Plans and actions should be based on how the world really is,
not on how we wish it to be. This idea is well established in
the science lab, but it applies equally to politics. Scientists
may wish for science to be apolitical, but in fact the bad guys
politicized it, and wishing is not going to change this.
As a corollary: There is a saying in politics: If you don't
have a seat at the table, you're on the menu. If scientists
don't participate in the political process, they are going to
get slaughtered mercilessly.
This was coming from a successful politician. I reckon it is
important for scientists to hear this clearly articulated. It
is doubly important for scientists who were /not/ at the march.
Speaking for myself: Let's not kid ourselves. This is not a new
problem.
-- Cosmology has been politicized since 1543, through no fault
of the astronomers.
-- Evolution has been politicized since 1859, through no fault
of the naturalists.
-- The bad guys politicized the connection between leaded gas
and brain damage, even as scientists tried to depoliticize it.
-- The bad guys politicized the issue of cigarette-caused fires
*and* toxic fire retardants, even as scientists tried to
depoliticize both.
-- The bad guys politicized the issue of tobacco-caused cancer,
even as scientists tried to depoliticize it.
-- The incumbent fossil-carbon companies stand to lose trillions
of dollars if regulations and/or market forces cause a shift
to renewables, or if they are required to abate and/or pay for
the damage they are causing. That's a lot of money. Wars have
been fought for far smaller stakes.
-- Education and research are funded to a great extent by the
public, and have been for many decades. Basic notions of
accountability imply that we should explain to the taxpayers
and their representatives what they are getting in return.
==========
I reckon the march was a success in a couple of ways:
1) It generated quite a bit of publicity, mostly the right kind
of publicity.
2) It taught more than a few scientists that they could get
involved in the public sphere and live to tell about it.
A thousand times more of this will be needed, but this is a
step in the right direction.