Some of the world’s top scientists are sounding an alert over an oppressive Trump administration and its suppression of important scientific facts, especially on climate change. “Ideological assertions have been crowding out evidence in public and private debates and in policy,” Holt told The Guardian. “People are truly troubled by what this means for the practice of science.”Holt and other scientists expressed dismay at the Trump administration’s silencing of scientists working for the federal government, concerned that important legislation will be passed by politicians with little knowledge of actual facts. Scientists at the AAAS conference will be addressing climate change and the effect of immigration restrictions on scientific knowledge, among other issues, and how to address their concerns in the Trump administration. Physicist Neal Lane, science adviser in the Clinton administration, called on the community at large to “embrace and defend” scientists and science, adding: “It’s ugly and it’s getting uglier.”Scientists and supporters are planning a March for Science April 22.

Source: Huffington Post February 17, 2017 05:48 UTC