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Kieran Findlater, PhD
@FindlaterKM
Views my own — Senior Policy Advisor — Adjunct Professor — Interdisciplinary research on risks, decisionmaking, climate change — dr/he/him
Ottawa, Ontariokieranfindlater.comJoined April 2017

Kieran Findlater, PhD’s Tweets

This is a very timely and important piece - natural sciences are overly privileged in numerous science-policy areas not limited to climate change adaptation. Policy-makers are systematically missing out on non-technical science advice.
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Adapting is not enough – climate-adaptive decisions as technical choices erase values, norms, ethics and fundamental goals. Our @PNASNews paper shows the inherent risk in privileging natural science at the science–policy interface w Rob Kozak & @SES_UBC doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2
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A generation ago, Samuel Hays argued that "Beauty, Health, and Permanence" were the enduring movers of "Environmental Politics in the United States" cup.org/340cti2. This research echoes Hays, cautions against too much reliance on trend to $ value of ecosystem services:
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Framing interventions as protecting ecosystem integrity rather than commercial value can get > public support, argue @FindlaterKM etal @SES_UBC in "Difficult climate-adaptive decisions in forests as complex social–ecological systems," reinforcing. (1/2) pnas.org/content/119/4/
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Interesting looking paper on forest management perceptions and Assisted Migration. “These results are further evidence of the inherent risk in privileging natural science above other forms of knowledge at the science–policy interface.”
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New paper alert! #UBCForestry’s @FindlaterKM, @SES_UBC & Rob Kozak explore the “Difficult climate-adaptive decisions in forests as complex social-ecological systems” in their latest article @PNASNews. Read more: bit.ly/3nFvttc
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"Informed, rigorous, transparent, and climate-sensitive decision-making is fundamental, not only for economic growth, health and well being but for sociopolitical stability and equity" #climateservices
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Climate services promise better decisions but mainly focus on better data Our new @NatureClimate paper finds that norms and institutions of science limit climate ‘services’ as a transformation of climate science w Sophie Webber @mKandlikar @simondonner doi.org/10.1038/s41558
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Every once in a while something big happens... our co-produced research results are being used to improve the understanding of temp and precip outlooks for millions of people 🎉 Interested in the decision support research behind this work? journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/
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Today at CPC we are launching a new look and feel to some of our temperature and precipitation maps to better communicate upcoming climate outlooks across the U.S. Read more at: weather.gov/news/211409-te
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Let's do another experiment! 🙃 Using your free will alone, reply to this poll randomly. [Don't use any dice or other objects in the room. No computer code. No cheating! Retweet so we can get a larger sample size.]
  • Tails
    49.6%
  • Heads
    50.4%
28,693 votesFinal results
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The title says it all: "Climate services promise better decisions but mainly focus on better data" Read the paper and turn on the tv. Daughter spent the night on Amtrak so this one hit home fairly quickly in real time.
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Great piece on unfulfilled promises of climate services by @daly_meaghan rdcu.be/cwVHE and read here the full study by Findlater et al: rdcu.be/cwX4h
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Beautiful compilation of less common but vital advice for grad students. More valuable than many of the rehashed threads now circulating #phdchat
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People are giving advice to incoming grad students. Here's some tips that you're probably not going to hear from other people that will make your life easier in the long run.
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I appreciate this editorial and our paper's cited as a recent example, but qualitative research shouldn't have to compete directly with quantitative research (on scope, sample size, etc) at the desk rejection phase, precisely for reasons given in the editorial 1/2
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It's a bit of a hoot that Nature Climate Change of all pubs is arguing for respect for qualitative methods (see their 1.981.094.701 published articles that are obsessed with quantifying contextual and descriptive data), but glad to see it nature.com/articles/s4155 via @NickZimson
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Always happy to see arguments for more diverse skill sets in climate/weather. The argument from others in the comments that communication and other social science skills can just be picked up "on the fly" only emphasizes the need for a paradigm shift
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College meteorology programs are going to seriously need to recalibrate required course curriculum for those on forecasting tracks. Classes on communication, dealing with trauma (self & others), and some form of social science maybe need to be required now?
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