politics

Today I participated in the “March for Science” protest held near Central Park in New York City. A larger protest event took place in Washington, D.C, and New York was one of many ‘satellite’ marches held all over the world. If you aren’t familiar with this movement, it is a reaction to the Trump administration’s dismissal of science, particularly as it relates to climate change. Trump has called anthropogenic climate change a hoax perpetuated by the Chinese, threatened to withdraw from the groundbreaking 2015 Paris climate accord and silenced scientists working for regulatory agencies such as the EPA and Department of the Interior, including the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and National Park Service. In addition, he has proposed budget cuts to research agencies, such as NIH, NOAA and NASA. The protest was expectedly peaceful, bordering on sedate, but it was encouraging to see so many people out supporting science and science-based policy. Consider it a revenge of the nerds!