Science Rally

The #StandUpForScience rally will join scientists and supporters in Boston on Sunday, Feb. 19.

(#StandUpForScience)

As international science professionals gather for an annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science at the Hynes Convention Center this Sunday, protesters will mobilize in Copley Square once again to defend what they say is a concerted political attack on science.

The #StandUpForScience rally has several key demands, including the protection of government scientists from censorship, support for publicly funded science, an assurance that scientific data be made available to the public, and many others, including the acknowledgment that climate change is an urgent, human-caused problem.

The Trump administration poses a serious threat to climate activists. President Trump himself has made clear he wishes to end the Environmental Protection Agency, and his nominee to lead the agency, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, has filed 19 legal challenges over EPA regulations (including eight that are still pending).

Many EPA regulations are in place to combat what a majority of scientists say are the detrimental effects of fossil fuels and human-produced wastes. The Trump administration sees these regulations as financial hurdles for energy industries. Trump said he wants to "cancel" the Paris Climate Agreement and stop funding clean energy research, measures that many science-advocates stand firmly against. Already Trump has signed orders to revive the Keystone Dakota Access Pipeline that his predecessor rejected.

Additionally, The Guardian reports that key Trump aide Myron Ebell, who headed the EPA transition team, referred to the environmental movement as "the greatest threat to freedom in the modern world" and said schools should withdraw climate education.

The rally is co-organized by several groups, including ClimateTruth.org, the March for Science, Greenpeace USA and the Union of Concerned Scientists.

The rally will be held at Copley Square from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.