March for Science | |
---|---|
Part of Protests against Donald Trump | |
Date | April 22, 2017 |
Location | Worldwide |
Caused by | Donald Trump administration's views on climate change and science The misrepresentation and exclusion of scientific knowledge in policy decisions |
Methods | Protest march |
Lead figures | |
Co-chairs & National Steering Committee
Honorary co-chairs | |
Number | |
Hundreds of thousands [5] (Global) | |
www |
External audio | |
---|---|
"Political Science: Out of the lab and into the streets", Distillations Podcast, Science History Institute |
The March for Science (formerly known as the Scientists' March on Washington) [6] was an international series of rallies and marches held on Earth Day. The inaugural march was held on April 22, 2017, in Washington, D.C., and more than 600 other cities across the world. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] According to organizers, the march was a non-partisan movement to celebrate science and the role it plays in everyday lives. [12] The goals of the marches and rallies were to emphasize that science upholds the common good and to call for evidence-based policy in the public's best interest. [11] [13] The March for Science organizers, estimated global attendance at 1.07 million, with 100,000 participants estimated for the main March in Washington, D.C., 70,000 in Boston, 60,000 in Chicago, 50,000 in Los Angeles, 50,000 in San Francisco, [14] 20,000 in Seattle, 14,000 in Phoenix, and 11,000 in Berlin. [15]
A second March for Science was held April 14, 2018. [16] 230 satellite events around the world participated in the 2nd annual event, including New York City, [17] Abuja, Nigeria, [18] and Baraut, India. [19] A third March for Science took place on May 22, 2019, this time with 150 locations around the world participating. [20]
The March for Science organizers and supporters said that support for science should be nonpartisan. [21] [22] [23] The march was organized by scientists [1] skeptical of the agenda of the Trump administration, [22] and critical of Trump administration policies widely viewed as hostile to science. [24] The march's website stated that an "American government that ignores science to pursue ideological agendas endangers the world." [21] [22]
Particular issues of science policy raised by the marchers include support for evidence-based policymaking, [24] as well as support for government funding for scientific research, government transparency, and government acceptance of the scientific consensus on climate change and evolution. [21] [22] The march was part of growing political activity by American scientists in the wake of the November 2016 elections and the 2017 Women's March. [23] [24] [25]
Robert N. Proctor, a historian of science at Stanford University, stated that the March for Science was "pretty unprecedented in terms of the scale and breadth of the scientific community that's involved" and was rooted in "a broader perception of a massive attack on sacred notions of truth that are sacred to the scientific community." [26]
In 2012, Donald Trump referred to climate change as a hoax. [27] As a presidential candidate, [28] he promised to resume construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline and roll back U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations adopted by the Obama administration. [29]
After Trump's election, his first transition team sought out specific U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) employees who had worked on climate change during the Obama administration. [30] Prior to Trump's inauguration, many climate scientists began downloading climate data from government websites that they feared might be deleted by the Trump administration. [31] Other actions taken or promised by the Trump administration inspired the march, including pulling out of the Paris Agreement, [32] the stances of his Cabinet nominees, the freezing of research grants, [33] and a gag order placed on scientists in the EPA regarding dissemination of their research findings. [2] [34] [35] In February 2017, William Happer, a possible Trump science advisor with skeptical views on human caused global warming, described an area of climate science as "really more like a cult" and its practitioners "glassy-eyed". [36] ScienceInsider reported Trump's first budget request as "A grim budget day for U.S. science" because it contained major funding cuts to NOAA's research and satellite programs, the EPA's Office of Research and Development, the DOE's Office of Science and energy programs, the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Institutes of Health, and other science agencies. [37]
International sister marches were planned for countries around the world. These both supported American scientists and climate scientists more generally, and protested against other impingements on academic freedom internationally, such as government action against the Central European University in Hungary and the closure of educational institutes and dismissal of academics in the 2016–17 Turkish purges, as well as local issues. [38]
There needs to be a Scientists' March on Washington.
