OVER 1000 people marched in Edinburgh yesterday to celebrate and defend science.
The March for Science rally, organised in the wake of President Trump’s attacks on climate change regulations, ended with a series of speeches by academics.
Professor Anne Glover, formerly the chief scientific adviser to the European Commission President, told gatherers: “I am an expert. And the world needs experts.”
The march was one of over 600 events organised globally to show solidarity with scientists across the world.
Starting on Waterloo Place near the Scottish Government headquarters, the protest was marked by a family atmosphere and light police presence.
Placard slogans included “The seas are rising - so are we”, “Botanists don’t grow on trees”, “Ignorance is not a point of view”, “Defiance for science” and “Because the idiots are wrong”.
Other slogans were more unwieldy - “I came to do science & kick ass & you just cut our funding” - or personal: “Appendicitis in 1997: I would be dead without science.”
Lang Banks, the WWF director who attended in a personal capacity, told the Sunday Herald: “There has never been a more important time for science to be out in the open.”
The march led to chants of “aye for sci” and finished outside the Scottish Parliament overlooking Arthur’s Seat.
One of the speakers was Professor Peter Kind, a Professor of Developmental Neuroscience at Edinburgh University, who made a staunch defence of science.
He said the public was still being “bombarded” with falsities on climate change and theories linking the MMR vaccine with autism.
He said: “I am here today to do everything I can to help ensure that evidence obtained from scientific method forms the basis, not only of our policy making, but also of our public thinking.”
He added: “Our society needs and deserves a citizenry with minds wide awake and a basic understanding of how the world works.
“Science is for everyone and science needs everyone.”
Glover, who also used to be the Chief Scientific Adviser for the Scottish Government, hit out at individuals who questioned established facts.
She said: “What we have to do, and what we are doing, is fighting back against this so-called post-truth society, where evidence is seen as alternative.”
She added: “Many people in public life have started peddling alternative facts, or just let’s bite the bullet, and call it lies.
“The marches are our way of saying ‘no’ to alternative facts and I hope these people are listening today. We are saying now that we will hold you to account if you provide us with alternative facts. We will call you out.”
A spokesperson for the March for Science in Scotland said: "It’s fantastic to know so many people support the sciences, recognise the important role science plays in all our lives, and that political leaders and policy makers should enact evidence based policies in the public interest."
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