Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

The need for political advocacy in astronomy

Astronomers are used to advocating for (financial) support for their future endeavours, but how should they go about lobbying for support for issues such as the climate emergency? Join forces with those experienced in effecting policy change.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. IPCC Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis (eds Masson-Delmotte, V. et al.) (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2021).

  2. Stevens, A. R., Bellstedt, S., Elahi, P. J. & Murphy, M. T. Nat. Astron. 4, 843–851 (2020).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Burtscher, L. et al. Nat. Astron. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-021-01486-x (2021).

  4. Vucetich, J. A. & Nelson, M. P. Minding Nature 3, 48–50 (2010).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Cairney, P. Understanding Public Policy: Theories and Issues (Red Globe Press, 2019).

  6. De Bruycker, I. & McLoughlin, A. J. Public Aff. https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2567 (2020).

  7. Weible, C. M., Heikkila, T., Deleon, P. & Sabatier, P. A. Policy Sci. 45, 1–21 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Mintrom, M. Policy Des. Pract. 2, 307–323 (2019).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Kingdon, J. W. Agendas, Alternatives and Public Policies (Harper Collins, 1995).

  10. Partzsch, L. Glob. Policy 8, 5–13 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Cantalloube, F. et al. Nat. Astron. 4, 826–829 (2020).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. Ballantyne, N. Mind 128, 367–395 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Cologna, V., Knutti, R., Oreskes, N. & Siegrist, M. Environ. Res. Lett. 16, 024011 (2021).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrew Williams.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Williams, A. The need for political advocacy in astronomy. Nat Astron 5, 864–865 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-021-01490-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-021-01490-1

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing