Yesterday I joined the “White Dudes for Harris” online event [1]. Although I am white and male, I don’t look at politics primarily through the lens of race or gender. Nor is my political point of view based on my religion, age, political party, or home state. I’m a scientist, and I view politics through the lens of science.
The two most pressing scientific issues impacting the upcoming presidential election are climate change and vaccine denial. When I hear a presidential candidate say “I’ll not give one cent to any school with a vaccine mandate” I worry. Eliminating vaccine requirements for schools means more children will be dying of preventable diseases. Already the rate of the measles is way up this year because people are hesitant to have their children vaccinated [2]. Yet, the science is clear: vaccines — including the vaccine for covid — are safe and effective; they save lives [3].
Climate change is an even more urgent issue than vaccine denial. The evidence is indisputable: our climate is warming, this warming is due to human activity, and we need to address this warming before the consequences become catastrophic [4]. Yet, some politicians refer those who advocate for action to address climate change as “radical environmental extremists.” Scientists are not radical environmental extremists. Scientists collect data, make hypotheses, design experiments to test their hypotheses, and then collect more data. This cycle repeats over and over as we get a better and better understanding of how our world works. If you think science is radical or extreme, then I fear you missed the entire enlightenment; you’re stuck in the dark ages. Scientists find that the evidence overwhelmingly indicates that climate change is a dangerous and urgent threat that must be addressed [5].
What are we to do? We must vote in the upcoming presidential election for candidates who support science, who don’t call climate change a hoax, and who don’t spread conspiracy theories about vaccines. Vote for science.
I especially urge the young to vote. You 20-year-olds face another 50 years or more living on this planet. If I were 20 years old today, I would be a single issue voter: I would vote for the candidate who promised to address the global warming problem most vigorously. Even better, I would vote for the candidate who had the best track record of passing legislation to combat climate change. And you can’t vote this November if you’re not registered. Register to vote today [6] and then spend the next 100 days learning all you can about the candidates’ records on science, on climate change, and on vaccine denial. Then vote. Vote for science.
1. See https://whitedudesforharris.com
2. https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html
3. Read The Deadly Rise of Anti-Science: A Scientist’s Warning, by Peter Hotez.
4. See the website https://drawdown.org/ to learn more about how to address climate change.
5. Read the Summary for Policy Makers of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Sixth Assessment Report. https://www.ipcc.ch/assessment-report/ar6/
6. Visit https://iwillvote.com to register to vote.