Earth Day 2017 - The March for Science

Well, it's finally here: the date every scientist around our planet has been talking about for months now. Today, on Earth Day, April 22, enthusiasts and experts from across the globe will go to the nearest large city and show their support for rational thinking and informed policy, higher education and environmental protection, and a brighter future for all. I really wanted to be a part of it, but I'm in a college town about thirty minute's drive away from the nearest center without a car. So, I'm staying to work on my physics degree while Wheja here gets hyped.
Of course, the question still stands: why do all of these people want to rally in defense of what should just be common sense? Why am I of all people so excited for it?
Well, hold on to your seats, because this is going to get VERY political.
I really don't want it to be this way, but lately, these fields have become very divisive topics. I've seen a lot of people say that science is something for the democratic left to use as a defense, but really, it's become a platform all on its own. This field of thought sits in a weird place between liberalism and conservatism. As much as it is based on individual experience and experimentation, there needs to be a central set of ideas that define what constitutes as the discovery of truth. These theories aren't developed overnight- evolution, climate change, vaccine safety and so on had to be repeatedly tested by several hundred different teams researching from different angles and testing for weaknesses. Ideas are not dismissed because they come from someone of a lower class or minority, but that doesn't necessarily mean that what they have discovered is fact either. Through a kiln of a community, these findings are thoroughly scoured, tested, revised, added upon, and so forth to build upon our understanding of the world. Ever since the Renaissance (and, debatably, ever since the rise of civilization in general,) this has taken us as a race from a few scattered nation-states in constant war and class disparity to a seven-billion-strong order that can live longer, travel farther, and think bigger than anybody who came before us.
However, there has always been a subset of people who decide to refute the evidence. It may be an inability to understand it, it may be an obligation to a business or organization, or it could just be what they were taught, but they've had a lot more prominence than most people realize. This becomes a real pain when said deniers have been voted into some of the most powerful positions in the world.
Again, I don't like to get political on this site so I won't give specifics on whom I voted for this last term. However, I will say that the goals and ideals of these higher-ups do not adequately represent my own. If they haven't been relieved of duty yet, I doubt they'll ever be. However, at the very least, we need to show these people just what the scientific method does and how our lives can still benefit from it.
Now, I can't rationally say that the scientific method itself is under fire, and, in the long run, maybe a political rally won't do as much as we wanted. However, this isn't supposed to be a stand for how we all can find it for ourselves. This is about the central paradigm. This is to show that, yes, there is a consensus on these topics, these are important and relevant, and something needs to be done about them. Even if it is all just a brief candle, it will catch somebody's attention somewhere, and it can be the stepping stone towards greater scientific involvement in these decisions. I know that not everything is science, but imagine the world that could be if it all was.


Given that I won't be able to participate, this may well be, as Macbeth would put it "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." However, I hope that this little bit of input sheds some light on this event and the bigger triumphs and problems it represents. I'll be keeping a close eye on the proceedings, and if you believe in the power of rationalism, it would be good for you too. This is as political as I'm bound to get for a while, so we'll get back to the science fiction and such shortly. Until then...
FOR ART
FOR SCIENCE
FOR ADVENTURE

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