They done pissed off the scientists now, y’all.

A group has begun to plan a scientists’ march on Washington DC (Facebook page). Subscribe, read up, volunteer, donate, signal boost, and/or do whatever you can to forward the cause.

Now, let’s talk for a minute.

A war on facts

We’re beginning to see an outright war on factual information. It started long ago, with people politicizing information. (As an example, think of the number of politicians who discredit scientific research on anything that’s inconvenient, like global warming.) It’s gained steam recently because it’s so easy to pass around information on the internet, and a great many of us don’t take the time to reference original and respected sources. (Snopes.com, anyone?)

More recently, it’s been an influx of “fake news”, which is a mixture of propaganda, lies, and mistakes. And finally, it’s the new president and the White House Press Secretary telling us, “who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?”

I believe my eyes, guys.

Tearing down their own house

While we’re on this, let’s talk about the environment. I can only barely begin to understand people who want zero environmental protections. After all, YOU TOO breathe air, drink water, and eat food from this plant. I suspect the nicest thing we can assume is that these folks think of it like pissing in the ocean: “What’s one more gonna do, really? Nothing!”

This would be forgivable, perhaps, if there wasn’t a worldwide consensus that humanity IS INDEED doing damage to the air, the water, the land. If we didn’t have that aforementioned war on facts. If a significant number of humans hadn’t decided that Science Is Evil or at Least Stupid. I might be able to be more supportive of “just a little ignorance”.

It’s not just a little ignorance. It’s people, being deliberately dense, and usually at the behest of folks who stand to make money.  THE reason to defund environmental groups, to remove regulations, to forbid organizations from providing information, and to ignore health and safety standards is to make money.

We must stand with the scientists: for the environment, for our health, for the future, and (I simply cannot believe I have to say this) for facts.

Resist.

-YANA