Kathrine Frich
It’s the “most scientific act of resistance possible,” say organizers.
It’s the “most scientific act of resistance possible,” say organizers.
Not a March, But a Marathon of Science
Forget picket signs. America’s climate scientists are protesting Trump’s brutal budget cuts by doing what they know best:
Giving back-to-back online presentations for 100 hours straight. It’s the “most scientific act of resistance possible,” say organizers.
A Livestream Fueled by Fury and Data
Kicking off Wednesday night, researchers in climate science and meteorology began delivering 15-minute live presentations in rapid-fire succession.
Their goal is to show the public why their work matters and what’s at risk if funding keeps vanishing.
What Sparked the Protest?
Trump’s administration slashed funding for federal agencies like NASA, NOAA, and the Department of Energy, just as hurricane season began.
It also ended key academic grants and closed the legendary Goddard Institute at Columbia University.
A Lab Shuttered, a Field Shaken
NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, once housed at Columbia, is now gone.
After an abrupt lease cancellation in April, one of the world’s leading climate science labs was forced to go remote. Scientists call it a blow to American research.
The Cuts Hurt Everyone
Speakers argue that real-time weather warnings and long-term climate models will suffer.
And when forecasts fail, it’s not just numbers that get lost, it’s lives.
Scientists Say: ‘You Get All This for Pennies’
Climatologist Kate Marvel, one of the speakers, called the livestream “a way to show people the incredible value they get for so little.”
Publicly funded science, she added, is one of the best deals American taxpayers have.
Young Scientists Are Especially at Risk
Many of the presenters are early-career researchers, some of the brightest in their fields, who now face a future of uncertain funding and dwindling job security.
The protest is also a plea to save their generation’s role in science.
Not Just a Protest, But a Wake-Up Call
Organizers insist the event is nonpartisan. But it’s also a loud wake-up call to voters and policymakers alike: gutting climate research just as weather becomes more extreme is a dangerous move for everyone on the planet.
As one organizer put it:
“If Americans watch even a few minutes of this, they’ll realize just how important this work is, and how bad it would be to lose it.”