#scienceisimportant

[if-ghus-dies---we-riot]

I may or may not have put the book on the right next to the Bible whilst at the thrift store.

[onceuponawildflower]

my heart is so full // (at Ohio Statehouse)

[ladyravengrey]

For the first time in my life I am truly terrified of the direction my country is headed. I know that is a common theme everywhere you look and while I fear for my rights as a woman, and my SO's rights as an immigrant and minority, and the rights of all of my friends who are LGBTQ+, this concern comes from an entirely different place. I am a scientist. My life is based on fact and logic. The current administration seems to regard science, fact, and logic as problems. Issuing executive orders that are at their roots gag-orders on twitter accounts and freezing EPA grant money just screams anti-intellectualism. Where will the media blackouts and funding freezes end? Surely the EPA is just start. Once the EPA is effectively gone nothing will stand between our environment and those who wish to exploit it and save a dollars with illegal dumping. If you think Flint, Mi is a tragedy, it will be nothing compared to what will happen if there is no EPA, because almost no one is going to be honest and police themselves. From there is is only a hop, skip, and jump to the FDA and the USDA. And everyone should be really worried about those. Remember thalidomide? Want to know about the food industry before regulation read "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair. These agencies are vital to this country. Public health (read: your health) is inextricably connected to the continuation of the EPA, FDA, and USDA just to name a few. If Trump can stifle the scientists in his administration with just a stroke of pen, imagine what he can do with an entire congress behind him.