Dear Jackrabbit,
As it is not yet midnight on this Saturday, April 22, 2017, it is still allowable to wish you a Happy Earth Day.
Founded in 1970, but really… everyday is Earth Day.
It’s an odd day these days. We try to set a day aside to be mindful of the effect we, as a species, has on the environment. It’s troubling because we’re taking crappy care of the environment, and the political makeup as it stands today is downright hostile to the environment. This in the face of overwhelming evidence that if this goes on, the world we’re leaving you, Jack, is going to have a lot of troubles. Food shortages, flooding, climate change, disease, animal extinction, and more.
Not to scare you, or anything, but it’s a shaky future as far as all that goes.
Which is why it’s also notable that today hundreds of thousands of people across the country, and many more thousands across the world, have marched in support of science, renewable energy, and plain common sense. It’s incredibly heartening to have witnessed that.
It’s also a little discouraging to suspect it’s going to fall on deaf ears. The politicians actually in charge of science budgets and environmental policies have expressed blatant disdain for the environment and for the concerns of the wide community of scientists.
Why?
Couple of reasons. Money is a big one. Changing our ways is expensive in the short term even though the long term payouts will be enormous. Some of the politicians are just plain cowards. They’re afraid to lose their political power by displeasing the agenda of the fossil fuel industry and the “religious right.” These are politicians who don’t care about you, but about themselves more.
And there is religion. For a variety of reasons…rainbow promises, granting dominion over animals, Jesus coming back any day now, etc, they are more than willing to sacrifice your future for their superstitions. It’s probably one of the most immoral positions I can imagine. They commit the sin of treating science and religion as equals.
They wish.
Science is measurable, observable, repeatable, and subject to a rigid scientific method. Religion is based on faith without evidence of any kind. Science is universal and doesn’t care if you believe it or not. Facts are facts. Science has no agenda. With religion, beliefs vary from group to group–most of which think they’re the “one true religion,” seek to maintain their sense of entitlement and authority, and that their beliefs trump your right to live in healthy, thriving world.
But I’m not here to bash religion. Religion can do that itself just fine. I’m more here to encourage you to take science seriously. Even if you don’t understand it entirely, you can still be presented with its evidence.
Does science change?
Not really–at least, not the scientific method of inquiry. What changes is our understanding of science as we learn more about nature and the universe. Our understanding of the natural world has change a lot over the millennia. That’s a good thing. It’s healthy to be able accept new evidence and understand how it applies to what we thought we knew. Science evolves… just as it should.
It may seem like I’m painting a dark picture of science forever being assaulted by willful ignorance. I admit it can seem grim.
On the plus side, scientists exist. They persist. They are always coming up with new discoveries, new applications, and developing new technologies. As much as the world you’re growing up in today has changed from the world I grew up in, so will it continue to change–and I believe–have “faith”–that it will get better.
While the election of Donald Trump may seem to signal an embracing of ignorance in our country–remember that his “win” was a pretty pathetic one and was far from a mandate. In fact, his election has energized many to resist, and many of the politicians who demonize science are seeing the landscape changing. Their habit of calling anything they don’t like hearing “fake” is fraying seriously. While many double down, dig in, and seek to hasten the destruction of the planet, others are making headway toward progress despite all of this.
Resistance happens.
It’ll be rough at times… which is a shame… but I do think intelligence will triumph over ignorance. Today is good evidence of that. Scientists, and those who support the sciences, marched to make their voices heard. If the politicians didn’t hear them, the people did.
Things will only gets better so long as we embrace an appreciation for knowledge. To not know something is not a crime. To willfully reject knowing something is.
Something to think about.
Thinking is good.
All my love,
–Dad
