科学家担心特朗普损害美国科学发展

Threats to the future of US science dominated discussion at the first big gathering of researchers since President Donald Trump took office.

在美国总统唐纳德?特朗普(Donald Trump)上任以来的首个科研人员大会上，美国科学前景面临的威胁成为主要议题。

The scientific community at this year’s American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting expressed fears about the new administration. Their concerns ranged from the White House’s reluctance to accept scientific evidence to an anticipated assault on parts of the federal research budget as well as hostility to immigrants on whom US science depends.

在今年的美国科学促进会(American Association for the Advancement of Science)年会上，科学界表达了对美国新政府的担忧。他们担心的问题多种多样，从白宫不愿认可科学证据，到联邦研究预算的某些部分预计会遭受重创，另外还有美国科学所仰仗的外来移民遭遇的敌意。

“This is the first time in my 50-year career that I have seen people speaking up for science per se rather than about particular issues such as nuclear weapons,” Rush Holt, AAAS chief executive, said at the meeting in Boston. “I have never seen scientists more concerned about the process of science — and not just about where their grants are going to come from,” Mr Holt, a former physicist and Democratic congressman, said.

美国科学促进会首席执行官拉什?霍尔特(Rush Holt)在这次于波士顿召开的会议上表示：“在我50年的职业生涯中，这是我头一次看到人们发声力挺科学本身，而不是谈论核武器等具体议题。”曾是物理学家和民主党众议员的霍尔特说：“我从未见过科学家如此担心科学的发展，而不仅仅是他们的经费将从哪里来。”

Veteran attendees of AAAS conferences said they had never before felt such an atmosphere of anxiety. “All of us in this room know there is a great threat to science and scientific integrity,” Kenneth Kimmell, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), a grassroots advocacy organisation, told a packed session entitled “Defending science and scientific integrity in the age of Trump”.

曾多次参加美国科学促进会会议的与会者表示，以往会议上从未出现过这样的焦虑气氛。在一个参与者众多、名为“在特朗普时代捍卫科学和科学完整性”(Defending science and scientific integrity in the age of Trump)的主题会议上，草根倡议组织“忧思科学家联盟”(Union of Concerned Scientists)的总裁肯尼思?基梅尔(Kenneth Kimmell)表示：“这间屋子里的人都清楚，科学和科学完整性正面临巨大威胁。”

“I have not seen anything like it in my lifetime,” said Mr Kimmell. “The days of carefully nuanced communication are over. We need to pack an emotional punch in speaking for science. Donald Trump is not pulling his punches and nor should we.”

基梅尔表示：“我这辈子从未见过这样的事。谨慎细致沟通的时代结束了。我们需要动之以情、发声力挺科学。唐纳德?特朗普不会收回他的拳头，我们也不应该收回。”

Scientists see a variety of troubling signs. These include the exclusion from meetings in the US of scientists with certain profiles, particularly individuals from mainly Muslim countries, restrictions on communication by federal scientists with other researchers and the public, and, as Mr Holt put it, “policymaking that is based on ideological assertion rather than on verifiable evidence. Public officials citing ‘alternative facts’ leave scientists dismayed”.

科学家看到了各种令人忧心的征兆，包括禁止特定背景的科学家（尤其是来自穆斯林国家的人）参加在美召开的会议，限制联邦科学家与其他研究人员及公众沟通，还有就是像霍尔特所说的，“基于意识形态断言而不是可验证的证据来制定政策。公共官员援引‘另类事实’，令科学家感到沮丧”。

There are also concerns that Mr Trump and the Republican-dominated Congress will impose big cuts in science spending, with environmental and climate research and public health likely to be hit hardest.

还有人担心，特朗普和共和党主导的国会会大幅削减科研开支，环境与气候研究以及公共健康很可能将首当其冲。

In fact, President Trump has so far said almost nothing directly about science and has not yet appointed a chief scientist or science advisers. Nor has he engaged with senior scientific bodies such as the US National Academy of Sciences, in contrast to past incoming presidents of both political parties.

事实上，到目前为止特朗普总统几乎从未直接谈及科学，而且也仍未任命一位首席科学家或科学顾问。此外，他也没与美国国家科学院(National Academy of Sciences)等高级科研机构接触，这与两党过去的新任总统都形成鲜明对比。

This silence is disconcerting, according to Mr Holt. “Our concern is that the government will not have the scientific advice it needs,” he said. “If there is a crisis, advice from experts will be needed immediately.”

霍尔特表示，这种沉默令人不安。他说：“我们担心，政府将得不到所需的科学建议。如果发生危机，需要马上得到专家的建议。”

Not everyone is worried yet. Eric Lander, head of Boston’s Broad Institute, a leading molecular biology laboratory, told the FT: “As a scientist, I am in favour of waiting for evidence before drawing conclusions about President Trump and science.”

不过，并非所有人都感到担忧。顶尖分子生物学实验室波士顿布罗德研究所(Broad Institute)所长埃里克?兰德(Eric Lander)向英国《金融时报》表示：“作为科学家，我倾向于等待证据，然后再对特朗普和科学下结论。”

When one conference participant labelled the US government “authoritarian” and “fascist” during the AAAS meeting, he was reproached by Kurt Gottfried, a co-founder of the UCS who was a child in Vienna when the Austrian capital was under Nazi control. “I want to warn you against overstating the case against Trump,” the physicist said.

当一名与会者在美国科学促进会会议期间为这届美国政府贴上“威权”和“法西斯主义者”的标签时，他受到了忧思科学家联盟共同创始人库尔特?戈特弗里德(Kurt Gottfried)的责备。这位物理学家表示：“我想提醒你一下，不要夸大了反对特朗普的理由。”戈特弗里德童年时代生活在奥地利首都维也纳，当时这座城市是在纳粹(Nazi)掌控之下。

Scientists are increasingly taking their concerns to the streets in demonstrations, including one with hundreds of protesters in central Boston on Sunday. These will culminate in a March for Science on April 22, Earth Day, in cities across the US and worldwide.

越来越多的科学家正通过街头示威来表达他们的担忧，其中包括上周日在波士顿市中心举行的、有成百上千抗议者参加的一次示威。示威活动将在4月22日“世界地球日”(Earth Day)这天达到高潮，届时全美及世界各地的城市将举行“挺科学游行”(March for Science)。

Some researchers are concerned the March for Science might be counterproductive and turn people against scientists, if they appear self-interested and politically partisan. “I am not going to march for science,” said James Gates, physics professor at the University of Maryland. “To have science represented as a political force is dangerous, and I don’t understand how the organisers of the march can guard against provocateurs.”

部分科研人员担心，“挺科学游行”可能会产生反效果并让人们转而反对科学家——假如科学家们表现得自私自利并在政治上抱团的话。马里兰大学(University of Maryland)物理学教授詹姆斯?盖茨(James Gates)表示：“我不会参加‘挺科学游行’。把科学呈现为一股政治力量是危险的，我想象不出这场游行的组织者如何能够防范挑衅者。”

But the organisers say they are determined to prevent the march being portrayed as an anti-Trump event. “There are a lot of smart people thinking about how to make sure the march does not lead to a partisan image for scientists,” said Gretchen Goldman, research director at the UCS Centre for Science and Democracy.

不过，组织者们表示，他们决心防止这场游行被描绘为一次反特朗普的活动。忧思科学家联盟科学与民主中心(Centre for Science and Democracy)研究主任格蕾琴?戈德曼(Gretchen Goldman)表示：“有很多聪明人正在思考如何确保这场游行不会给人留下科学家结成朋党的印象。”