LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - The Sierra Club held its 2nd annual Arkansas March for Science rally today at the state capitol.
The Sierra Club has a message for local elected officials: science matters to everyone.
It's demanding elected officials both support and rely on science when making important public policy decisions.
“It's very important as an African American female to show that science is important to all people, including those who look like me,” said Katina White, a STEM Teacher at Sylvan Hills Middle School. She was one of many speakers at the capitol.
Teacher-student testimonies were the highlight of this year's event.
“We teach our kids to be critical thinkers and to look at fact-based research. I think we should model that for future generations as well,” White added.
White and others took the podium with different experiences and background, but same passion.
“I am seeing elected leaders actively ignore science and govern by anecdote instead of relying on data,” said Sierra Club representative Glen Hooks.
The group is concerned political leaders aren't using enough fact-based evidence when making changes to things like gun control and climate change.
“Elected officials are actively denying that human activities are causing the climate to warm. Even though virtually every climate expert on earth says that exactly what's happening,” Hooks said.
The organization is the nation's oldest and largest environmental protection group.
“Nothing in life is to be feared, only understood. Now is the time to understand more,” said another speaker.
The march attracted about 200 people, that’s down from the 2,000 that marched last year.
Cities like Seattle and Los Angeles held science marches last weekend. Most saw attendance drop, though organizers say they expected that. Last year's marches came three months into the new Administration.