Scientists in Survival Mode
By Barbara Aulicino, Katie L. Burke
After a disastrous hurricane season, scientists in the storms' pathways struggle to return to work.
March 12, 2018
From The Staff Environment Ethics Policy Climatology Ecology
After Hurricanes Irma and Maria hit in the fall of 2017, local scientists in the storms' pathways wanted to be out collecting data on the resulting environmental impacts to inform restoration, but instead they have been “in survival mode” for months themselves. This expanded set of visuals from researchers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands builds on the report on their experiences in the March–April 2018 issue, "Scientists in the Wake of the Hurricanes."
Like millions of other people in the Caribbean, many researchers are still unable to return to their work months later; some still do not have power or internet at home. Their experiences point to how the erosion of infrastructure and institutions during a recession, combined with an increasing risk of disaster because of climate change, has cascading effects on what and where research is done.
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