More than one thousand people took to the streets of Reno this weekend as part of an effort to support and defend the role science and reasoning play in governmental policy.
Carrying signs that read "science is not an alternative fact" and "make America smart again," hundreds of lab coat wearing demonstrators called on policy makers to protect science from political whims.
The March for Science, as it was dubbed, took place in hundreds of cities around the country and for hundreds of different reasons whether it’s protecting grant funding or combating climate change.
Marianne Denton is an environmental scientist with the state and one of the event organizers. She says science plays a major role in our lives.
“The takeaway is that science effects your life, science is your life,” said Denton. ”Go out, be about science. Contact your local representatives and say clean air and clean water is important to me. Research into medical diseases and chronic conditions is important to me.”
Ed Andrews is a former journalist turned economic writer from Tahoe. He says he’s concerned with what he calls a “war on facts.”
“It’s clear that we have huge, pressing environmental issues, climate change, all kinds of issues,” Andrews said
. “We’ve got great opportunities with science, and what we’ve got right now in Washington is a regime that is anti-science and just pandering to fear and greed.
Event organizers say they want to use the momentum of the march to create an organization that acts as a watchdog for scientific research and reasoning in Northern Nevada.