-Beaverteeth92's original proposal on Reddit [39]
A major source of inspiration behind the planning of the march was the 2017 Women's March of January 21, 2017. [40] The specific idea to create a march originated from a Reddit discussion thread about the removal of references to climate change from the White House website. [2] [41] In the discussion, an anonymous poster named "Beaverteeth92" made a comment regarding the need for a "Scientist's March on Washington". [42] Dozens of Reddit users responded positively to the proposal. [42] Jonathan Berman, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas Health Science Center and a participant in the original conversation, created a Facebook page, Twitter feed and website to organize a march. [2] [42] The Facebook group grew from 200 members to 300,000 in less than a week, [2] [43] growing to 800,000 members. [44] Individual scientists have both applauded and criticized this development. [45]
It was announced on March 30 that Bill Nye, Mona Hanna-Attisha, and Lydia Villa-Komaroff would headline the march, and serve as honorary co-chairs. [4] The protest was set to occur on Earth Day, [46] with satellite rallies planned in hundreds of cities across the world. [9]
For the inaugural march in Washington, D.C., the National Committee consisted of (in alphabetic order): [47]
Sofia Ahsanuddin, Valorie V. Aquino, Jonathan Berman, Teon L. Brooks, [48] Beka Economopoulos, Kate Gage, Kristen Gunther, Kishore Hari, Sloane Henningsen, Rachael Holloway, Aaron Huertas, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Rosalyn LaPier, Julia MacFall, Adam Miller, Lina Miller, Caitlin Pharo, Jennifer Redig, Joanna Spencer-Segal, Lucky Tran, Courtnie Weber, Caroline Weinberg, and Amanda Yang.
These are the roles of the National Committee along with their teams:
Committees | Team Leads | Team Members |
---|---|---|
Co-Chairs | Valorie Aquino, Jonathan Berman, Caroline Weinberg | |
Steering | Sofia Ahsanuddin, Rosalyn LaPier, Joanna Spencer-Segal, Lucky Tran | |
Logistics and Operations | Kate Gage, Lina Miller | Amanda Yang |
Satellite Coordination | Kishore Hari, Caitlin Pharo | Adam Arcus, Jocelyn Barton, Rachael Holloway, Miles Greb, Claudio Paganini, Markus Strehlau, Erin Vaughn, Hugo Valls, Robin Viouroux |
Communications | Aaron Huertas | Atu Darko, Paige Knappenberger, Bridget McGann |
Social Media | Beka Economopoulos, Courtnie Weber | Thomas Gaudin, Anna Hardin, Karen James, David Lash, Ed Marshall, Carmi Orenstein, Kristina Sullivan |
Mission Strategy | Kristen Gunther | Lucky Tran, Beka Economopoulos, Aaron Huertas |
Partnerships | Teon L. Brooks, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson | Sofia Ahsanuddin, Kate Gage, Charise Johnson, Mercedes Paredes, and Sabriya Yukes |
Fundraising | Julia MacFall | Anthony Burn |
Blog | Jennifer Redig | Poornima Apte, Diana Crandall, Manasseh Franklin, Jayde Lovell, and Zoe Wood |
Creative/Design | Sloane Henningsen | |
Logo Design | Bryan Francis | |
Tech | Adam Miller | Sam Kim, Amanda Yang |
During the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the largest scientific organization in the US, scientists held the "Rally to Stand Up for Science" at Copley Square, Boston, on February 19. [49] [50] The same month, the AAAS announced its support for the march. [4] [51] By mid-March, some 100 science organizations endorsed the March for Science, including many scientific societies. Endorsers of the march included the American Geophysical Union, American Association of Geographers, American Association of Physical Anthropologists, Society for Neuroscience, Society for Freshwater Science, American Statistical Association, Association for Psychological Science, American Sociological Association, Electrochemical Society, Entomological Society of America, California Academy of Sciences, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. [52]
The University of Delaware Center for Political Communication conducted a survey of 1,040 members of March for Science Facebook groups or pages from March 31 to April 18 to study their motivations for joining the march. [53] Respondents cited the following as reasons for marching: [53]
Reason [53] | Percent rating "very important" [53] |
---|---|
Encouraging public officials to make policies based on scientific facts and evidence | 97% |
Opposing political attacks on the integrity of science | 93% |
Encouraging the public to support science | 93% |
Protesting cuts to funding for scientific research | 90% |
Celebrating the value of science and scientists to society | 89% |
Promoting science education and scientific literacy among the public | 86% |
Encouraging scientists to engage the public | 70% |
Encouraging diversity and inclusion in science | 68% |
To become more involved in politics or policy-making | 45% |
Before April, enthusiasts found existing knitting patterns for a hat shaped like a brain and proposed it as a symbol of solidarity for the march in analogy with the pussyhat project. [54]
