How is it possible that in America, on the 47th anniversary of Earth Day, it was concluded that our situation was so dire that what was needed was not just a march for aggressive climate policies, but rather a "March for Science" itself?
Small-minded, corrupt, and power hungry state governors banning the mere use of the phrase "climate change" in official communications seemed laughable at the time. But now the ignorant and dangerous Trump regime has signaled double-digit cuts to scientific research, including climate science, after appointing a climate-denier to head the Environmental Protection Agency.
One cannot help but notice history repeating itself. A mere 401 years ago, an Inquisition under the direction of Pope Paul V issued a Special Injunction against Galileo instructing him to "abandon completely the opinion that the sun stands still at the center of the world and the earth moves, and henceforth not to hold, teach, or defend it in any way whatever, either orally or in writing."
In 1616, Pope Paul and his minions' concerns were quite clear: the heliocentric worldview "explicitly contradicted" the literal interpretation of the Holy Scripture. The "alternative facts" of an earth-centered universe were the very foundation of the Pope's power over the Western world. Consequently, the unquestioned power of the Church would be undermined if the heliocentric view were to be accepted as fact.
Fast forward to the present day. Like all things Trump, the present situation is both worse and more complex than it might appear.
