Why I'll Be at the March for Science
I am going to march with my fellow scientists on April 22nd, and for many great reasons. Here are a few.
It was discovered in 1929 that lead was poisonous in paint... however, lobbyists fought science on it until 1978 when it was finally banned. It killed thousands of people, mostly children. They blamed it on parents. They said science wasn't proving without a doubt that lead was bad. They wanted to force laws on science that are incredibly restrictive and unreasonable. They are doing this now with our food and our environment.
Food corporations spend billions of dollars lobbying to keep themselves in business by encouraging the government to use old or unsound science (that was bought and paid for) instead of the hundreds of well-researched and articulated studies done by independent laboratories. They employ lawyers to whittle down scientific studies... lawyers. Not scientists. They argue over syntax, not content. Their main goal is economics, not health. It is a deeply flawed system. The most infuriating example is the over-use of sugar while they blame Americans for being fat... "just diet and exercise". The American Heart Association suggests NO MORE THAN 25g of added sugars for women... yet a 16oz coke is allowed to contain 48g of sugar. Media downplays the incredible dangers of a high sugar diet while they distract you with the myth of fats. AND it's addictive, some studies say more than heroin!
There is no reason to believe that the coal, steel, and petroleum industries aren't pouring money into silencing climate change data like their less hefty industrial counterparts: food & paint. This is about a lot more than politics. We have a right to clean food, air, and water. We have a right to demand quality and transparency from these corporations. We have a right to health and environmental organizations that are not petitioned, bribed, or blackmailed. Our politicians use rhetoric to make us think they're "cleaning up Washington", but they aren't... they're just looking out for their own shareholders. American politics has become a business, and I have had it with their shitty products (politicians especially). I'm not buying them anymore. They abuse science and twist it to try and get away with murder (literally).
I don't think it's necessary to remove every law we have on the books to help us legally protect the environment from greed. I don't think it's necessary to completely obliterate the USDA, FDA or EPA, but I do agree they have become corrupted by power and greed. They have been bribed and lobbied like all other federal agencies to a point where I feel like the whole country is under mafia control. Money should not be revered in this way! It's supposed to be a tool, not an idol. Everything that touches money also touches corruption, including non-profits and charity organizations. But despite all that, I still believe there are far more hard-working, well-meaning people out there using this federal grant money to do some important scientific work... and that's all about to go away.
We as a nation need to get beyond the materialistic anchors we have on our feet. We are not purely physical beings. Care about something deeper and more meaningful than your paycheck tomorrow. Everything is connected. Have some respect for nature. Studying science is what keeps me amazed. I am in constant awe of how nothing can be studied alone, because it always depends on something else. It's part of me and I care deeply about it. I will not have corporations placing money and economic concerns for a few disconnected shareholders over the health and well-being of every person and thing on this blue marble.
It was discovered in 1929 that lead was poisonous in paint... however, lobbyists fought science on it until 1978 when it was finally banned. It killed thousands of people, mostly children. They blamed it on parents. They said science wasn't proving without a doubt that lead was bad. They wanted to force laws on science that are incredibly restrictive and unreasonable. They are doing this now with our food and our environment.
Food corporations spend billions of dollars lobbying to keep themselves in business by encouraging the government to use old or unsound science (that was bought and paid for) instead of the hundreds of well-researched and articulated studies done by independent laboratories. They employ lawyers to whittle down scientific studies... lawyers. Not scientists. They argue over syntax, not content. Their main goal is economics, not health. It is a deeply flawed system. The most infuriating example is the over-use of sugar while they blame Americans for being fat... "just diet and exercise". The American Heart Association suggests NO MORE THAN 25g of added sugars for women... yet a 16oz coke is allowed to contain 48g of sugar. Media downplays the incredible dangers of a high sugar diet while they distract you with the myth of fats. AND it's addictive, some studies say more than heroin!
There is no reason to believe that the coal, steel, and petroleum industries aren't pouring money into silencing climate change data like their less hefty industrial counterparts: food & paint. This is about a lot more than politics. We have a right to clean food, air, and water. We have a right to demand quality and transparency from these corporations. We have a right to health and environmental organizations that are not petitioned, bribed, or blackmailed. Our politicians use rhetoric to make us think they're "cleaning up Washington", but they aren't... they're just looking out for their own shareholders. American politics has become a business, and I have had it with their shitty products (politicians especially). I'm not buying them anymore. They abuse science and twist it to try and get away with murder (literally).
I don't think it's necessary to remove every law we have on the books to help us legally protect the environment from greed. I don't think it's necessary to completely obliterate the USDA, FDA or EPA, but I do agree they have become corrupted by power and greed. They have been bribed and lobbied like all other federal agencies to a point where I feel like the whole country is under mafia control. Money should not be revered in this way! It's supposed to be a tool, not an idol. Everything that touches money also touches corruption, including non-profits and charity organizations. But despite all that, I still believe there are far more hard-working, well-meaning people out there using this federal grant money to do some important scientific work... and that's all about to go away.
We as a nation need to get beyond the materialistic anchors we have on our feet. We are not purely physical beings. Care about something deeper and more meaningful than your paycheck tomorrow. Everything is connected. Have some respect for nature. Studying science is what keeps me amazed. I am in constant awe of how nothing can be studied alone, because it always depends on something else. It's part of me and I care deeply about it. I will not have corporations placing money and economic concerns for a few disconnected shareholders over the health and well-being of every person and thing on this blue marble.
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