The primary march, organized by Earth Day Network and March for Science, in Washington, D.C., began at 10 AM with a rally and teach-in on the grounds of the Washington Monument, featuring speeches by concerned citizens alternating with scientists and engineers; including Denis Hayes, co-founder of the first Earth Day in 1970 and Bill Nye. [55] No politicians spoke at the rally. [55] At 2 PM the crowd of thousands, in spite of the steady rain throughout the day, proceeded down Constitution Avenue to 3rd Street, NW between the National Mall and the west front of the United States Capitol. [55] [56]
Protesters gathered in over a hundred cities across the globe, with an estimated 70,000 participants in Boston, Massachusetts, and over 150,000 in several cities in California.
Professor Robert Proctor of Stanford University said that the March for Science was similar to other efforts by scientists such as Physicians for Social Responsibility; however, the scale was larger because "there's a broader perception of a massive attack on sacred notions of truth that are sacred to the scientific community." [57]
On January 26, 2017, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont expressed his support for the march, congratulating "those scientists and researchers who are fighting back". [58] U.S. Representative Bill Foster of Illinois, a physicist and the only current member of Congress with a Ph.D. in a natural sciences field, will join the march, "not as a Democratic member of Congress, but as a scientist." [59] Foster said that he viewed the march as political, but not partisan, saying, "if you see a specific policy that is inconsistent with the known principles of science, every citizen who is also a scientist should speak out." [59]
In February the AAAS and other science groups announced their support for the march. [4] Rush Holt Jr., the chief executive officer of the AAAS, expressed support for scientist involvement in politics. [51] Holt also emphasizes the importance of "appreciation for and understanding of science in the general population". [60]
What's so interesting is it's the first time, I think, anybody can point to in decades where there has been a spontaneous effort to defend the idea of science. It's not a march pro or con GMOs or pro or con nuclear power. It's about the value of science and the power of evidence. People are understandably and correctly outraged that in so many areas of public policy ideology is crowding out evidence, that evidence seems to be optional in the fashioning of public policy, and that you have officials using phrases like alternative fact.
— – Rush Holt [60]
The march received a torrent of criticism from conservative publications for the perceived left-wing bias and orientation of the event. [61] Donald Trump's science adviser, climate change denier William Happer [62] stated that "there's no reason to assume the president is against science" and dismissed the march as a cult. [63]
A number of scientists voiced concerns over the march. Sylvester James Gates warned that "such a politically charged event might send a message to the public that scientists are driven by ideology more than by evidence". [63] Writing in The New York Times , Robert S. Young argued that the march will "reinforce the narrative from skeptical conservatives that scientists are an interest group and politicize their data, research and findings for their own ends" and that it would be better for scientists to "march into local civic groups, churches, county fairs and, privately, into the offices of elected officials." [64] Matthew Nisbet, writing for Skeptical Inquirer magazine right after the first march in 2017, states that it is not the least educated but the "best educated and most scientifically literate who are prone to biased reasoning and false beliefs about contentious science issues". In his opinion this will mean that the March will only deepen "partisan differences, while jeopardizing trust and impartiality and credibility of scientists". Nisbet feels that confidence in scientists is strong, and they should "use this capital wisely and effectively". [65]
Responding to criticism surrounding the political nature of the march, meteorologist and columnist Eric Holthaus wrote that the scientific field "has always been political" and referred to the example of Galileo Galilei's confrontation with the political order. Holthaus wrote that the scientists must also protest when "truth itself is being called into question". [66]
Discussing science's role in policy and government, Rush Holt points out a fallacy in viewing science and politics as philosophically incompatible: "The ethic in the profession is that you stick to your science, and if you're interested in how science affects public policy or public questions, just let the facts speak for themselves. Of course, there's a fallacy there, too. Facts are, by themselves, voiceless." [60]
San Francisco Lead Organizer Kristen Ratan debated Jerry Coyne on KQED's Forum [67] [68] regarding his criticism of the March and remarked that the millennial generation is just finding its feet with regard to activism and should be encouraged. Ratan also distinguished between being political and being partisan and suggested that while the March for Science is a political act, it is by no means partisan, which implies blind allegiance to one party over another. Ratan reiterated that the March For Science supports evidence-based policy-making regardless of party or affiliation.
