Volta Insider: Scientists and Protesters Come to DC for Earth Day March for Science

Photo courtesy Volta Insider.

On the latest episode of Volta Insider, Rachel Greenberg went to the National Mall to talk to some of the protesters and scientists who showed up to celebrate science and advocate for facts.

Inspired by the worldwide Women’s March protest which took place the day after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, the March for Science was held on Earth Day, Saturday, April 22, to highlight environmental science in the face of climate change.

Denis Hayes, the founder of Earth Day, spoke to the marchers. “This is about last November’s election. Did America somehow vote to melt the polar ice caps and kill the coral reefs and acidify the oceans? Did we vote to reduce the EPA’s research budget by a whopping 42%?”

Greenberg introduces us to (ret)Navy Captain John Zimmerman, a nuclear engineer and submarine veteran, who carried a sign reading, ’Je suis science’.

Zimmerman said of the importance of this event, “Science has been my life, I’ve been a submariner so I’ve been involved in nuclear engineering and principles of science for my entire life. I just feel really strongly that if we support science, if we’re not afraid to figure out what the truth actually is, we’ll be great. I always want to bring the data to the problem. I don’t want to hear stories, I don’t want to hear alternative facts. No, there’s only facts, and that’s why I believe so strongly in what we’re doing here today.”

Meet more of the scientists Greenberg interviewed including Bob Hirshon, Program Director for Technology and Learning for the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Check out the latest episode of Volta Insider here:

http://voltainsider.com/2017/04/28/episode-18-the-march-for-science/