Jess Phoenix is likely one of the only would - be U.S. politicians with a favored volcanic eruption . ( The 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum , if you were wondering . ) She ’s almost certainly the only one who ’s led expeditions to dynamic volcano around the world .
But while eruptions are near and heartfelt to this volcanologist ’s heart , they are n’t why she ’s adjudicate to operate for Congress to represent California ’s 25th district . The accelerator for that would be Steve Knight , the notoriously anti - environment Republican who currently represents her dominion . And , more broadly , President Donald Trump , who has elevated scientific discipline denier to positions of king and launch an all - out warfare on environmental regulation and ground protections .
Since announcing she would be running as a Democrat last spring , Phoenix , a 36 - class - old with a geology background and a preference for horse rescuing , has garnerednational metier attention , asizable social media following , andbroad grassroots supportwithin her conservative - leaning northern Los Angeles - area district . Her campaign issupported by 314 action , a non - profit launch in 2016 that ’s help scientists around the country run for political office , with the Bob Hope ofsolving problem based on data rather than political theory .
Earther caught up with Phoenix to chew the fat about vent , Star Trek , and what it ’s like being a scientist - turn first - time candidate . Below is a condensed and lightly edited version of our conversation .
Maddie Stone / Earther : I experience like most masses , myself included , have a pretty glamorized melodic theme of what being a volcanologist actually entails . So , uh , what ’s actually the best part ?
Jess Phoenix : I get call all the fourth dimension from TV producers who wanna make movies about volcano . I have to burst their house of cards and severalise them that you could not just walk up to a volcano any clock time — you’re not going to go right up to an eruption . sample flowing lava is going to be dramatic .
My favorite part is really learning about the personality of each vent . Each one is awake in a way — they have periods of body process and quiescence . I was a account major before develop into geology , so I like to instruct about about the local beliefs surrounding volcano , see the ways hoi polloi have hero-worship them .
MS : Are there any good Hollywood representations of a volcano ?
JP : Hollywood has kind of done us a disservice as presenting volcanic eruptions as something you may survive . [ In the new Jurassic Parkmovie preview ] Chris Pratt ’s character outruns a pyroclastic flow . You would die .
The best one is in reality the BBC . They did a [ photographic film ] calledSupervolcanothat was really good with the science .
MS : It’sbeen reportedthat the Trump administration ’s state of war on science helped convert you to run for spot . What can you bring to the board that can assist battle this incredibly anti - science clime we seem to find ourselves in ?
JP : horn was a good accelerator . But what has really aid sustain me , and made me realize this needs to materialise , is Steve Knight , who I ’m running against , who ’s so sorry on so many issues . He ’s just doing such a poor job representing our residential district . Every balloting possible about the surroundings , he vote anti - environment . [ The League of Conservation voters has given Knight alifetime score of 0%for his environmental voting phonograph record . ]
I think for me , I am such a different sort of candidate . I did n’t have infrastructure or institutional support . So I was able-bodied to commute directions with this campaign , guide it toward a wholehearted grassroots effort . When you have lot of hoi polloi contributing little amounts , you’re able to actually get out and talk to them rather than [ court ] rich mass to give donations , which is normally how political sympathies gets done .
MS : You ’ve talked a lot about impart evidence - base policy making to Congress . How do you see yourself doing that ?
JP : Fortunately for me , I have experience pedagogy . [ In summation torunning an educational nonprofitthat teaches students about desert ecology in the Mojave , Phoenix used to learn at California State University , Los Angeles . ] I figure out that kids , young adults , everyone really , often hold impression that are n’t based in fact . What I have to do is necessitate questions and really start a dialog .
So when it come to making legal philosophy , I see that as , ‘ okay , you believe x about climate variety ’ , they explain their thought process , and then you could say ‘ do you know blah blah bombast is true ’ . It ’s gracious when you ’re in reality conversing with them , rather than talking down to them .
And the neat thing about being a scientist is , we all learn the scientific method acting , which go for across discipline . We all know how to come up with a speculation and test it . I can take a paper on a specific character of cancer , read that , and while I ’m not a cancer researcher at all , I can look at the datum , and see if it ’s helpful . I ’d have intercourse to take that to all areas of insurance policy .
MS : I want to push back just a little moment here , because I mean it ’s clear some folk in our government are blatantly ignoring facts and scientific grounds . How do you hope to pilot that ?
JP : Yea , I signify see , Trump believes in climate change . He ’s proven that by put in an applicationfor a sea bulwark for his golf course[in Scotland ] . Objectively , he knows mood change is veridical . The U.S. military acknowledge climate change is real . So I believe , it ’s reveal the motives at that point , [ figuring out ] what ’s the cause of the enemy , and really being organise to address thing in committees .
Also , this is why grassroots is so key . If your giver foundation is n’t just rich people but a whole grouping of citizens , you ’re gon na see change . A luck of these life history politician want to keep their tycoon . I think it ’s refreshing to people to see someone who ’s very principled , who ’s not afraid to stand up for what matters .
It ’s a compounding of being prepared and doing your homework and saying , here ’s what the people believe .
MS : You ’ve made climate activeness animportant part of your campaign . But there ’s this traditional wisdom that climate change is n’t really an government issue people vote on . How do you make it a voting issue ?
JP : I cogitate the key is to come to it to things happening topically . In California we have such a cheeseparing relationship with our environment . Even in my community , if you ’re button-down , you ’re preparing for wildfire .
If you ’re in tornado skittle alley , mention that . note the Dust Bowl . That was something that touch a destiny of people , and was environmental . So I think we can draw on history and current experiences . Showing masses people pictures of what LA ’s smogginess take care like 30 years ago versus today just shocks them . And [ the deviation ] is because of environmental regulation . Nobody want to breath polluted air . And when you tell them that ’s what ’s go to pass off , that ’s what humanize it to people .
One other thing I endeavor to do : I really want to make my residential area a global hub for green tech research and development . That ’s something we can do — we have a substantial history of aerospace manufacturing , and we ’re so close to JPL [ NASA ’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory ] and CalTech . Even if someone does n’t touch on believing man - made climate change , the caper of the time to come are in green technical school because we ’ve have mechanization and such a challenge with folks running out of service sector jobs . We have a biotic community prepared to be the van for it .
MS : Another matter that really interest me about your crusade is how you ’ve received supportfrom a few Star Trek actors , and you ’ve talked about bringing ‘ Star Trek value ’ to Congress . Can you explain what that think of ? And are you a Trekkie yourself ?
JP : So I always bonk about Star Trek because I had an uncle who was die intemperately into it . I knew a lot of the soda water culture reference . But I initiate looking into it more a few years back — I’m watching Discovery now — and the cool thing for me is the value system . It ’s this society a few hundred years off where they ’ve solved a great deal of the problems facing us today — homelessness , joblessness , food scarcity . And now they ’re gong out to see as much as they can about the universe . It shows you when you figure out canonical problems it opens a destiny of doors for where we can go as a species . That message is awesome .
I also love theVulcan credo for infinite diverseness . I see the countless diversity in our world and think we get a lot of our strength from it . make our representation search more like our body politic is only going to strengthen us .
MS : What ’s coming up next for you ?
JP : Well , we ’ve fuck off the Women ’s March on the 20th , the Science March in April . We ’ve got a lot of fundraisers , some hosted for me by other people . So there ’s gon na be some of that , and a whole lot of room access to door work . We ’ve got people all over the country helping out and people internationally who want to help . It ’s just astonishing to see how many hoi polloi are excited [ about this safari ] , continue up the impulse , driving it forwards .
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