Fall In Love With Climate Science All Over Again
A war on science is a direct attack on everything and everyone we love.
Just one month into the Trump presidency, while confusion still swirls in the Oval Office, one thing is crystal clear: This administration will be no friend to science. With White House aides literally discussing issues in the dark because they can’t find light switches, the administration threatens to plunge us all into the figurative darkness of the unknown by dimming the light of scientific discovery.
From citing fake massacres in Tennessee or nonexistent attacks in Atlanta, to “alternative facts” about crowd sizes, to stacking the cabinet with deniers, to gag orders on federal scientists and the disappearing of inconvenient information on agency websites, this is a scary time for scientists who spotlight facts the administration doesn’t want brought to light.
That’s why we need to stand up and speak out louder than ever in support of scientists, especially those studying climate change. With the Koch brothers looming in the shadows behind figures like Pence and Pruitt, climate science is threatened, big league.
It’s not just the executive branch threatening science, either. The House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, chaired by fossil-fuel-funded Lamar Smith, has recently renewed his obsession with Tom Karl, retired NOAA researcher who led a study that refuted the idea of a pause. Thanks to a heavily spun and quickly debunked story in the tabloid-y Mail on Sunday, Smith has hinted at further harassment of Karl and the remaining scientists at NOAA, as well as the work being done at the EPA.
Fortunately, scientists and Americans alike are learning from Canada’s experience and rallying together to rage against the dying of the light. With the Alt-Parks Twitter accounts pushing back against the gag order and scientists organizing a March for Science, it’s clear many scientists are seriously considering getting into politics.
We’d like to add our voices to this pro-science chorus, and hope you’ll join us. At I Heart Climate Scientists, we want to send a message and shine a light on the incredibly important work being done to help us understand our climate, how we’re warming it, and what we can do to stop this damage.
Let’s be clear: these attacks on science are about much more than numbers or statistics. Science is about uncovering threats from pollution that make our families sick. It’s about creating and revolutionizing the industries that provide jobs and hopefully grow a just economy. It’s a process of discovery that unveils the wonders of our planet, bringing joy, meaning and inspiration in the process. Threatening science undercuts the foundation of nearly everything we love. A war on science is a direct attack on everything and everyone we love.
Across the country, Americans are taking action in response to injustice, and together we can keep the light of scientific pursuits alive. Though each of us are only one small data point, together we can light up scientists’ labs across the country. Together, we will fight Trump’s dark ages approach to science together, collectively shining bright as a thousand points of light in support (and love) for climate scientists.
Phil Newell and Garrett Blad write for I Heart Climate Scientists and other publications on climate change science and policy. Phil can’t resist cheap puns. Garrett, he can.
