Cities across Canada prepare to join others worldwide in March for Science

“Despite this fact, science and scientists, and evidence-based policies are under attack”, she continued.

And while much of the rally and march celebrated science, participants were also clear about who and what they were protesting.

Rainy weather did not dampen the enthusiasm of the Washington crowd, as people chatted, introduced themselves to strangers, or hailed colleagues they came across in the throng.

Marchers said they’re anxious about political involvement in science that rejects, for instance, climate change, environmental concerns and the safety of vaccines.

The “March for Science” – whose beginnings reflect the viral birth of the Women’s March on Washington – occurs this Earth Day.

“Most people don’t know how much funding for the sciences supports them in their lives every day”. TV host Bill Nye (yep, the Science Guy) said in a speech.

The organizers don’t expect the event to end on Saturday.

A woman with a poster attends with thousands of demonstrators the March for Science in Berlin, Saturday, April 22, 2017.

Marchers are waving signs that say “there is no planet B”, “make America think again” and “climate change is real, ask any polar bear”.

Lewis said the march will make ordinary people skeptical about those who participate in the protest, and can “corrupt scientific judgement”. Earlier this year, a commenter on the social-media website Reddit made an off-hand remark about the need for scientists to march on Washington DC.

“People who don’t like the results of scientific work are going to great lengths to discredit science for their own profit needs”, said Dahl, who is marching to help people understand the importance of not ignoring science.

Trump has called climate change a hoax.

“It is not just about Donald Trump, but there is also no question that marchers are saying ‘when the shoe fits”, he said. “We have taken it so for granted”. Activists say the immigration policies of the Trump administration could keep some foreign scientists from working in the United States. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Institutes of Health will see significant funding cuts if the first proposed budget is passed.

Those efforts have raised concerns from across the political spectrum, including among some Republicans.

Thousands of people joined a global March for Science on Saturday with Washington the epicenter of a movement to fight back against what many see as an “assault on facts” by populist politicians. “It’s not just NIH, it’s EPA, it’s NOAA”. “Whether we as a scientific community like it or not, science has been politicized”.

The US organizers have said the event is non-partisan but admit Donald Trump has “catalyzed” the movement. And I think we have that. “I mean, give me a break”.

“It has dawned on some of them it is time to speak up”, Rush Holt, chief executive of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, told reporters on a conference call this week.

An additional 600 “satellite” marches were scheduled to take place around the world, according to organizers.

Anxiety about the role of science in society and public policy has led members of the profession to engage the larger public in a way they haven’t before, he said. I hope this march will bring public attention to science.

The Office of Management and Budget said the restructuring and elimination of certain programs, like the Asteroid Redirect Mission, NASA’s Office of Education, and several Earth-science research missions, are “reducing the costs of exploration missions to enable a more expansive exploration program”.