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This group wants to fight anti-science rhetoric by getting scientists to run for office
This group wants to fight ‘anti-science’ rhetoric by getting scientists to run for office
By Sarah Kaplan January 17
@sarahkaplan48
Emily's List works to get more women elected. Vote Vets helps veterans run for public office. And now “STEM the Divide” will push to have more scientists involved in politics. ... The initiative, which officially launches Tuesday, was set up by the political action committee 314 Action ("314" for the first three digits of pi, in case it wasn't already clear that nerds are behind this). Inspired by political action committees such as Emily's List, the group says its goal is to connect people with backgrounds in science, technology, engineering and math to the expertise and funds needed to run a successful campaign.
“There's nothing in our Constitution that says we can only be governed by attorneys,” founder Shaughnessy Naughton said. “Especially now, we need people with scientific backgrounds that are used to looking at the facts and forming an opinion based on the facts.”
The project is partially motivated by worry over the election of Donald Trump, she said, noting that the president-elect and some of his Cabinet picks dispute the scientific consensus on climate change, vaccines and other issues.
Indeed, the past several months have seen an uptick in political engagement among the scientific community: Thousands of researchers have signed an open letter urging Trump to “respect scientific integrity,” and hundreds attended a “stand up for science” rally at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union, one of the largest scientific conferences in the country.
{Scientists prepare to fight for their work during 'the Trumpocene'}
By Sarah Kaplan January 17
@sarahkaplan48
Emily's List works to get more women elected. Vote Vets helps veterans run for public office. And now “STEM the Divide” will push to have more scientists involved in politics. ... The initiative, which officially launches Tuesday, was set up by the political action committee 314 Action ("314" for the first three digits of pi, in case it wasn't already clear that nerds are behind this). Inspired by political action committees such as Emily's List, the group says its goal is to connect people with backgrounds in science, technology, engineering and math to the expertise and funds needed to run a successful campaign.
“There's nothing in our Constitution that says we can only be governed by attorneys,” founder Shaughnessy Naughton said. “Especially now, we need people with scientific backgrounds that are used to looking at the facts and forming an opinion based on the facts.”
The project is partially motivated by worry over the election of Donald Trump, she said, noting that the president-elect and some of his Cabinet picks dispute the scientific consensus on climate change, vaccines and other issues.
Indeed, the past several months have seen an uptick in political engagement among the scientific community: Thousands of researchers have signed an open letter urging Trump to “respect scientific integrity,” and hundreds attended a “stand up for science” rally at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union, one of the largest scientific conferences in the country.
{Scientists prepare to fight for their work during 'the Trumpocene'}
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