American Democrat Republican Rag: March For Science on Earth Day

So far, it has been a beautiful spring where I live. Although I have not always actively observed or celebrated Earth Day, I have always been aware of it. It is as much an indicator of spring to me as daffodils. When I was a young 14 year old boy, I did celebrate the first Earth day. I was asked, along with another of my school mates to go to a local elementary school and perform some music of our choosing, for the students outside. We both were 'folk musicians'. I don't remember much about the day, but I have a picture in my mind of what the school looked like and the play ground where we performed. I also remember part of one of the songs we sang, it was called "Garbage". The chorus was a 'call and response', and it went something like this:

Garbage

They're filling our seas with Garbage

Gabage

Garbage

And so on. I have fond memories of that day, and sing that refrain to myself quite often.

Yo Bill, why are bringing this up? Well, this Saturday, April 22nd is Earth Day and the theme is something that also has always been close to my heart.........science. I still remember making a 'rocket ship' in 1st grade in 1961, when our space program was at the beginning of the Mercury program. We brought in round Quaker Oats containers, tin cans, frozen orange juice concentrate containers and aluminum foil. You can see how we were building a cool rocket (at least we thought so). And so my love for science began.

As I started to look up various celebrations that will be held on Sunday, I found that the web site for the activities in D.C said something that I firmly believe and agree with; "science serves us all". Does trump even have a clue that he couldn't twit tweet without science? Does he understand that he couldn't bomb people without science? What would d.j[ackass] do if he couldn't fly to Florida every weekend to play golf (on our dime)? Flying, of course, is a result of science. Where would our culture be without science? What came before science? The dark ages, if I recall correctly. Why, even the Constitution charges Congress with the responsibility "[t]o promote the Progress of Science", by funding it:

Section 8 - Powers of Congress

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to

Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries

Oooooops, looks like some elected officials failed to read the Constitution.

Here's what's going on in our nation's capitol on Saturday:

This Earth Day, April 22, Earth Day Network and the March for Science are co-organizing a rally and teach-in on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The day’s program will include speeches and trainings with scientists and civic organizers, musical performances, and a march through the streets of Washington, D.C. The crowd will gather at 8:00am, and the teach-in will begin at 09:00am.

This Earth Day, join the effort to defend the vital public service role science plays in our communities and our world.

http://www.earthday.org/marchforscience/?gclid=Cj0KEQjw8tbHBRC6rLS024qYjtEBEiQA7wIDecr-3jvRkGag7fDPVp-HXq2sRHUAycXiIUcZqy289W8aAhGh8P8HAQ

In Philadelphia:

Philadelphia is home to more than 530,000 STEM jobs, a wealth of academic institutions that graduate more than 37,000 STEM majors annually and a research and development machine which was awarded more than $1 billion in NIH funding in the past 5 years. While many Philadelphians appreciate the vital role that science plays in our everyday lives, recent shifts in the public discourse have shown that we need to better communicate our methods and findings to our communities. That is why this year on Saturday, April 22, Philadelphia will join cities from across the world in a March for Science.
 
The nationwide March for Science movement has five overarching goals: humanize science, support the scientific process and scientists, advocate for accessible and inclusive science, partner with the public, and enable the use of science to improve society. Each of these values speaks to Philadelphia’s own scientific community and highlights some unique challenges that our region faces.

http://sciencemarchphl.strikingly.com/

NYC:

MARCH FOR SCIENCE NYC

SCIENCE.COMMUNITY. UNIFICATION.

March for Science NYC is a celebration of our love of science. From little things we take for granted - medicines, refrigeration, GPS, sports statistics, and clean water - to the astonishing complexity of this planet and its creatures, science is everywhere and impacts everyone. As scientists and science enthusiasts, our insatiable curiosity, fierce dedication, and dogged persistence has helped guide us to incredible innovations and uncover great knowledge that has shaped every part of our daily lives.

http://www.marchforscience.nyc/the-route/

Chicago:

APRIL 22, 2017, 10:00AM

Join us in Chicago to take a stand for science.

MARCH
11:00AM - 12:00PM
March from Rally point to Museum Campus.
Enter at Congress Pkwy.
Please follow approved route to reduce bottlenecks and security risks.

EXPO
12:00PM - 3:00PM
Take your next step in supporting science in Chicago at the March.
Organizations to be announced the week of April 17th.