster researcher, scifi science consultant, science writer, public speaker, irrepressibly curious.” The positive change geoscience experts can effect is multifaceted, too. McKinnon focuses on disaster mitigation, inclusivity in science, and supporting curiosity. She shares why figuring out what matters most to you is a good first step to making a change for good.

What is an opportunity or challenge that the geoscience community can take action on?

Every day is full of possibilities to make small shifts to a better future. We can use our geoscience expertise for everything from helping policymakers make more resilient choices for our changing world to reaching out to our personal networks to encourage the value of science-based decision making. We can work within our communities to help neighbours [affected by] local impacts of climate change and disasters, or shift our workplace cultures to be more inclusive of geoscientists from every walk of life. The challenges are endless, but so are the opportunities for substantial, lasting change.

For me personally, I focus on disaster mitigation, increasing inclusivity in science, and supporting curiosity:

Disaster mitigation: With disasters, a little knowledge can go a long way to making better choices where fewer people get hurt. Those choices can be at any level from individual to international, each with a different scale of impact. Even when people are resistant to taking action (or lack the resources to do as much as they want), the very act of thinking through possible scenarios can lead to better outcomes.
Inclusivity in science: To me, inclusivity is both a moral and pragmatic imperative. I find it abhorrent that people are blocked from science due to their background and identity. Practically, we’re facing existential threats to humanity where having more people with the greatest possible range of experiences to inform their problem-solving increases our odds of creative solutions to not just survive, but thrive.
Supporting curiosity: Every person on this planet is born curious. We need to learn everything from how to move under standard gravity through to how to make choices with conflicting information, yet so often that curiosity is discouraged as people grow older. I love connecting with moments of curiosity (often through something silly like what a gorgeous mineral would taste like, or if you could surf a lava flow on a volcanic moon, or what different planets would smell like), encouraging it by exploring the answers, then tagging on the next question and the next question and the next question after that. So many people use scientific thinking every day in deciding weather-appropriate clothing for a day out or how to modify a cookie recipe, using data to evaluate probable future events or making predictions on how a variable will impact results. I want to awaken realization that this type of thinking is science, that using science isn’t regulated to an elite class of academically-trained people, and that science has value in daily life.

How do we decide which challenge to pursue?

We don’t need to all be in lockstep working towards a single goal. Instead, take on the challenge that appeals to you and you have the bandwidth to address, then jump in and do it! You can’t fight for every cause, nor do the hard work every single day without burning out, so make sure to work together. This isn’t a sprint or even a marathon: it’s a relay where we can hand off to teammates or cheer from the sidelines when we need a breather to recover before jumping back in.

It’s less important what challenge we tackle, and more that we each take on a challenge that resonates with us so we are energized by the work. Everything you do to make the world a little more interesting, to encourage curiosity and joy in learning, to support why science is useful, leads us to a better future for all of us.

Science is a powerful tool we can use to link cause and effect. We can imagine a future, then determine what steps are necessary to create that future. With geoscience, that future is our entire planet. We know the possible futures as our climate changes, and are getting a tighter and tighter grip on what the consequences of our actions will be. The more people we can convince to value a scientific framework for thinking, the greater our odds are to use that framework for collective decision-making about our planet.

What actions can we take to seize the opportunity?

This is an impossible question because the opportunities and examples are endless! I see so much genuine and enthusiastic science communication every day of people jumping in with their personal passions, expertise, and skills to share with others.

Some projects I particularly love are Black in Geoscience Week on social media highlighting and connecting Black geoscientists, fan campaigns supporting favourite minerals for Mineral Cup on Twitter each year (I coordinate Cup logistics, but am in awe of how much passion people bring to the vote!), volunteers with UN-SPIDER using their GIS skills for disaster mitigation and response, and the growth of inclusive field options from virtual fieldwork to accessibility adjustments to providing gear and primers on how to work safely outdoors.

Read the first post in this series: Leaders in Canada’s geoscience community make a case for evolving education

Congratulations to all recipients of the Geological Association of Canada medals and awards!

MEET THE 2022 RECIPIENTS

Responses edited for brevity or clarity.