Nature & Environment
'March For Science' Campaign Initiated By A Group Of Scientists; Hopefully It Will Draw Trump Administration’s Attention
Tripti
First Posted: Jan 28, 2017 05:12 AM EST
Nearly a week has gone by since Donald Trump was sworn in as the President of the United States of America. Perhaps this is the first time when people across the world are so apprehensive of a President who has just been sworn in. This is attributed to the blatant remarks made by the President during his campaign, regarding climate change and its consequences.
Scientists from different institutions and even NASA are nervously expecting a cut in their research funding, which will not only deter the quality of research but also hinder the current momentum of implementation of global climate change policies. Much has been said about this, but a group of scientists, who met online, finally decided to do something about it.
In a forum discussion on Reddit, where scientists were discussing the expected changes in the policies and their outcomes, they came up with the idea of staging a silent protest against the President's policies in the form of a "March," Chron reported.
"There needs to be a Scientists' March on Washington," an anonymous member suggested.
The suggestion was supported by a few other members. Jonathan Berman, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas Health Science Center, further propagated the notion and opened an official Facebook Page "March for Science" that has now more than 150,000 members.
Furthermore, March for science got its own Twitter handle and an official website (www.scientistsmarchonwashington.com), which is chaired by Bernan and Caroline Weinberg, famous science writer and researcher. The website also has a Google Form, where anyone who is interested to join the March can register.
"We were inspired (well, infuriated) by the current attacks on science from the new administration. Slashing funding and restricting scientists from communicating their findings (from tax-funded research!) with the public is absurd and cannot be allowed to stand as policy," Weinberg said, as she prepares the team for an official protest.
All this happened within a couple of days. But as of now, it is all happening just online. The co-chairs and other members will soon be meeting to finalize a date for the actual March. It is also being said that the team will try to coordinate with local scientists and supporters from other cities like Boston and Seattle, so that a multicity "March for Science" can be planned.
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First Posted: Jan 28, 2017 05:12 AM EST
Nearly a week has gone by since Donald Trump was sworn in as the President of the United States of America. Perhaps this is the first time when people across the world are so apprehensive of a President who has just been sworn in. This is attributed to the blatant remarks made by the President during his campaign, regarding climate change and its consequences.
Scientists from different institutions and even NASA are nervously expecting a cut in their research funding, which will not only deter the quality of research but also hinder the current momentum of implementation of global climate change policies. Much has been said about this, but a group of scientists, who met online, finally decided to do something about it.
In a forum discussion on Reddit, where scientists were discussing the expected changes in the policies and their outcomes, they came up with the idea of staging a silent protest against the President's policies in the form of a "March," Chron reported.
"There needs to be a Scientists' March on Washington," an anonymous member suggested.
The suggestion was supported by a few other members. Jonathan Berman, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas Health Science Center, further propagated the notion and opened an official Facebook Page "March for Science" that has now more than 150,000 members.
Furthermore, March for science got its own Twitter handle and an official website (www.scientistsmarchonwashington.com), which is chaired by Bernan and Caroline Weinberg, famous science writer and researcher. The website also has a Google Form, where anyone who is interested to join the March can register.
"We were inspired (well, infuriated) by the current attacks on science from the new administration. Slashing funding and restricting scientists from communicating their findings (from tax-funded research!) with the public is absurd and cannot be allowed to stand as policy," Weinberg said, as she prepares the team for an official protest.
All this happened within a couple of days. But as of now, it is all happening just online. The co-chairs and other members will soon be meeting to finalize a date for the actual March. It is also being said that the team will try to coordinate with local scientists and supporters from other cities like Boston and Seattle, so that a multicity "March for Science" can be planned.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone