Center for Biological Diversity

For Immediate Release, April 20, 2017

Contact: 

Shaye Wolf, (415) 385-5746, swolf@biologicaldiversity.org   
Candice Kim, (213) 220-0591, ckim@biologicaldiversity.org (in Los Angeles)

Scientists to March Against Trump's Alternative Facts, Climate Denial

WASHINGTON— Outraged by the Trump administration's war on science, scientists with the Center for Biological Diversity will participate in March for Science events across the country this Saturday. Center scientists will join the main march in Washington, D.C., as well as sister marches in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Tucson, Denver and other cities.

“The Trump administration's contempt for science is a danger to people and the planet,” said Shaye Wolf, the Center's climate science director, who will march in D.C. “Without sound science, we can't protect our climate, our wildlife or our health — Trump's censorship and alternative facts put us all at risk. Now more than ever, we have to speak up in defense of scientific integrity and a livable future.”

The Trump administration has denied the international scientific consensus on climate change, reportedly censored government scientists, and proposed massive funding cuts to federal science and health agencies. Executive orders to start the rollback of the Clean Power Plan, lift the federal moratorium on coal leasing on public lands, and green-light the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines pose major threats to Americans' health and environment and the world's climate.

In the face of science suppression, the March for Science in D.C. and more than 500 cities around the world seeks to celebrate the critical role science plays in good public policy. The march recognizes that scientists cannot stay silent in the face of policies that delegitimize science, and it supports science education and increasing equity, diversity and accessibility in the sciences.  

The Center is defending science by challenging federal policies that suppress evidence and the scientific reality of climate change. The Center and allies have filed suit against the Trump administration over its order lifting the moratorium on the federal coal-leasing program, and its approval of the Keystone XL pipeline despite threats to water, wildlife, public health, and the climate.

The Center is also exposing climate-change censorship by seeking communications prohibiting staff at federal agencies from using words related to climate change and working to prevent hundreds of environmental data sets on government websites from being removed by the Trump administration.

“The Trump administration has launched a reckless attack on fact-based science, and the March for Science is crucial to defending our profession and our planet,” said John Fleming, a Los Angeles-based scientist with the Center, also marching in D.C.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.2 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

www.biologicaldiversity.org

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