Trump vs. Science: One Man’s Hate Against Everyone’s Fate
Time moves fast, but science is moving even faster. There are rovers exploring space, AI robots will soon be a thing, and our cell phones can do almost anything we tell them to do. It is truly an amazing time to be alive. Except for one person, though: Donald J. Trump. Trump hates science. Maybe he’s seen the Terminator too many times or maybe he just doesn’t understand it. And I don’t mean I understand everything; I don’t understand string theory or how the brain works, but I do understand that science is one of the most important studies in life and can explain anything with proper study.
It’s not up for debate whether or not President Trump hates science. I’ll let the religious aspects go, but his actions and statements (tweets) prove he wants nothing to do with scientific advancement. Exhibit a: Climate change denial. How many people with respect for science can deny climate change? Exactly.
This one will upset some of you, how about vaccinations? We all know that vaccinating your children will give them autism, there are tons of cases. They pump them full of the diseases and take your money. WRONG. There are no proven links to vaccines and autism. The one study that everybody thinks proves it was falsified and admitted to being incorrect. And if you have every scienced, you would understand that to build an immunity, you need to be exposed to the disease. President Trump doesn’t get it though [1]:
Nothing is more telling of his stance on science than the appropriations in his budgets (or lack thereof). In the White House’s proposed budget released in March, many scientific government agencies stood to lose billions of dollars of funding [2]. The National Institutes of Health would lose 22% funding, with great losses to money allocated for scientific research. Let’s not even mention the cuts to the little that NASA has left.
Including reductions to departments, agencies, and initiatives, Donald Trump’s greatest anti-science battle is against energy. Progress in renewable energies and green technology is showing us that there are sustainable sources for the future. Unfortunately, Trump is paid by the fossil fuels industry and is trying to keep them in power. Remember all the hubbub over coal and saving tens of thousands of jobs? Well that might be all there is left in the industry nowadays. Science tells us that coal is inefficient, unsustainable, and definitely harming the workers that mine it. Yet the Department of Energy’s Office of Science would lose 17% funding, including most research funding.
These budget cuts and anti-science rhetoric have led to plenty of accomplished and brilliant scientists to resign from their positions within the government (I’m going to ignore the imbeciles that Trump has installed to head vital departments, see EPA). This week, the last employees of the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy left their positions. Under the Obama Administration, there were nine employees working on subjects like crisis response and biotechnology. Today, there are none. This is the Trump Administration proving they do not care for scientific advancement.
Luckily, since the president is trying to do away with funding, scientists are continuing their work independently and progressing in other ways. We all heard the stories about government researchers backing up and securing years of studies in fear of “losing” them to the incoming Administration. How about that badass March for Science in April? Scientists and supporters flooded the streets of major cities to voice their disdain for the disregard of scientific studies [3].
On the same day, President Trump said “My administration is committed to advancing scientific research that leads to a better understanding of our environment and of environmental risks.” As if he doesn’t spend hours every other day trying to figure out ways to do the opposite… Scientists and the public are beginning to see the war on science at the tiny hands of the president. It’s time to answer the call. It’s time to pick up our microscopes and fight!
Written By: CJ Wilcox (@CJWilcox7)
1: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/trump-comments-on-science-are-shockingly-ignorant/
2: http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/05/what-s-trump-s-2018-budget-request-science
4: https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/04/22/science/march-for-science.html
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