The U.S. has been at the forefront of scientific progress for decades, but astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson is warning us of the dangers that come with the rise of science deniers.
In a video posted ahead of Earth Day and the March for Science, Tyson slammed the politicians who deny the existence of scientific fact, something he said he didn’t have to deal with when he was younger. While he doesn’t mention Donald Trump or his cabinet (including EPA head Scott Pruitt) by name, a clip of Vice President Mike Pence—then a congressman from Indiana—is featured urging that evolution be taught as theory, not fact. Facts that, Tyson explained, still stand after research and peer reviews that prove it even further.
He wants to have conversations on how to fix problems and save civilization, but first we need to stop debating whether facts are true.
“It’s not something to say, ‘I chose not to believe E=mc2,’” he said. “You don’t have that option. When you have an established scientific emergent truth, it is true whether or not you believe in it. And the sooner you understand that, the faster we can get on with the political conversations about how to solve the problems that face us.”
H/T Huffington Post
