1st Ld: Spotlight: Fearing "alarming" anti-science policies, tens of thousands take to streets worldwide

Tens of thousands of scientists and their supporters took to the streets in Washington, D.C. and around the world on Saturday to protest against what organizers described as an "alarming" anti-science trend.

The main March for Science event was held in Washington, D.C., where thousands, mainly scientists, engineers, teachers, students, parents and children, defied pouring rain to gather at the National Mall to hear high-profile speakers who declared science under attack and asked politicians to respect facts.

"We are marching today to remind people everywhere our lawmakers especially of the significance of science for our health and prosperity," Bill Nye, a popular U.S. science educator and CEO of the Planetary Society who served as honorary co-chair of the event, told the crowd at the rally that lasted about four hours followed by a march to the U.S. Capitol.

"Today, we have a great many lawmakers, not just here but around the world, deliberately ignoring and actively suppressing science," Nye asserted. "Their inclination is misguided and in no one's best interest."

Out in the crowd, worries were expressed straightforwardly in the signs and banners held by the participants that read: "Science, not silence," "Oceans are rising, and so are we," "Fund Science = Fun Future," "Policy without science is a Biohazard," "Science is not a partisan issue, it is the foundation of our society," "Science is NOT an opinion."

"I'm here because I want to make sure climate change is a major focus of policy in the near history of our government," Emily Wiggans, a middle-aged woman who came with her family, told Xinhua. "I think we really need to focus on a present danger as a national security threat and do more with climate scientists and put more funding into climate scientists and science."

Another woman, Ray Whittle, was outraged about President Donald Trump's proposed budget, which would slash funding for the U.S. medical research funder, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a federal agency her son was working for.

"His budget is a disaster. I'm terrified he is going to cut NIH funding. There is lots of scientific work being done out there right now. I think that we have to put our money where our people are lost," Whittle told Xinhua.

Besides the Washington march, organizers said there are 609 "satellite" marches across the United States and across the world in a protest timed to coincide with Earth Day.

An estimated number of more than 30,000 people, mostly scientists, students and research advocates, filled up at least a dozen blocks north of the Trump International Hotel in Manhattan, New York, on Saturday to march for science.

Marchers held signs with slogans such as, "Science should be shared not censored," "Rise up before the waters do," "Dinosaurs didn't believe in climate change either" "stop the war on facts," "Denial is not a policy," and "we're not just resistors, we are transformers."

Organizers portrayed the march as political but not partisan, promoting the understanding of science as well as defending it from various attacks. They cited President Donald Trump administration' proposed 5.8 billion U.S. dollars cut to the National Institutes of Health, and also its proposed 2.6 billion dollars cut to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Scientists involved in the march also said they were anxious about political and public rejection of established science such as climate change and the safety of vaccine immunizations.

Jill Dvornik, a senior stem cell researcher at Mount Sinai Hospital and march co-organizer, said important initiatives are being threatened by federal budget cuts. Advances in everything from biomedical studies to technological devices could be affected.

Peter Haugen, a psychologist from New Jersey, said the proposed cuts to the National Institutes of Health would imperil health and the fight against diseases and chronic illnesses.

There were quite a few Trump supporters in the crowd though. "I am a Trump voter. Ask me anything," reads a sign held by a grinning young man.

Jim MacDonald, 67, from Flushing, Queens, stood near the protestors, holding a "THANK GOD FOR TRUMP" sign above his head.

Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo released a statement honoring Earth Day, and noting the challenges facing the environment.

"From combating climate change and reducing carbon emissions to safeguarding our coastal communities and strengthening resiliency in the face of extreme weather - New York must continue to lead the way forward," Cuomo said.

In an earlier statement, Trump insisted that his administration is committed to protecting the environment "without harming America's working families."

"That is why my Administration is reducing unnecessary burdens on American workers and American companies," he said. "Rigorous science is critical to my Administration's efforts to achieve the twin goals of economic growth and environmental protection...(but) we should remember that rigorous science depends not on ideology, but on a spirit of honest inquiry and robust debate." Endit