On Donald Trump's first day as the 45th president of the United States, he removed any and all connections to global warming and environmental activism on the official White House website. (He also removed all connections to LGBTQ+ empowerment, but for the purposes of this article, we'll leave that as a noteworthy aside.) In his first week, he revived the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Keystone XL pipeline under the guise of it "creating a lot of jobs," despite the fact it desecrates holy Native American land and causes extremely harmful, irreperable damage to our environment. He also has strong personal, financial ties to the fossil fuel industry, which poses a worrying conflict of interest.
On top of the institution of the Global Gag Rule, embarrassing flip-flop on "The Wall," and his thinly-veiled Muslim Ban, Trump and his entire team are making a mockery of the United States of America every day.
As a result, we have our park rangers and competent, well-informed scientists going rogue on Twitter. And it all began with a harmless jab at Trump's weak ego. When the National Park Twitter account tweeted a comparison image between Trump's inauguration crowd size and Obama's in 2009, Trump couldn't take the harmless joke in stride. Instead, he complained and had the official account frozen. Not only do his actions infringe upon our freedom of speech, but they give rise to a notion that Trump is unafraid to exercise his power and silence those who oppose him by even an iota.
His desire to silence the outcries against him are frightening, but as Americans, we will make our voices heard. And that's when our park rangers, doctors, and scientists went rogue on Twitter and thousands of Americans came together to protest Trump's weak-minded, unconstitutional, and regressive executive actions.
Oganizations such as The National Park Service, the EPA, and NASA have made alternative accounts, with followers surpassing over 100,000 and, in some cases, one million. Undoubtedly, American citizens will not let the fear-mongering Trump and his team oppress us--instead, we will protest in our streets, our airports, and at the very doors of the White House.
For instance, there was the Women's March, full of brave women fighting for their rights to safe, affordable access to healthcare. If Trump takes away Medicaid or defunds Planned Parenthood, on top of his institution of the Global Gag Rule, thousands of women will struggle to get birth control, STD tests, pap smears and other cancer screenings, and other preventative care--especially those who come from low-income families. Transgender women will also struggle to receive affordable and safe hormone therapy, which could have harmful consequences on their health.
It's shameful that Trump and his team call themselves "pro-life" when they've endangered millions in no less than a week. Thanks to the Global Gag Rule, that endangerment reaches global proportions.
And in the wake of the Women's March, Shia LaBeouf's "He Will Not Divide Us" livestream, the DAPL protests, the airport protests, and so many more, we now have a Science March coming to a town (hopefully) near you. As of right now, things are still in the works (there is no set date yet, for example), but follow @ScienceMarchDC in order to stay up-to-date on new information. There are a number of accounts for potential marches in big cities, such as NYC, Austin, San Diego, Boston, etc., so put research into your local marches too.
The goal of the Science March on Washington D.C., as with the previous marches held, is to fight against "alternative facts," suppression of scientific inquiry, and the ignorant denial of global climate change by the Trump administration. Through the Science March, we will also fight against the revival of the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Keystone XL pipeline, because it endangers the peaceful Standing Rock Sioux tribe and their sacred land, their water, the environment, and planet Earth. The Paris Climate Agreement could also be in jeopardy, despite the fact Trump has stated he is "willing to keep an open mind" in regards to the United States' involvement.
As Trump's reasoning behind this revival is to "create a lot of jobs" for American citizens, it's clear that money is the motivaton here. Disregard for the Standing Rock Sioux, their cuture, and their lives is also clear. Participating in the Science March fights against the Trump administration's thoughtlessness, tactlessness, and lack of human empathy.
Absolutely march for science and help us fight Trump's vicious attacks on the environment and basic human dignity.
