Climate Change symposium held
By Alaric Magno A. Yanos
PLANT trees, recycle, and conserve fuel and resources are the simplest things one can do in order to help mitigate climate change.
This, in a nutshell, was the message of the Green Ilocos Norte Network and Advocacy (GINNA) to around 300 students in a symposium held December 15 at the Divine Word College of Laoag.
Resource speakers in the symposium included Dr. Felina Rosales, an Environmental Management Bureau – Region 1 accredited Pollution Control Officer, and Shermon Cruz, GINNA president, explained to the students all about climate change and global warming affecting humans and the environment. Topics featured include the physical science of climate change and some adaptation measures and mitigation initiatives to climate change.
Rosales explained the factors that brought about climate change such as the increase in greenhouse gases. These gases trap the heat from the sun within the Earth's atmosphere. According to her, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane are the major greenhouse gases and the increase of which is the main culprit in global warming. Human activities in the last 200 years such as industrialization and deforestation led to the increase of these greenhouse gases. The more greenhouse gases there are in the atmosphere, the less likely that the heat from the sun will escape the Earth's atmosphere, thus, the result is global warming, defined as the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans in recent decades and its projected continuation.
Cruz, meanwhile, shared to the audience how world leaders have come to an agreement that climate change is the issue that would have the greatest impact to the world in coming years, that this is an issue that the global community is least prepared or ready for. He went on to discuss the impacts of global warming and climate change, especially in the context of Ilocos Norte and the Philippines. These impacts encompass all social, political, economic, and technological aspects of human civilization. Health conditions will get worse as hotter temperature aids the outbreak of diseases and pests, cause lesser agricultural yield, and even bring drought which makes potable water scarce. Living conditions will also be harder as torrential rains and more flooding are expected impacts of global warming. Entire communities and islands could actually vanish due to rising sea levels.
The issue of climate change is one of the GINNA's main advocacies and is thus eyeing on conducting similar symposiums like this in selected schools and institutions as a yearround activity.
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Cruz takes a few questions from the audience.
Photos by Ms. Jennifer Custorio. Captions by Alaric Magno A. Yanos