A Case for Open Access: Accelerating Discovery in Climate Science | ECS Redcat Blog

" ... This September, I joined more than 400,000 others for the Peoples Climate March in New York City. I was encouraged by the 'We Have the Solutions' contingent of the march, which included several groups of scientists. Many of us have been demanding action on climate change from our leaders, including those that attend the Climate Summit negotiations. For me, the latest IPCC report simply reinforces what I’ve already understood: we must do more to limit greenhouse gas emissions if we want any chance of keeping global temperature change below 2°C relative to pre-industrial levels. The report also reinforces that the conversion to a clean energy economy is already feasible, both economically and technologically. Countries like Germany have been demonstrating the possibilities of renewable energy, despite having sunshine similar to that of Alaska. Of course, the Energiewende transition has not been without growing pains, and most would agree we must address the underlying energy storage issues to fully realize the potential of renewable energy sources like sun, wind and water. Thankfully, we know the scientists of ECS are working on exciting research to improve our understanding and technological capabilities in batteries, photovoltaics, nanotechnology and fuel cells, among other cutting-edge fields. In 2013, the ECS board of directors made a bold, strategic decision to pursue open access. The push for transformation is being driven by a desire to disseminate scientific research and make it more widely accessible, to spread theoretical and practical knowledge that will advance scientific understanding. In March, after launching author choice open access, ECS published our first open access paper in the Journal of the Electrochemical Society. Since then, there has been a strong demand for open access publication, with more than 383 papers published as open access as of January 20, 2015. Yet, to be truly open access and to create the most freedom possible for research that may affect the sustainability of our planet, we want to remove all financial barriers in ECS publications. Making the scientific research and data in ECS journals accessible to anyone with an internet connection will only inspire more discoveries, as well as more research and more innovation ..."