Earth Day was April 22, but it was also the Science March in downtown Little Rock. Protesters flowed through the streets near the capitol to discuss how the Trump administration views science.

Natalie Burgess attended the march during her free time at the Young Democrats Conference. Burgess believes that space exploration is important and that funding should not be cut by Trump’s budget cuts.

“It is the government’s job [to] fund space exploration rather than privately funded organizations,” Burgess said. “I think the military budget is too high, and if we take some of that money out of that budget to [use for] the environment, then we could decrease our emissions into the earth.”

Chemistry teacher Doug Vann did not attend the march, but believes that taking care of the environment is every citizen’s duty.

“I notice that many people on a large scale in our area really don’t do the small things which can be done without any government interference,” Vann said. “We need to be more responsible as citizens in recycling efforts, staying informed, and being involved in making companies and others responsible for any wrongdoing they may be involved in.”

Vann is in favor of cutting the budget on the federal level, as he believes the amount of money spent during the Obama administration skyrocketed substantially above all budgets in almost every department and created and increase in national debt.

“Most programs on the national level are wasteful and not efficient, and I believe that we can work smarter with less money,” Vann said. “There are many intelligent individuals that can overcome some of the deficit in funding through invention and ingenuity; however, I do think the budget was cut a bit more than it should have been and do hope that states and local governments will pick up some of the slack, [since they] generally run a bit more efficiently as most environmental issues occur on a local level.”

Vann budgets his expenses and does so with the most thriftiness and scrutiny as possible.

“I expect my school district, my local and state governments, and the federal government to do the same with our tax money,” Vann said.  “In the meantime, let’s work to do our part and put forth our efforts to be smarter and more conscientious; little steps by millions of people can make a difference.”