teacher's strike?

["Ian Murray" <seamus2001@xxxxxxxxx>]

Academic calls for 'strike' over environment
EducationGuardian.co.uk
Donald MacLeod
Tuesday August 27, 2002


An Oxford academic has called on scientists to join a "knowledge strike" in protest
against world leaders' continued non-action on environmental issues.

Steve Rayner, professor of science in society at the university's Saïd business school,
said scientists must stop allowing themselves to be aligned with governments' failure to
make decisions. Governments were hiding behind the excuse that "more research is
necessary" and scientists should refuse to go along with this until there was action.

"At Johannesburg, scientists may have more impact on policy by declaring the opposite and
telling policy makers at the summit that they will not offer new information on the state
of the planet until we see some action on what we already know," said Professor Rayner
today.

"Politicians representing the world's 'haves' often argue for deferring effective
environmental policy-making until better information is available that can guarantee that
policies are efficient. I agree that better knowledge is generally a good thing, but we
already know enough to start taking decisive steps to protect the planet and address the
needs of its poorest citizens."

He added: "Many politicians are susceptible to the myth of the "perfectibility" of
science. That is, that we will have a better idea in the future of what needs to be done.
There may have been some justification for this thinking at Rio, but progress in science
over the past decade has been rapid and wide ranging. Science has already told us a great
deal and certainly enough to now act decisively on issues such as climate change."

Professor Rayner is one of the original advocates of what have become known as "Type 2"
approaches to environment and development involving local communities and business.

He continues: "Private sector partnerships, local communities and regional and local
authorities need to be encouraged to take direct action on a more localised basis. While
diplomacy and legislation (the Type 1 approach) provide an important framework, Type 2
measures, which I and a number of colleagues have been advocating since the mid-1980s, are
empowering, directly relevant to the individuals concerned and potentially more effective
in actually changing behaviour."