Scientists join Earth Day march

UP Diliman CHE Instructor Lynn Brasileno joins the Global Science March around Quezon Memorial Circle. Brasileno expressed hope that government would create better funding for science, environmental research and open equal opportunities to encourage scientists to stay and serve in the country. INQUIRER PHOTO/LYN RILLON

Why on earth scientists and environmentalists left their laboratories and classrooms to join a global march is no rocket science.

Nearly 200 people from the science community and green groups called for greater support for science and technology research as they took to the streets as part of the global “March for Science” on Saturday, which happened to be Earth Day.

The local leg of the global movement in Quezon City, titled “March for Science, Environment and the People,” was part of over 600 satellite marches around the world aimed at highlighting the current plight of the scientific community.

In particular, the marches — the first of their kind — were staged to rally against US President Donald Trump’s environmental policies and denial of climate change.

Marlo Asis, an agricultural journalist and a Global Leadership Fellow of the Cornell Alliance for Science, said the march was expected to send a strong message of support to the scientific community around the world.

“This is a historic first … we call on the policymakers and the governments in our local contexts to enact and take a stand toward making policies and decisions that are supportive of science,” he told the Inquirer.

Led by the group Agham-Advocates of Science and Technology for the People, the ralliers, who marched around Elliptical Road, challenged the Duterte administration to develop the country’s science and technology sector and to push for climate action and food security.

Agham expressed disappointment that even after almost a year in office, President Duterte still had no comprehensive plan for the development of scientific knowledge and the community.

Fred de Mesa, a volunteer for the international nongovernmental organization 350.org, said championing scientists should go beyond moral support.

“With low budgets, scientists would not be able to conduct their studies,” he said.

In an earlier press conference, Agham secretary general Feny Cosico decried the rampant contractualization among scientists and other science-related jobs.

“A private company would pay 65 percent more for an environmental specialist’s salary compared to what the Department of Environment and Natural Resources can give,” said Clemente Bautista, national coordinator of Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment.

The marchers also called for better climate action from the Duterte administration, and for “propeople energy policies,” particularly the shift from coal energy to renewable energy sources.