July 16 2009

RMBL has been doing a bunch of outreach events the last several weeks and I’ve had some really interesting questions that have made me think. What can the Lab tell us about climate change? Some of the scientists associated with the Lab are very involved politically—does endorsement of the Lab mean that I endorse their viewpoints? Is the Lab an advocacy group?

I think the decisions we make as a society are based upon a combination of knowledge and values. While knowledge should inform our actions, the decisions we make ultimately reflect our personal values. It is the responsibility of everybody in society, including scientists, to think about how we can improve our world and our community. And I’ve been inspired by the impacts that I’ve seen students and scientists make over the years. At the end of the day, however, the RMBL as an institution is dedicated to its mission. Nothing more and nothing less. We are not an advocacy group and we do not take institutional stands on environmental issues (though we hope the work done here can contribute in meaningful ways to critical issues and are proud when our knowledge informs important decisions).

RMBL is about generating knowledge about the world and training the next generation of field scientists. As we build support for the Lab, we are reaching out to people who believe that knowledge about our world is important. Individuals who support the Lab are not endorsing a particular viewpoint about environmental policy; rather, they are making a statement that knowledge is something that we need more of. It is a statement that one of the best legacies we can leave our children is an understanding of the world they inherit from us.