Rae Charlotte L, Farley Martin, Jeffery Kate J, Urai Anne E
School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Falmer, UK.
Sustainable UCL, University College London, London, UK.
Brain Neurosci Adv. 2022 Feb 28;6:23982128221075430. doi: 10.1177/23982128221075430. eCollection 2022 Jan-Dec.
Our planet is experiencing severe and accelerating climate and ecological breakdown caused by human activity. As professional scientists, we are better placed than most to understand the data that evidence this fact. However, like most other people, we ignore this inconvenient truth and lead our daily lives, at home and at work, as if these facts weren't true. In particular, we overlook that our own neuroscientific research practices, from our laboratory experiments to our often global travel, help drive climate change and ecosystem damage. We also hold privileged positions of authority in our societies but rarely speak out. Here, we argue that to help society create a survivable future, we neuroscientists can and must play our part. In April 2021, we delivered a symposium at the British Neuroscience Association meeting outlining what we think neuroscientists can and should do to help stop climate breakdown. Building on our talks (Box 1), we here outline what the climate and ecological emergencies mean for us as neuroscientists. We highlight the psychological mechanisms that block us from taking action, and then outline what practical steps we can take to overcome these blocks and work towards sustainability. In particular, we review environmental issues in neuroscience research, scientific computing, and conferences. We also highlight the key advocacy roles we can all play in our institutions and in society more broadly. The need for sustainable change has never been more urgent, and we call on all (neuro)scientists to act with the utmost urgency.
我们的星球正因人类活动而经历着严峻且加速的气候与生态崩溃。作为专业科学家，我们比大多数人更有条件去理解证明这一事实的数据。然而，和大多数其他人一样，我们忽视了这个令人不快的真相，在家庭和工作中过着日常生活，就好像这些事实并不存在一样。特别是，我们忽略了自己的神经科学研究实践，从实验室实验到频繁的全球旅行，都在助推气候变化和生态系统破坏。我们在各自的社会中也拥有特权权威地位，但却很少发声。在此，我们认为，为了帮助社会创造一个可生存的未来，神经科学家能够且必须发挥自己的作用。2021年4月，我们在英国神经科学协会会议上举办了一场研讨会，概述了我们认为神经科学家在帮助阻止气候崩溃方面能够且应该做的事情。基于我们的发言（方框1），我们在此概述气候和生态紧急情况对身为神经科学家的我们意味着什么。我们强调阻碍我们采取行动的心理机制，然后概述我们可以采取哪些实际步骤来克服这些障碍并朝着可持续发展努力。特别是，我们审视神经科学研究、科学计算和会议中的环境问题。我们还强调了我们在各自机构以及更广泛的社会中都可以发挥的关键倡导作用。实现可持续变革的需求从未如此迫切，我们呼吁所有（神经）科学家以最紧迫的态度采取行动。
