(RALEIGH) -- Republican legislators are dismissing claims from environmentalists who say they are ignoring science on the rising sea level in North Carolina. Protesters brought petitions with 3,000 signatures to the offices of Representative Pat McElraft of Carteret County and House Speaker Thom Tillis.

They are accusing the lawmakers of throwing out science, but McElraft said they have it wrong. "Actually, we're not.  We are asking for more science.  We are asking for legitimate science.  Science that didn't use just one model out of hundreds of models out there, a science that didn't use one data point," said McElraft.

The protesters said North Carolina's sea level will rise by 39 inches in the next century. McElraft pointed to research that indicates scientists cannot reliably predict that far into the future.