Please participate in the survey mentioned at the bottom of this article

On the last day of PowerShift 09 – climate education and activism by more than 12,000 youth that gathered from all over the US in D.C. – on March 2 2009, a large number of people will converge in D.C. to protest against coal (see earlier blog entry here and an article by the washington Pots by Bill McKibben here).

In this yet largest demonstration against coal-fired power plants in the U.S., participants will call for attention to the fact that CO2 concentration has risen to dangerous levels, and that we thus cannot afford to keep adding CO2 to the atmosphere. As one of the major causes for CO2 emissions, coal fired power plants must be replaced by clean technologies as quickly as possible, and new coal fired power plants should only be built once Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) is readily available (which it will not be for at least another decade or more).

During this demonstration, people will trespass into the property of the capitol’s power plant peacefully and expect to be arrested. One of the participating people will likely include Dr. James Hansen, climate scientist and director of the Goddard Institute of Space Studies. He will participate as a concerned citizen, not in an official role.

This event warrants the question about the role of scientists in helping to raise public awareness and action on the imminent (within 10 years) danger of passing irreversible tipping points.

What do YOU believe is the role of scientists in taking action? Please participate in a survey on the question: “Should scientists participate in civil disobedience?”, or leave a comment below. We will post the results of this survey next week.

Thank you!

Maiken Winter

To read about the outcome of the protest, please read Bill McKibbens comment on Grist