I am a climate scientist walking 250 miles in support of science. Ask me anything!

I am a climate scientist walking 250 miles in support of science. Ask me anything!

Hi Reddit! I'm Syl Foisy, a PhD student at Columbia, and I'm genuinely worried about what's happening to science funding and policy in the U.S. right now (speaking in my personal capacity and not on behalf of my employer). Several government proposals would drastically cut funding to scientific agencies, introduce rules that compromise the accuracy of scientific work, and make it harder for the public and lawmakers to actually use what scientists produce. So I'm doing something about it. I am currently walking from New York City to Washington DC as part of the Weather & Climate Livestream team. I'll hand-deliver letters to members of Congress in DC -- letters written by over 100 scientists voicing their concern for the future of science in this country. I'm on mile 11 for today, about 190 miles in total, and on track to arrive this Wednesday, right near the end of the continuous 50-hour Livestream we're running where over 100 scientists will give talks about the research they do. Along my walk, I've been visiting and interviewing scientists from over 10 institutions, and chatting about weather and climate with everyone I meet on the road. I've also handed out over 200 stickers so far, which might be my proudest stat. (lolz) My teammates and support crew, the amazing Miriam and Virginia, are helping run this AMA since I'm walking right now -- ask us anything! Proof: https://imgur.com/a/38WfECV Watch the Livestream tomorrow, or get more info: https://wclivestream.com/ https://preview.redd.it/zd62hm7vji4h1.jpg?width=3648&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=17b91cbb3adb4e24836885b5de416216a7a35745 submitted by /u/concernedclouds [link] [comments]