Why You Should March for Science

March for Science Quick Reference

WHO: You

WHAT: #marchforscience

WHERE: Marches for Science happening in more than 400 cities around the world! Including the National Mall in Washington DC.

WHEN: April 22, 2017, refer to https://www.marchforscience.com/ to find a march near you.

WHY: Support true, independent science

Imagine a hot summers day and you are lounging in a hammock under a couple of coconut trees, sipping your favorite iced drink of choice from a clean glass with an umbrella. You can feel the cool beverage as you drink from the plastic straw. A refreshing breeze from a nearby fan drifts slowly over you. Gentle Hawaiian music floats from the speakers. Your polarized sunglasses keep the sun from hurting your eyes, and the faint smell of suntan lotion tickles your nose. Your only decision of the day is whether to go snorkeling, lounge on the beach with a book, or go for a hike.

Relaxing, no?

This isn’t exactly the image people conjure up in their minds when someone mentions the word “science.” However, without science working hard in the background, none of this would be possible. It is only through our understanding of thermodynamics and heat transfer that we can make ice on a hot day. Companies use statistical process control, laboratory techniques, and complicated manufacturing equipment to make the drink and glass you are using. Our knowledge of electricity lets us play music from virtually anywhere. Our knowledge of how light works keeps you protected from the sun. In addition, the use of materials science allowed the company to formulate the nylon used in making your hammock. Without science, you would most likely be sitting on the ground, drinking warm water, and trying to keep from getting sunburned.

What is Science?

Science, true science, is independent of politics and religion. Science isn’t a thing, or a person, it’s a process. It’s a systematic way of learning about the world. Science is exploration. Science is looking at the evidence in front of you, forming an idea about why it is that way, and then testing that idea. If you are wrong, you scrap that idea and start over. If you are right, you add it to humanity’s collective knowledge and keep going.

Exploration lured us out of Africa, to cross massive continents and great oceans. The thirst for learning pushed us to break the sound barrier, to cure diseases, and to land on the moon. Humanity’s need to grow and create, gave us satellites, cell phones, and the internet. Modern life would not be possible without science, engineering, and math.

Why Should I March?

As of late, there seems to be a growing number who prefer discrediting consensus and restricting scientific discovery. The two principles of independent reviews and consensus are a major part of the foundation of science. By providing stories that cause the public to doubt the science behind a topic, such as global warming, or restricting access to pertinent data, progress becomes threatened. Just for reference, “ninety-seven percent of climate scientists agree that climate-warming trends over the past century are very likely due to human activities, and most of the leading scientific organizations worldwide have issued public statements endorsing this position.” This is according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/), who also published the below graph, illustrating a sharp spike in carbon dioxide levels, a known greenhouse gas contributor. Yet, how many of us would have thought this was the case? Hopefully, nearly everyone.

This graph, based on the comparison of atmospheric samples contained in ice cores and more recent direct measurements, provides evidence that atmospheric CO2 has increased since the Industrial Revolution. (Source: [[LINK||http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/icecore/||NOAA]])

The foundation of science is being threatened. Ignoring a problem won’t make it go away. We need facts, actual facts, now more than ever. We need evidence-based decision making, not just in medicine and product development, but by the public. It is our duty as good citizens to be informed and to participate. We need to see for ourselves and not just parrot what we heard on the radio or TV.

Scientific thought has been far too quiet for far too long and it is time to ratchet up the volume to 11. We need this type of thinking in public policy. Not a political shell game. We need evidence-based decision making in education. Not a personal agenda. The public needs to hold our politicians, our scientists, and our community leaders accountable. We need to hold ourselves accountable. The public needs to demand that our leaders use evidence to make their decisions and do what is right for the people they work for, the people of the United States of America. Our leaders need to stop acting in their best interests and once again act in society’s.

Hopefully I have made the case for you to take action and join the march for science. So please, bring some friends and join the March.

If we don’t make tough decisions today our children are going to have to make much, much tougher decisions tomorrow.

Paul Ryan

Flying Pig Designs is not a political or religious organization, and neither is science.

Fun Facts

Here are a few fun facts from ZME Science:

There is enough DNA in an average person’s body to stretch from the sun to Pluto and back — 17 times
The average human body carries ten times more bacterial cells than human cells
It can take a photon 40,000 years to travel from the core of the sun to its surface, but only 8 minutes to travel the rest of the way to Earth
At over 2000 kilometers long, The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on Earth
There are 8 times as many atoms in a teaspoonful of water as there are teaspoonfuls of water in the Atlantic ocean

For some more fun facts, check out 13 Incredible Science Facts You Probably Didn’t Learn in High School