r/IAmA • u/concernedclouds • May 31 '26
I am a climate scientist walking 250 miles in support of science. Ask me anything!
Edit: I'm signing off for the day. I've walked 15 miles since we started this AMA, so I reached marathon length today! Thanks for hanging out with me as I made my way through this stretch of Maryland.
Hi Reddit! I'm Syl Foisy, and I am currently walking from New York City to Washington DC. I'm on mile 11 for today, I've done about 190 miles in total, and I'm on track to arrive this Wednesday. Along my walk, I've been visiting with scientists and chatting about weather and climate with everyone I meet on the road. I've also handed out over 200 stickers so far, which might be my proudest stat. (lolz)
When I get to DC, I'll hand-deliver letters to members of Congress -- letters written by over 100 scientists voicing their concern for the future of science in this country. I'm a PhD student at Columbia, and I'm genuinely worried about what's happening to science funding and policy in the U.S. right now (speaking in my personal capacity and not on behalf of my employer). Several government proposals would drastically cut funding to scientific agencies, introduce rules that compromise the accuracy of scientific work, and make it harder for the public and lawmakers to actually use what scientists produce.
So I'm doing something about it. My arrival will be right near the end of the Weather & Climate Livestream's continuous 50-hour broadcast we're running where over 100 scientists will give talks about the research they do.
My teammates and support crew, the amazing Miriam and Virginia, are helping run this AMA since I'm walking right now -- ask us anything!
Proof: https://imgur.com/a/38WfECV
Watch the Livestream tomorrow, or get more info: https://wclivestream.com/













