The March for Science is on April 14, 2018. Following the first one, which was on Earth Day last year, April 22, it is happening once again. This march focuses on the importance of science in public life and policy. Last year, it was a series of rallies and marches, stemming from Washington, DC to over 600 cities around the world, and hopefully, that is the plan for this year as well. The main goals of this march are to enforce evidence-based policies and to encourage people to communicate about science while creating a bridge for the public to communicate with scientists.
This year, the American Geophysical Union (AGU), has endorsed the march, helping with financials and support for the event. The AGU is a non-profit organization that consists of a group of earth and space scientists that focuses on the benefit of science for a sustainable future. This group is very forward in terms of science and aims to create a diverse discussion on the topic of scientific knowledge. The organization has announced that members of the AGU who rally at least 10 members together for an event are eligible to apply for aid. The registration for this ends March 26.
Courtesy: Al Día News
This year the march has been gaining more traction, with 70 cities already planning to participate. This event claims to be non-partisan, meaning there are no biases or political differences, but rather people teaming up for one cause. While this march was heavily inspired by the Women’s March last year, it focuses on a different issue. These days, advocating for causes has become even bigger, and seems to spark some change in the views of the government and the public. Many big-name scientists stand by it, including Bill Nye and Mona Hanna-Attisha, who was responsible for discovering the Flint Water Crisis.
The march stemmed from the government defunding the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last year. The EPA was originally created for the purpose of protecting human health and the environment by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress, according to the EPA website. With the defunding of this agency, it has become harder to advocate for evidence-based policies and work toward having a healthy earth and community. There are still many environmental issues occurring that has received little to no improvement. For example, the Flint Water Crisis, and the big one, climate change.
The march aims to bring more awareness to these issues, and inform people how science really matters. Everyone, no matter who you are, is encouraged to participate. Check out the event page here and more about the background can be found on the website here.
If you are a firm believer of science and agree that it should be considered and respected, this may be the march for you! Last year, Tallahassee was one of the many cities involved, and hopefully, the city will get on board again. Science is fundamental to our environment, and if we aren’t doing anything to help the earth we live on, who knows what will happen.