Increasing luxuries are compromising the environment gravely and growing plastic waste is one of the biggest threats facing us today, M.C. Dathan, Scientific Advisor to the Chief Minister, has said. He was interacting with students on the final day of a workshop on ‘Climate change and the environment’ at Bhavan’s Vidya Mandir, Elamakkara, here on Saturday.
Reuse and recycle
The scientist said the issue needed to be taken very seriously and ways should be found to reuse and recycle plastic.
“While climate change is a natural process, development of mankind and the resultant changes in lifestyle are speeding up the changes, thus exposing the earth and living beings to threats at a far greater speed,” said Dr. Dathan.
Awareness was critical and small responsible steps taken by each person would contribute in a big way in slowing the process of climate change and global warming, added the scientist from the Indian Space Research Organisation, who was the chief guest on the concluding day of the workshop conducted by the Divecha Centre for Climate Change (Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru) in association with Talentspire, a collective of academicians and technologists to promote science and technology among students, and Kochi’s Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
Around 1,200 students from 13 schools in the city attended the workshop. On both days, eminent scientists from the Divecha Centre, J. Srinivasan and S. K. Satheesh, spoke to the participants about climate change, how scientists study the phenomenon and its impact on the earth, including its atmosphere and flora and fauna.
Several students said the workshop gave them insights that could help them in future career decisions. “The sessions were extremely interesting and we learnt about a lot of new issues, including how aerosols erode our environment,” said Nizana Anwar, a Class 10 student of Bhavan’s Vidya Mandir, Elamakkara, who attended the programme.
Each day concluded with a quiz competition where questions were asked based on the sessions held and prizes were distributed.