Marching For Science is countering "alternate facts"

SCIENTISTS argued among themselves whether or not to allow the March for Science be more political. It's not surprising that they would have that debate - it is part of their nature to stay above the partisan fray - but the argument to be apolitical loses its case when you consider it was politics in the first place that inspired the march.

Reluctant they may be, but scientists and their supporters came out by the 10s of thousands throughout the world, spurred by a U.S. administration that seems at odds with the work of scientists by denying their findings.

"We are at a dangerous moment in our nation's history when science and scientists are under attack, when the very words 'climate change' are being censored," artist and environmentalist Maya Lin told the crowd who attended the march in Washington D.C.

"To me, this march is important because it serves as a forum to address the many ways in which restrictions imposed on scientific research affect our lives" wrote Dhruv Arora on ScrollIn. Arora, who came to the U.S. from India, now lives in North Carolina where he helped organized the March For Science in that state. 

RELATED: Why scientists are marching

"The march should not be about scientists stepping down from the ivory tower just long enough to defend it. As important as legislation and policy are, I would first like to see the creation of a space where the scientific community can be held accountable. As a queer, person of colour, immigrant, worker, it is important to me that the very real issue of a lack of visibility and representation in science gets addressed, that scientists’ rights are seen as workers’ rights. When science is stifled, it is always the most underprivileged who suffer.

"The scientific community wishes to be part of the resistance, but where have we been all this while? What can we learn from those who have already been on the ground? How can we demonstrate solidarity? What do we have to offer? What is required of us, but also, how can we be of service above and beyond?"

Molly Jung, 29, a doctoral candidate at Johns Hopkins, agreed: “It’s time for scientists to get out of the ivory towers and get the message out.”

The most common sign at all the marches was, "Science, Not Silence."

Some of the marchers were able to combine two issues in one, the assault on science and the attacks against refugees and immigrants.

Thanks to Aysha S. Raza who was part of the London march. For you sci-fi fans of the BBC's Dr. Who ...

A word of encouragement from George Takei, AKA Star Trek's Mr. Sulu ...

Comedian Kumail Nanjani sums it all up ...

Supporters of science demonstrated at almost 600 cities or campuses, on all seven continents, including Antartica  where researchers had this message: “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more so that we may fear less.”

... and the North Pole ...

and all the places inbetween. From Tokyo ...

... To Washington D.C., where rain may have dampened the turnout but not their spirit. 
“I’ve never thought I had to march, but things are so severe I had to be here,” May Ann Ti, an former engineer from Sterling, Virginia, said. “So severe, even the nerds are here,” her sign read.

Brenda Clough, a science fiction author, has the last word. She says she marches for science because without real science, there would be nothing for the imagination to use to write fiction.

Donald Trump's motorcade passed by the marchers as he went to another event. He issued a statement later that morning but didn't mention the march.

"My administration is committed to advancing scientific research that leads to a better understanding of our environment and of environmental risks," Trump said. "As we do so, we should remember that rigorous science depends not on ideology, but on a spirit of honest inquiry and robust debate.

"This April 22nd, as we observe Earth Day, I hope that our nation can come together to give thanks for the land we all love and call home," Trump added. 

(UPDATED: 4/23 to include Trump's statement.)

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March for Science: Earth Day will be different this year

MARCH FOR SCIENCE

If a rally for science held in Boston in Feb. is an example, we can expect a plethora of creative of the signs during the March for Science next Saturday.

ON THE FIRST DAY of Donald Trump's presidency, the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Science and Technology Policy's website no longer lists “science” in the paragraph describing what it does.

With all the ballyhoo about the numbers who attended the inauguration and the historic Women's March the next day, it ALMOST went unnoticed.

Scientists and environmentalists saw it. In fact, it set off alarm bells. That's what inspired the organizing of the March For Science.

Earth Day, this Saturday (April 22) has taken a new - more urgent - meaning this year beyond cleaning up beaches and parks. Science-friendly individuals will gather on the National Mall, and in hundreds of satellite marches across the U.S. and around the globe. The Earth Day Network — the nonprofit that organizes Earth Day events every year — has taken the lead on programming for the march.

COURTESY OF AMADO GULOY

Amado Guloy, organizing the San Francisco Bay Area's
March for Science, gave a TED talk.

"On some level, [science] is already politicized with certain acts done by Congress, like increased oversight over what kinds of science we should be able to practice and pursue [using federal funds]," said Amado Guloy, a materials and inorganic chemist based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Guloy, a Filipino/American is spending all his spare time organizing the March for Science in San Francisco. His tech startup Rex uses technology to help veterinarians keep digital records as they provide clinical care at farms.

