2018 NJ March for Science & Science Festival, April 14

The New Jersey March for Science & Science Festival is Saturday, April 14. It begins at 10 a.m. at the steps of the War Memorial in Trenton. I hope to see you there.

There will be a few speakers, including scientists, health care professionals, environmentalists, Congressman Pallone and Assemblyman Zwicker, followed by a short march to the State House Annex where there will be a science festival, a teach in, and additional speakers including Health Commissioner Elnahal.

The science festival includes live music, science activity tables, face painting, a children's sign contest, nonpartisan voter registration help and more. The teach-in includes two panelist-led discussions, one on New Jersey and climate science, and the other on the future of gun violence research.

Anyone interested to go can check out the March website and FAQ page for information about parking, transportation, plans and more; the shareable public Facebook event page for the march, and can register for free (to help organizers estimate headcount) on a shareable Eventbrite page.

Personally, I'm marching for a number of reasons, including concern about our questionable withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, interest in bringing the thousands of clean energy jobs to New Jersey that come with the advancement of solar and wind power, interest in the clean air and clean water preservation that renewables mean for us all, and worry over international relations if the current fossil fuel supporting positions of the present administration were to continue.

I fully support American energy independence but not through outdated polluting forms of energy that increase the rate of global warming. We have four times the country's energy needs in wind energy potential off our coasts, including ideal wind power conditions off New Jersey's coasts. That's not even touching our solar potential, which thankfully is up for consideration in the New Jersey Assembly this week.

Meanwhile, internationally, fierce competition to be at the forefront of renewables development promises economic growth and prosperity our country needs, and we can't abdicate our leadership to China in this area nor in any other field of publicly-funded scientific exploration. In this and in many other fields, science precedes invention; invention precedes job growth and economic gain. The future of the country is inextricably tied to supporting American science and scientists.

As a mom, I'd like my children to have compelling jobs available to them right here in New Jersey in competitive, developing fields like renewable energy innovation. It helps that we now have a governor interested in advancing those wins for New Jersey, but it would help more if there was enthusiastic rather than begrudging federal support.

I am marching to let my government know I want American science protected and funded. I'll hope to see you at the march too.

Best,
Christine Clarke