Young Advocate Takes The Stage

May 05 2017

by Maria Archibald, Youth Engagement Volunteer Coordinator

Ninety-seven percent of climate scientists agree: Climate change is real. It is caused by human activity. The last decade was the hottest on record. Ice is melting. Sea levels are rising.

When it comes to climate change, the science is in. And it isn’t pretty.

Our situation demands urgent action and yet, now more than ever, we deny science. We fail to implement policy that reflects our scientific reality. We ignore the facts, and thus delay the solutions.

Is it really more science that we need? In part, yes. But, that science can’t come alone.

Local high school students, who have worked diligently on climate change research this year, set aside their measuring tapes, clip boards, and calipers this Earth Day. Trading tools and charts for markers and paint, they gathered at the Grand Canyon Trust as part of our Rising Leaders Program to craft signs and write speeches for the April 22^nd March for Science.

These young people realize that science for the sake of science is no longer enough.

At a moment in history, where science itself is questioned and the public land on which science is performed is under attack, we have a responsibility to take our work a step further. Today, those who advocate for science are just as important as the scientists themselves.

Not everyone can make a groundbreaking scientific discovery, but, certainly, everyone can stand up for science and insist on evidence-based action in our communities, in our nation, and in our world. Science has no tomorrow without those who give it a voice today, and I’m encouraged to see young people spearheading that work.

As high school student and youth advocate Maya Holliday, who spoke at Flagstaff’s March for Science, said: “We can’t just stand in solidarity. Today is the first step in a long partnership between scientists and the public, and it can’t end here… We need to stop locking science up in the lab, and bring it to the people.”