Science touches everything we do— including the safety of the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe. According to Jonathan Foley and Christine Arena, it affects the kinds of diseases we get and the medicines we use. It dictates what our kids are taught in school, what is discussed in the news, and what is debated in Congress. Science affects the jobs we have, and what powers our economy. It needs our help to remain pure, so join the March for Science.
March for Science
This year, Earth Day Network is partnering with March For Science on April 22, 2017 for Earth Day. For the Washington, DC event, people will begin congregating at the National Mall at 8 a.m., and the event kicks off at 9 a.m. If you prefer a march closer to home (there are almost 500 marches going on worldwide), check out https://www.marchforscience.com/satellite-marches/ for a march near you.
According to https://www.marchforscience.com/faq/,
The goal of the march itself is to highlight the valuable public service role science plays in society and policy and demonstrate the deep public support for science.
Blah Blah Blah…In plain English, what’s going on is regular people are collectively making a statement:
Science for Science’s Sake, not for Politicians’ Sake.
In my humble opinion, science should inform political decision-making, not be defined by it. Our legislators need to create evidence-based policies, instead of serving special interest groups.
March for Science Supporters
Here are just a few of the companies who agree with me, and are partnering with this March for Science event:
- National Science Teachers Association
- National Center for Science Education
- Center for Biological Diversity
- Society for Research in Child Development
- ScienceDebate.org
- Entomological Society of America
- American Geophysical Union
- Cornell Alliance for Science
- The Nature Conservancy
- NextGenClimate
- SACNAS.org
As a science educator I’ve gathered lots of information for my students. What I’ve found is the political arena repeatedly encroaches on science fact. That absolutely stuns me. Nevertheless, I have always taught my students they could be the bringers of change through the ripple effect, but this year there’s an entire global movement. That’s not a ripple; that’s a tsunami!
If you want fact-based evidence to be used for the political decisions that mess with our lives, I urge you to find a way to show your support. It can come in a big way, like joining a march, or in a little way, like introducing your kids to environmental science. Remember, we’re all in this together.
This is all very exciting. If you read this, please leave a comment.