Following the march, the organizers of the March for Science encouraged people to a "Week of Action" with an outline of daily actions. [69]
The following spring, Science not Silence: Voices from the March for Science Movement, was published by MIT Press. [70] The book, edited by Stephanie Fine Sasse and Lucky Tran, featured stories and images from marches held around the globe. It was selected as one of the "World's Best Human Rights Books" of Spring 2018 by Hong Kong Free Press. [71]
In July 2018, March for Science created and hosted the SIGNS (Science in Government, Institutions & Society) Summit in Chicago, Illinois. The summit was co-hosted by Field Museum and brought together organizers from satellite marches to connect, strategize, and develop skills to bring back to their communities. [72] [73] The program featured notable figures, including talks by Fabio Rojas, Brian Nord, Adia Benton, and Dana R. Fisher, as well as a poetry reading by Ed Roberson. Many sessions were recorded and are available to view online. [74]
The Washington Times is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It covers general interest topics with an emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout Washington, D.C. and the greater Washington metropolitan area, including suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia. It also publishes a subscription-based weekly tabloid edition aimed at a national audience.
The politicization of science for political gain occurs when government, business, or advocacy groups use legal or economic pressure to influence the findings of scientific research or the way it is disseminated, reported or interpreted. The politicization of science may also negatively affect academic and scientific freedom, and as a result it is considered taboo to mix politics with science. Historically, groups have conducted various campaigns to promote their interests in defiance of scientific consensus, and in an effort to manipulate public policy.
Myron Ebell is an American climate change denier who served as the Director of Global Warming and International Environmental Policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), an American libertarian advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. He was also chairman of the Cooler Heads Coalition, a politically conservative group formed in 1997 focused on "dispelling the myths of global warming by exposing flawed economic, scientific, and risk analysis". In September 2016, Ebell was appointed by then Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to lead his transition team for the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The Washington Examiner is an American conservative news outlet based in Washington, D.C., consisting of a website and a weekly printed magazine. It is owned by Philip Anschutz through MediaDC, a subsidiary of Clarity Media Group.
The Heartland Institute is an American conservative and libertarian 501(c)(3) nonprofit public policy think tank known for denying the scientific consensus on climate change and the negative health impacts of smoking.
Science for the People (SftP) is an organization that emerged from the antiwar culture of the United States in the late 1960s. Since 2014 it has experienced a revival focusing primarily on the dual nature of science. The organization advocates for a scientific establishment that is not isolated from society, rather one that uses scientific discoveries to advocate for and advance social justice and critically approach science as a social endeavor.
Thomas J. Fitton is an American conservative activist and the president of Judicial Watch.
The Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics is a high-ranking official within the United States Department of Agriculture that provides leadership and oversight for the Agricultural Research Service, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Economic Research Service, National Agricultural Library, National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Climate change denial is a form of science denial characterized by rejecting, refusing to acknowledge, disputing, or fighting the scientific consensus on climate change. Those promoting denial commonly use rhetorical tactics to give the appearance of a scientific controversy where there is none. Climate change denial includes unreasonable doubts about the extent to which climate change is caused by humans, its effects on nature and human society, and the potential of adaptation to global warming by human actions. To a lesser extent, climate change denial can also be implicit when people accept the science but fail to reconcile it with their belief or action. Several studies have analyzed these positions as forms of denialism, pseudoscience, or propaganda.
