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00:00What we're talking about here is a lack of representation. So if you could briefly explain the specific dangers in making climate change policies without the input of a diversity of research and voices. I think the primary problem with that is that the lived experience the perspective the realities of the people who are most vulnerable should be part of the solution process. So when you have this number genius group that doesn't relate to those populations directly that doesn't include those populations you end up with solutions that really miss you miss out on the trust of those populations and trying to get them applied and also miss out on the realities of their experience. And a really good example of that and one that you often cite is Hurricane Katrina and the kinds of questions before posing in the aftermath. Walk us through that really quickly. Yeah I mean Katrina is fading from a lot of people's memories of all the disasters that we have. But you know one of the questions that came out a great test case for this. But one the other question that came out were why didn't people just leave which assumes that you have the wherewithal and disposable income to rush off and buy a ticket or jump in your car and leave that you don't have any place based attachment that might challenge that. And that comes from an external perspective that is sort of imposed upon people that there's really no relationship. Right. Leaving was simply not an option for a lot of people there. You've said Vernon that climate change is not just a scientific problem but it's a socio economic problem. So is it possible to find scientific solutions while also not exacerbating racial and social inequalities. It is but it's it's not possible to do that if you don't recognize that a lot of the challenges in climate change are human problems and it's a human problem you need humanist or human centered solutions you need equity centered solutions. And it's not just an engineering solution. It's not just a physical solution. It's certainly not just a technology solution because newer technologies have inherent biases built in. We were just pulled off a graphic. I want to pull it up again because if you're a young black person who is interested in studying the climate what does the path to becoming a practicing climate scientist look like for you versus for a white or Asian scientist which as you could see make up 93 percent the current faculty posts. Yeah the. It's quite the challenge. Statistic I often say is that statistically you have a better chance of being the president of the United States than landing a faculty position in one of the top 25 or even 50 50 manning programs in the academy if you're African-American less. In fact if you're Native American Asian Pacific Islander. And so these this should not be the case in an equitable or egalitarian educational community. So there are steps being taken. For instance our President Biden signed an executive order on his first day in office to elevate racial equality throughout the federal workforce and throughout federal programs. Do you see that moving the needle for your field in the next five years. Frankly I don't see it moving the needle unless there's very intentional action inside of academic institutions. There's not very specific and intentional action inside of the federal government especially the science mission agencies in private sector where there have. Frankly there hasn't been much intentionality. When you look at production most of the production of by park scientists scientists of racialized backgrounds comes from a very small number of institutions. Significant progress very small number of people being serious about it.

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What Climate Science Loses Without Enough Black Researchers

Science usually guides a country's climate change policies, but there's a problem when the decisions are made by a homogenous group and the consequences could be dire for everyone. Bloomberg's Scarlet Fu sat down with Vernon Morris, Arizona State University professor and director of the school of mathematical and natural sciences. Professor Morris is also the founding director of the NOAA's Center for Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology. (Source: Bloomberg)

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