Good Day World!
When was the last time you saw a mass gathering of scientists marching against a president's anti-environmental agenda?
The answer is never. Hasn't happened. But it's going to happen on Saturday, which also happens to be Earth Day.
Washington DC’s national mall will be besieged with a collection of marine biologists, birdwatchers, climate researchers and others enraged by what they see as an assault by Chump’s administration upon evidence-based thinking and scientists themselves.
The march is a visceral response to a presidency that has set about the evisceration of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and many of its science-based rules, the dismissal of basic climate change tenets by the president and his appointees and a proposed budget that would remove around $7 billion from science programs, ranging from cancer research to oceanography to Nasa’s monitoring of the Earth.
The organizers know the march won't change Hump's little mind, and he'll undoubtedly send out angry (butt hurt) tweets about it.
The organizers know that by having the march on Earth Day it'll play into conservative and climate skeptic thinking that scientists are just environmentalists.
They don't care. The need to speak up and take a stand is attracting what will likely be the largest protest by scientist advocates in our history.
For the record, the march will dovetail with the People’s Climate March, which will take place a week later.
Science skeptics, and morons like Donny Little Hands, look at how technology has automated some jobs (thus eliminating the need for humans) and the growing mountain of facts that have led to restrictions on polluting industries, with disdain.
What happened is Lump tapped into this simmering distrust and exploited it politically with numerous false narratives.
The challenge is going to be met by this unique protest march. That will help some people let off steam...but will leave the Trumpazees unfazed.
Facts don't mean squat to them.
The only way scientists are going to change minds is by educating the public on the benefits of their research, instead of listening to political hacks claim the earth is flat.
Academia needs to emerge from the labs and to connect with Americans in a more personal way. Talk shows, social media, and other forms of reaching people need to be targeted.
The only way to change the skeptic narrative is by gaining the trust of concerned Americans by going among them and sharing how they will benefit with sound environmental policies.
It's time to come down from the Ivory Towers of Academia and to engage people at ground level, where they live. Marching is a start.
Time for me to walk on down the road...
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