The March for Science will celebrate the scientific method and advocate for evidence-based decision-making in all levels of government. Though the event’s website doesn’t explicitly mention Trump, it’s a protest of his administration’s policies, including his proposal to cut billions in funding for scientific research.


The March for Science shouldn't be confused with the People's Climate March, which will be held the following weekend and whose emphasis will be on ... well, climate change. 

IT'S TOO LATE TO KEEP SCIENCE APOLITICAL

Organizers have tried to steer away from the appearance of being anti-Trump. Its website cites: "Anti-science agendas and policies have been advanced by politicians on both sides of the aisle, and they harm everyone — without exception."

"What we’re trying to do (with the March for Science ) is say, OK, the narrative of science has been politicized and nitpicked. Let’s go back to ..., ‘This is what the scientific method is and this is why it should not be nitpicked,’ so if you are going to make a narrative with data, it’s done in a scientific manner,'" said Guloy in an interview in The Scientist Magazine.

At any rate, like it or not, science has already been politicized. The Trump administration and the Republican majority in Congress are defunding research, politicizing grant making  diminishing science’s role in the agency rule making process, and flat out refusing to accept conclusions they don’t like.

Since Donald Trump became president, numerous climate change deniers have been confirmed to lead key scientific cabinets. What's more, the administration has cracked down on federal agencies' use of social media and access to reporters, demanded that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submit research for political vetting before publishing, and deleted or hidden what were once public records from government websites.

RELATED: Every anti-science thing Trump has done in his administration's first 100 days

These efforts to discredit science have sparked a growing and historic resistance movement, from rogue Twitter accounts to scientists racing to archive climate change and other threatened data from government servers.

Trump's administration is planning a 17 percent cut to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the agency tasked with monitoring oceans, preparing for potentially dangerous storms and assessing the dangers of climate change, according to a leaked memo obtained by the Washington Post.

Of all the government agencies set for cuts, the EPA would be the most severely gashed. If Congress were to enact Trump's budget proposal for the fiscal year 2017-2018, the EPA would lose $2.6 billion out of its current $8.1 billion in funding — a 32.1 percent slash to the agency that would pay for 5 percent of the boost to the Department of Defense.

Trump has yet to name a top White House science adviser, and it’s unclear if he ever will. A man who doesn't believe in climate change, Scott Pruitt, has been named head of the EPA, an agency that he's sued nine times as the former Attorney General of Oklahoma.

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, a theoretical physicist at the University of Washington, told the Washington Post that science has always been influenced by politics.

She cited the example of Albert Einstein, who, in addition to illuminating the fundamental laws of physics, advocated for civil rights, socialism, and nuclear arms control. His politics made him a target of the FBI, which tracked his phone calls and went through his trash until his death in 1955.

“Those are the same scientists we are taught to look up to as science students,” she said of Einstein and other physicists who advocated for arms control. “They very much understood that physics had a role to play in the unfolding of highly polarized political events.”

The fact that she is only the 63rd African/American woman in American history to get a PhD in physics — a degree that has been awarded to tens of thousands of researchers. That's no accident, she said.

STRUGGLING WITH DIVERSITY

Her statement brings up one of the key issues that developed during the planning of this march was the issue of diversity. It got so muddled the organizers issued four different statements that still didn't satisfy everyone. The lack of women and people of color in the research labs is something that needs to be discussed further. 

"We cannot ignore issues of racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, xenophobia, or any other form of discrimination in the discussion and implementation of science," says the website. "Nor can we ignore the ways in which science has been misused to harm marginalized communities. The lack of inclusivity and diversity in STEM thwarts scientific advancements not only by limiting who conducts the research, but also by influencing what topics are studied, who participates in the research, and who will benefit from or be harmed by it."
The march is open to everyone who believes in facts, the value of research. scientific vetting and the value of facts ... and against the policies that seek to belittle those tenets.

Guloy, the San Francisco scientist and entrepreneur, said that he hopes the march is not a one-and-done event. The issues raised by the march will continue to be worked on in the months and years ahead.

Theorems are basic to science but there comes a time when practical matters can supersede theory. The days when scientists and researchers stay hunkered down in their labs separate from the rest of society are over. Politics has punctured that wall. From the vaccines that protect billions of lives to the ubiquitous smart phone, there can be no doubt that society has benefited from science. But science, too, can benefit from joining the public square with the rest of us. That's why scientists need to march. That's why we need to join them. 

FOOTNOTE: During a Rally for Science held in Boston last Feb. participants made some creatively appropriate signs, some of which are shown below.. Organizers are encouraging participants to do the same in the March for Science.

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