Pro-Science Gets Organized

Outrage at Donald Trump has coalesced around several political loci, including women's rights, immigration, environmentalism, and scientific endeavor at large. As Trump threatens to roll back regulations and de-fund universities, Mark Hoofnagle points out that science has always been political, increasingly so in an age when politicians control huge sums of money devoted to basic research. Despite major discoveries funded by taxpayer dollars, Mark says scientists have failed "to explain the benefits of basic science to the public and to our representatives in government, and failed to defend our colleagues from misrepresentation of their work for cheap political gain."

Meanwhile, as a veteran of the Canadian "war on science," John Dupuis suggests how pro-science Americans can join the fray: "Don’t bring a test tube to a Bunsen burner fight. Mobilize, protest, form partnerships, wrote op-eds and blog posts and books and articles, speak about science at every public event you get a chance, run for office." Greg Laden demands that we do our homework, writing "organized activism produces results, having a plan matters." One plan worth making is to join the March for Science on April 22^nd in Washington D.C.