How the War on Science Is Really Fought

[rug]

This week’s march claims to be non-political, but the reality is that the war against science is being fought by the Republican Party in ways you don’t see.

04.22.1712:02 AM ET
Jay Michaelson

The March for Science has emphasized throughout that it is non-partisan (in part, no doubt, to protect the government employees and scientists who are participating). “Yes, this is a protest, but it’s not a political protest,” one of the lead organizers has said.

But the reality is that a million people would not be marching were it not for the Trump administration’s war on science, and that it’s the Republican Party that, for decades, has attacked the scientific method from economic or religious perspectives. What, beyond the incendiary rhetoric, does the “war on science” really mean? Here are three of its fronts.

1. Disregarding Science

The first, and most obvious, of the Trump administration’s anti-science efforts has been to disregard science itself—both in terms of its conclusions and its methods.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/04/22/how-the-war-on-science-is-really-fought.html

[murielm99]

1. Great article.

Thank you.

[NNadir]

2. Heading over to the Trenton Satellite March this morning. It's definitely political for me.

I don't know how the other scientists all feel - at our local ACS meeting this week the March wasn't mentioned in the formal announcements, but it was part of the private conversations I had - but we as a planet are in grave danger.

[crazycatlady]

3. Heading up to NYC this morning

My train leaves in 45 minutes.

I'm not exactly a scientific genius (that and math were my worst subjects in school) but I believe in it. Climate change is real (and is affecting my health).

[Fast Walker 52]

4. Marching for science in Indianapolis today!

[sharedvalues]

5. If interested read this book : "The GOP War On Science"

https://www.amazon.com/Republican-War-Science-Chris-Mooney/dp/0465046762

[dalton99a]

6. Critical thinking is dangerous

[sharedvalues]

7. The GOP attacks because science costs them money

GOP is the party of big business and the wealthy.

They want to deny climate science because carbon taxes cost energy companies money.
They wanted to deny smoking causes cancer because that costs tobacco companies money.
They wanted to deny asbestos causes cancer because that costs asbestos companies money.

The GOP has funded all kinds of science denial because science has the ability to decrease the profits of the rich. They don't care who else gets hurt.

[Dustlawyer]

8. The article is good, but leaves out a couple of important things.

1. The MSM will not give our side of the arguement. It rarely reports on climate change because it's corporate advertisers/oil and chemical companies don 't want us to know. When BP blew up the Deepwater Horizon it ran ads day and night so that the media outlets along the coast would not report on the victims and their stories for a very real fear of losing those ad dollars if they did. BP also bought up every documentary on the oil spill before they came out.

2. Think tanks/experts - They buy up universities science departments with huge grants to come up with studies that support industry. Once again BP funded oceanogrophy departments to put out studies showing the Gulf of Mexico was just wonderful. In some cases the university didn't even have an oceanography department but got the money to start one!

3. They buy the politicians who have shown us that they are not really ignorant, just greedy amoral POS!

We must concentrate on getting the money out of politics! This is the root problem that allows big money to always get their way at our expense. We will be bitching about all of these same problems 50 years from now unless we do something about the corrupting practice of allowing legal bribes to our politicians!