Join us for the national launch of Science Rising this Wednesday, June 3. RSVP today!
Since my days as a student, I’ve been in awe of the power of science. Not only because of scientists’ amazing contributions to medicine, technology, and discovery; but also because of how science is practiced. There’s no central authority controlling grant selection, or peer-review, or evidence-based policy implementation and yet these systems endure because of the power and persistence of the scientific community and those who support it. The process of science—and the systems we’ve built to ensure that science is used in decisionmaking—have allowed for incredible developments and improvements to people’s lives.
Early in my career, I got first-hand experience with these systems when my own environmental engineering research was used to inform science-based air quality standards to protect public health for the entire nation. My research fed into a government process that ensured robust science policy decisions were made (even when corporate or political actors opposed it). The system was not flawless, but the transparency of the process and the commitment of the scientific community helped keep us pointed towards progress, and held people accountable when we weren’t. I became a full believer in the power of science to make our lives better through the systems we built to support it. A grounding in science, data, and evidence, provides a solid basis for better policy decisions, and in the US, our country recognizes that.
Science and democracy under threat
But now, that power of science is under threat, as the Trump administration’s assault on science and democracy escalates. My career has been focused on how science is used and misused, but the current attacks threaten the US science enterprise—across government, academia, and the private sector—beyond anything we’ve seen in previous administrations. The administration is gutting federal research investments, devastating federal scientific integrity infrastructure, firing federal scientists, and otherwise undermining the systems of federal science that have been sustained for decades, those very systems I long believed in.
These attacks on science are happening at the same time as, and indeed are a part of, a rise of authoritarianism under the current administration. We’re living through a disregard of the rule of law and the disempowering of checks and balances across our government—the very same checks and balances that have been critical for ensuring science helps shape decisions, from scientific integrity infrastructure, to the role of Inspectors General, to the federal science advisory committee system, to civil rights protections and federal equity initiatives, with reverberations across sectors. My faith in the system is now shaken.
The power of the scientific community
What should the scientific community do when those systems are disrupted? When long-standing rules and norms are broken? When those reliable science processes and investments are gone? When our trust in the system is undermined?
We must reconnect with what made those systems function in the first place. The power of science was never solely in the system itself. It worked because of us. Because people everywhere insisted on a world where decisions are informed by evidence and experts are trusted. Because the public demanded it. Because scientists everywhere contributed. These systems were never perfect, but we stayed committed to the project, to the pursuit of knowledge, to a system with checks and balances that can guide us down a path to advance the public good. And we can do that again.
Although the speed, scope, and severity of the Trump administration’s attacks on science and democracy are great, we have a playbook. In other countries and contexts, we know what it takes to successfully challenge authoritarians and restore democratic principles—and scientists have played a key role as prominent leaders and dissidents in these movements.
Scientists have power. We have expertise. We have social standing. We can keep the score. We can call out disinformation. We can speak truth to power. We can hold decision makers accountable. This is the power and potential of scientists in this moment.
Introducing Science Rising
If ever there was a time for scientists to step into our power, it’s now. That’s why the Union of Concerned Scientists is launching Science Rising, an effort that recognizes the gravity of the threats to science and democracy in this moment and harnesses the power of scientists and science supporters to fight back.
Through Science Rising, we’ll band together. We will refuse to live in a world where science is ignored and democracy is decimated. We will demand a world where science is used for public good. We will hold decisionmakers accountable. We will build independent scientific institutions that counter the disinformation and disintegration of scientific infrastructure. We will reimagine what science should look like in this country.
Most importantly, we will not back down. And I hope you will join us. Tune in to the virtual launch event on June 3 and stay connected with this movement in the months to come.
I still believe in the power of science that left me awestruck as an early career scientist. We know at our core that science and scientists make the world better, safer, healthier, and fairer, and that we all deserve that. Let’s rise together, the only way we know how.