A March for Science in D.C. is currently emerging as a response to the bias of the Trump administration's dismissal of general scientific evidence. In the meantime, this week, the well-respected Bulletin of Atomic Scientists have now set their Doomsday Clock closer to midnight, thanks to President Trump. The same D.C based science group supports the March for Science which will be an event inspired by last week's Women's March, which took place after Trump's inauguration in Washington. The changes to the Doomsday Clock were agreed to over fears that the planet is closer to a catastrophic disaster than at any time since 1953.

The clock is now at two and a half minutes closer to midnight than the three minutes it was in 2015. The March for Science in Washington doesn't have a date yet, but in relation to the organization's resistance, a People's Climate March to protest Trump's scrapping of President Obama's climate policies is set for April. Rachel Bronson of the bulletin referred to these issues during their international news conference Thursday morning when they revealed the new time.

Marching the clock hands forward for science

The effect that the Doomsday Clock has is largely symbolic, being that scientists blame Trump's presidency and everything he stands for why they changed it.

According to Rachel's statements during the press briefing, she specified two reasons. The first was over Trump's “cavalier and reckless language” around nuclear weapons and threats, and second; his growing disregard of scientific expertise which refers to climate change. Ironically enough, when the clock hands last stood at two minutes in 53, it was over the nuclear race between the (then) Soviet Union (now the Russian Federation) and the U.S.

Trump's connection with Russia (currently under investigation) has dominated the headlines throughout his campaign and into his presidency, and now over sanctions with one of the world's greatest nuclear threats.

Fighting for climate change facts

Thomas Pickering and Pennsylvania State University professor David Titley – who was the head of the U.S.

Navy's Task Force on Climate Change – collaborated for a column that was published in "The New York Times" opinion pages this week, about their decision. In their op-ed, they say that prior to Trump's election, climate change was already a concern due to international leaders not taking action to march carbon emissions back from devastating levels. Other issues such as North Korea's development of nuclear weapons, the fragility of the Iran nuclear deal to keep them from producing nuclear weapons, and the tense relations between the U.S. and Russia under the Obama administration, were already looming over the Doomsday Clock.

'Midnight in America'

The group is aware that their pro-science symbolism would be mocked.

Especially when the Doomsday Clock itself is made of cardboard. But the rationale behind their decision remains solid. One can attribute the dismissal of their science to Trump supporter's anger of the elites of the scientific community. So, it would infuriate Trump supporters, even more, to know that 15 Nobel laureates are behind the Doomsday Clock decision. Those present at the press briefing were Thomas Pickering, the mentioned David Titley and theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss.

Rachel Bronson also said that Trump is rejecting the advice the conclusions of intelligence experts. She said that while action spoke louder than words that words still mattered as they increase the chances of accidents and miscalculation.

These scientists felt that his "loose talk" and "dangerous rhetoric" do not promote confidence and are dangerous to decision making. One might recall that during Hillary Clinton's acceptance speech last July at the Democratic Convention, she said that Trump was taking the Republican Party from “Morning in America” to “Midnight in America.” Now that he is President, scientists literally agree that the world is closer than it's been in 63-years.
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