97 percent speak up against new risks affecting climate change

Scientists have united to protest against attacks being directed their way from climate change doubters and the Trump administration.

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Scientists have united to protest against the attacks being directed their way from climate change doubters and the Trump administration.

There are difficult times waiting ahead for the scientific community now that Donald Trump is close to commencing his crack at the US Presidency. His recent appointments for his administration have caused a stir that has motivated the scientific community to protest and stand up for the scientific work they do. Last week, around 500 people gathered in San Francisco to “stand up for science”, many of whom had been congregated at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) conference nearby. At a moment where scientists have been criticized for remaining politically silent, preferring to focus on their investigations and on informing the public about their scientific discoveries rather than manifesting their disapproval of the current political agenda and environmental skepticism, it seems that the times we are in has called for the scientific community to stand up. Donald Trump’s incoming administration has quickly become a threat to a scientific community that now must protect their research, investigations and the right to carry on doing it. Consequently, the end of 2016 has seen many scientists stepping out of their comfort zones to manifest their disapproval of the upcoming administrative changes.

800 earth scientists write an open letter to Donald Trump.

Prior to the rally in San Francisco, scientists attempted to advise the Trump administration on the need to maintain awareness towards climate change, despite the President’s insistence that climate change is a Chinese hoax and his insistence on assigning climate change deniers to his cabinet. An open letter, signed by 800 Earth scientists and energy experts and published in Scientific American, urged Donald Trump to address climate change in six ways:

1. Make America a leader in clean energy.

2. Reduce carbon pollution and America’s dependence on fossil fuels.

3. Enhance America’s climate preparation and resilience.

4. Publicly acknowledge the existence of climate change as a real, human-caused and urgent threat.

5. Protect scientific integrity in policy making.

6. Respect and uphold America’s commitment to the COP21 Agreement in Paris.

11,000 women make a pledge for constructive feminism and science.

Over 11,000 women scientists committed themselves to build a more inclusive scientific society via the 500 Women Scientists webpage, to foster an atmosphere of encouragement and collaboration and to bridge the divisions in separate societies whilst standing against inequality and discrimination.

Nobel Laureates and more open letters.

Additionally, leaders of 29 scientific societies drafted an open letter to Trump, requesting that he appoint a “nationally respected” science advisor to his administration, This was followed by another appeal from more than 2,300 scientists, including 22 Nobel Prize recipients, with the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), appealing for more integrity transparency and independence in the relationship between science and federal policies, and for the Union to act as a watchdog for the scientific community.

For now, it seems like these appeals have had little effect on Trump’s administration plans. The scientific community is aware of this, after seeing how key positions in the Republican President’s cabinet are being filled by oil industry tycoons and climate deniers who have had little remorse when intimidating members of the scientific communities and how the new administration looks to turn its back on the Paris Agreements.

Times are changing, and the so is the scientific community, who are becoming more and more enraged by Trump’s defiance, and even though it seems that tensions are on a high, the scientific community is getting more and more united to defend their rights and the health of the world we all live in.