Edinburgh march champions truth in the age of Trump
OVER 1,000 scientists marched in Edinburgh yesterday to celebrate and defend rationality. The March for Science rally, organised in the wake of President Trump’s attacks on climate change regulations, ended with a series of speeches by academics.
Professor Anne Glover, formerly the chief scientific adviser to the European Commission president, told gatherers: “I am an expert. And the world needs experts.”
The march was one of over 600 events organised globally to show solidarity with scientists across the world.
Starting on Waterloo Place near the Scottish Government headquarters, the protest was marked by a family atmosphere and light police presence. Placard slogans included: “Seas are rising – so are we”, “Botanists don’t grow on trees”, “Ignorance is not a point of view” and “Defiance for science”.
Lang Banks, the WWF director who attended in a personal capacity, told the Sunday Herald: “There has never been a more important time for science to be out in the open.”
The march led to chants of “aye for sci” and finished outside the Scottish Parliament overlooking Arthur’s Seat.
One of the speakers was Professor Peter Kind, a professor of developmental neuroscience at Edinburgh University, who made a staunch defence of science.
He said the public was still being “bombarded” with falsities on climate change and theories linking the MMR vaccine with autism.
He said: “Our society needs and deserves a citizenry with minds wide awake and a basic understanding of how the world works.”
A spokesperson for the March for Science in Scotland said: “It’s fantastic to know so many people support the sciences.
“People recognise the important role science plays in all our lives, and that political leaders and policymakers should enact evidence-based policies in the public interest.”