We Need To Address the Helicopter Science Surrounding the Climate Crisis

Photo by Karsten Würth on Unsplash

    Recently, I learned about a term called “helicopter science,” and it completely changed my view on the climate crisis. This term illustrates the startling process many researchers in the global north engage in by extracting research from researchers or areas in the global south and then publishing and using that data for their own purposes without contributing anything in return.

    Not only is this practice an act of plagiarism, but it is also unethical because science, research, resources, and funding consequently get skewed towards the Global North. This leads to countries in the global south, some of them facing the biggest effects of climate change without contributing nearly as much as countries such as the United States, being overlooked. This issue isn’t just out of a lack of curiosity but a lack in information surrounding the implications of climate change on different, generally warmer, parts of the world.

Sources:

[1] Climate Change: Voices from Global South Muted by Climate Science - https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-58808509

[2] Climate Change: The Global Injustice of the Climate Crisis - https://www.dw.com/en/the-global-injustice-of-the-climate-crisis-food-insecurity-carbon-emissions-nutrients-a-49966854/a-49966854.