CLEAR lab

Right now, I spend most of my time in the lab doing a mix of wet and non-wet lab work.

So this week, you’ll get a look into what’s going on in the CLEAR lab space. Maybe on this channel, but more action is on our insta page ;) (6/6)

This (prospective) project feels like a full-circle moment. It connects my interests in community-based research and environmental plastic through place-based methods in rural Newfoundland (one of my favourite places to be, ever). (5/6)

My interest in research processes has really guided what I enjoy most at CLEAR.

Now, I’m preparing for a PhD project focused on developing a community-based monitoring program in my hometown on the Bonavista Peninsula, NL. (4/6)

I love thinking critically about how we do research and how research norms shape what we learn.

One example: some of my master’s thesis is a literature review on the scale of plastics research, born from wondering why surface water studies often report results at oceanic scales. 3/6

I’ve been at CLEAR since 2022, working on all kinds of projects and in all kinds of roles: sample processor, lit reviewer, plastic identifier, working group coordinator, and student (plus a few others I’ve probably forgotten). 2/6

This week we’re continuing to wake up our social media presence with… ME! 🌊

Hi everyone, I’m Riley Cotter. Right now, I'm a Research Specialist and MSc student (almost finished!) at CLEAR.

⬇️

Cover of Fear of a Dead White Planet by the More Worlds Collective. The cover art features an undulating curtain of smog against an otherwise clear sky. The texture of the smog has a sketch-like quality. The smog covers most of the page, with the relatively thin strip of blue sky at the bottom of the page. The top of a tree can be seen peeking out from the bottom left-hand corner of the cover.

The Weekly Read is "Fear of a Dead White Planet," by the More Worlds Collective (Joseph Masco, Tim Choy, Jake Kosek, and M. Murphy), which asks: How does one study when the planet is on fire? Read this book now for free! buff.ly/86Bikuh

Apply for this free PhD course on Energy Humanities in Stavanger, Norway!

Please pass the opportunity on to students you know. Students from anywhere are welcome.

#envhum #envhist

I (Max) highly recommend this book. The ethnography is beautiful. The methods of an activist/researcher are exceptional. The theories of change are poetic and grounded. The case study is holy shit.

Why 'beauty factories' could solve two massive cosmological mysteries Facilities that make particles called B mesons may seem obscure, but they could help explain why there is more matter than antimatter and what dark matter is, says Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

In my latest 🧪⚛️ column for @newscientist.com for subscribers (including libraries): beautiful non-binary mesons!

"the particles oscillate between being mesons and antimesons. In other words, neutral B mesons are spontaneously non-binary."

🏳️‍⚧️🥰

www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...

Celebrated Conservationist and Chimpanzee Expert Jane Goodall Is Dead at 91 “Dr. Goodall’s discoveries as an ethologist revolutionized science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of our natural world.”

“Dr. Goodall’s discoveries as an ethologist revolutionized science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of our natural world,” a statement from the Jane Goodall Institute read.

I hope you find our work useful! One of my core goals as a (publicly-funded!) intellectual is to make a lot of resources that can be applied beyond my own work. The greatest thing ever is when someone else uses them. :) 8/8

Community Research Authorship and Attribution in Nunatsiavut: First Steps - CLEAR - Civic Laboratory for Environmental Action Research Community members are speaking out or joining the conversation about attributing their knowledge and recognizing their roles in research.

... since we do a lot of research with people who aren't academics, but who certainly contribute to research in foundational ways. So we now have a Community Researcher Co-Authorship and Attribution Working Group. 7/8
civiclaboratory.nl/2025/02/26/c...

Equity in Author Order - CLEAR - Civic Laboratory for Environmental Action Research How do we assign author order in a way that is humble, equitable, and accountable to the different types of labour that go into collaborative publications? What process can address the power dynamics ...

3. Our third most popular web page is on our equity in author order protocol for consensus-based decisions about what work is most important and how we credit people for it. But we've actually updated this recently... 6/8

civiclaboratory.nl/2016/05/23/e...

Anti-colonial science - CLEAR - Civic Laboratory for Environmental Action Research CLEAR is a feminist and anti-colonial laboratory. But what does that mean?

2. A short introduction to what we mean by "anticolonial science". It includes a primer on how all science is political, whether you want it to be or not. And a list of sibling labs that do similar value-based, anticolonial research. 5/8 civiclaboratory.nl/2017/12/29/f...

CLEAR Lab Book - CLEAR - Civic Laboratory for Environmental Action Research Our Lab Book is a living manual of our values, guidelines, and protocols. Part manifesto and part 'how to' guide, it outlines how the lab works socially and scientifically.

