Climate and weather scientists are joining the anti-Trump resistance in the most ‘scientist-iest’ way

Forget marching in the streets with creative signs. For President Donald Trump’s second term, in the face of steep funding cuts for climate and weather research and forecasting, scientists have a new way of engaging the public: livestreamed presentations.

Starting Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET and lasting for 100 straight hours, climate and weather specialists will spend 15 minutes each talking about their work and why it is so valuable for the American people.

Their goal is to call attention to the impacts of cuts to federal agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA and the Department of Energy, along with the Trump administration’s withholding of research funding to academia.

The livestream marathon is billed as nonpartisan, according to Marc Alessi of the environmental group Union of Concerned Scientists, who is one of about a dozen organizers.

But while speakers may not denounce the Trump administration head-on, the effort is a response to policy moves that have left the National Weather Service short-staffed at the start of hurricane season and climate science research in the budgetary crosshairs, and it is seen among the community as a form of so-called resistance to the administration’s changes.

It is also timed to mark the end of NASA’s longstanding lease at Columbia University, which housed the agency’s top climate lab, known as the Goddard Institute for Space Studies. The Trump administration canceled that lease in April, and the facility’s scientists, who study Earth’s climate and track global average temperatures, will be forced to work remotely.

“We think that this livestream is basically an opportunity for scientists to show how these cuts to our research really damage our ability to do climate science and weather prediction,” Alessi said. “If the American public tunes in, they watch our science talks, they will see how our science benefits the public,” he said.

Climate scientist Kate Marvel, who will be participating in the livestream event in her personal capacity, said the series of talks may be “The scientist-iest thing we could do,” but it makes sense given the expertise of those who are taking part.

“This is really speaking to the public and saying, ‘Look, look at all of the amazing stuff you get for pennies on the dollar,’” she said, referring to publicly-funded weather and climate research.

As for the event’s potential political overtones, she said the event is being organized by many early-career researchers interested in shoring up the viability of their field of study and sharing the relevance of their work.

“Nobody wants to hear me complain about the administration,” Marvel said.

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