The climate change policy of the United States has major impacts on global climate change and global climate change mitigation. This is because the United States is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gasses in the world after China, and is among the countries with the highest greenhouse gas emissions per person in the world. Cumulatively, the United States has emitted over a trillion metric tons of greenhouse gases, more than any country in the world.
The Daily Caller is a right-wing news and opinion website based in Washington, D.C. It was founded by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and political pundit Neil Patel in 2010. Launched as a "conservative answer to The Huffington Post", The Daily Caller quadrupled its audience and became profitable by 2012, surpassing several rival websites by 2013. In 2020, the site was described by The New York Times as having been "a pioneer in online conservative journalism". The Daily Caller is a member of the White House press pool.
Protests against Donald Trump have occurred in the United States and internationally since his entry into the 2016 presidential campaign. Protests have expressed opposition to Trump's campaign rhetoric, his electoral win, his first inauguration, his alleged history of sexual misconduct and various presidential actions, most notably his travel ban in 2017 and aggressive family separation policy in 2018. Some protests have taken the form of walk-outs, business closures, and petitions as well as rallies, demonstrations, and marches. While most protests have been peaceful, actionable conduct such as vandalism and assaults on Trump supporters has occurred. Some protesters have been criminally charged with rioting. The largest organized protest against Trump was the day after his inauguration; millions protested on January 21, 2017, during the Women's March, with each individual city's protest taken into consideration, makes it the largest single-day protest in the history of the United States.
The Women's March was a worldwide protest on January 21, 2017, the day after the inauguration of Donald Trump as the president of the United States. It was prompted by Trump's policy positions and rhetoric, which were considered misogynistic and represented a threat to the rights of women. It was at the time the largest single-day protest in U.S. history, being surpassed 3 years later by the George Floyd protests. The goal of the annual marches is to advocate legislation and policies regarding human rights and other issues, including women's rights, immigration reform, healthcare reform, disability justice, reproductive rights, the environment, LGBTQ rights, racial equality, freedom of religion, workers' rights and tolerance. According to organizers, the goal was to "send a bold message to our new administration on their first day in office, and to the world that women's rights are human rights".
The environmental policy of the first Donald Trump administration represented a shift from the policy priorities and goals of the preceding Barack Obama administration. Where President Obama's environmental agenda prioritized the reduction of carbon emissions through the use of renewable energy with the goal of conserving the environment for future generations, the Trump administration policy was for the US to attain energy independence based on fossil fuel use and to rescind many environmental regulations. By the end of Trump's term, his administration had rolled back 98 environmental rules and regulations, leaving an additional 14 rollbacks still in progress. As of early 2021, the Biden administration was making a public accounting of regulatory decisions under the Trump administration that had been influenced by politics rather than science.
Numerous protests have taken place in opposition to Donald Trump, a politician, media personality, and businessman who was the president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 and has been the president-elect since 2024.
314 Action is a progressive nonprofit political action committee (PAC) that seeks to elect STEM educated Democrats to higher office in the United States.
The March for Science Portland was a protest held in Portland, Oregon. This local protest was part of the March for Science, a series of rallies and marches in Washington, D.C., and over 600 cities across the world on April 22, 2017. Portland Science Advocates organized the march in support of science and to protest President Donald Trump's plan to cut funding for the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Institutes of Health. Funding for the event, which cost approximately $30,000, was crowdsourced.
March for Science 2018 was a protest across the United States and internationally. It was planned to be like the March for Science 2017, being the second annual March for Science.
During his term as president of the United States (2017–2021), Donald Trump and his administration repeatedly politicized science by pressuring or overriding health and science agencies to change their reporting and recommendations so as to conform to his policies and public comments. This was particularly true with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic, but also included suppressing research on climate change and weakening or eliminating environmental regulations.
The protests, planned for Washington, D.C., and other cities around the U.S. and the globe, quickly gathered support from major scientific societies, tens of thousands of volunteers, hordes of Twitter supporters and 800,000 members in a Facebook group
{{cite journal}}
: |author=
has generic name (help)a heated argument has broken out about whether the march is making science too political — or whether it's not making science political enough
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)