We make a lot of resources about our research processes. Our post popular: 1) The Lab Book, a Living Manual of our values, guidelines & protocols. We wrote this collectively. It outlines day to day lab life.
We're working on publishing an update this winter! 4/8

civiclaboratory.nl/clear-lab-bo...

At CLEAR we study plastics while rethinking *how* science is done. Our work is values-based: community-led, anti-colonial, & committed to justice. How do you run an equitable lab meeting? Which scientific materials are best for the environment? 3/8

meopar.ca/portfolio/ma...

Text over a biopix of a person in black clothes with short dark hair. It reads: Taanishi! I’m a Professor in Geography at Memorial University, where I direct CLEAR. I’m the author of Pollution is Colonialism (Duke University Press, 2021) and co-author of Discard Studies: Systems, Wasting, and Power (MIT Press, 2022). Interests and expertise: Indigenous & anticolonial science Community-based plastic pollution methods Science & technology studies

This week, I'm taking over our socials! My name is Max Liboiron and I direct CLEAR. Lately, I focus on plastics pollution + Indigenous quantitative methods. The question driving my work is, how do we do statistics in ways that align with Indigenous ethics and relations? 2/8

We’re waking up our social media presence!🌱Every week, a different CLEAR member will share what life looks like in the lab, from wet lab work to community authorship. Each perspective is unique, showing the diff ways we think about what we do and *how* we do it. Stay tuned! 1/8

How to incorporate the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in the Global Plastics Treaty | Cambridge Prisms: Plastics | Cambridge Core How to incorporate the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in the Global Plastics Treaty - Volume 3

My piece echos Lynn Jacobs', but focuses on how even the best version of the Treaty includes Indigenous knowledge, but not Indigenous Peoples. Meaning, it's not a rights-based model like the one outlined by the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

.@konwaiatanonwes.bsky.social (Lynn Jacobs) has a great piece on "Indigenous rights, knowledge, and participation in the global plastics treaty" that details how Indigenous Peoples have been systematically blocked in the creation process

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

"The petrochemical historical bloc: Exposing the extent and depth of opposition to a high-ambition plastics treaty" identifies a bloc of petrostates, industry & their allies to ferret out disingenuous rhetoric and identify potential counter-alliances.

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Today there's a public briefing on the collection, "Act boldly or fail: academic perspectives at a pivotal moment in global plastics treaty negotiations," where 60+ experts outline the consequences of delayed or diluted action 1/
www.eurekalert.org/news-release...

Encrypted Form CryptPad: end-to-end encrypted collaboration suite

You can still register for tomorrow & Wednesday's workshops on promotion & tenure files for community-based research. Day 1 is CVs & Day 2 are dossiers. The team includes @arnkeeling.bsky.social @rosiealegado.bsky.social & Letitia Henville
1/3

cryptpad.fr/form/#/2/for...

The Problem With Averages: What Plastic in Birds Teaches Us About Statistical Ethics - CLEAR - Civic Laboratory for Environmental Action Research By Max Liboiron and Alex Bond

A short blog post with @maxliboiron.bsky.social for @clear-lab.bsky.social on the ethics of summary stats and why choice matters. It might seem obvious, but these problems still appear in papers when summarizing plastics data
civiclaboratory.nl/2025/06/30/t... #PlasticPollution #ornithology

This piece by Alex Flynn is brilliant! Very happy to work with him and @clear-lab.bsky.social to bring more attention to it.

See the handy-dandy chart that converts articles in the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) to articles in the draft Global Plastics Treaty. This chart and the paper are open access.

How to incorporate the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in the Global Plastics Treaty | Cambridge Prisms: Plastics | Cambridge Core How to incorporate the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in the Global Plastics Treaty - Volume 3

The draft Plastics Treaty has 3 sets of “Principles & Approaches, only 1 of which includes “knowledge of Indigenous Peoples. Even then, it includes Indigenous *knowledge* to the marked exclusion of Indigenous *Peoples*. A better way starts with Indigenous rights.

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Indigenous scientists are fighting to protect their data — and their culture They’re worried about the loss of their research.

A story of Indigenous researchers across the US-Canadian border moving our data so it's safer.

www.theverge.com/features/664...

© CBC/Radio-Canada 2025. All rights reserved.

CLEAR member Bridget Kakooza shared results about plastics in Ringed seals from around Rigolet, Nunatsiavut. While some seals ate plastics, the plastics were tiny and easily passed through the animals: "we are not worried about the negative impacts of plastics in them."
www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...