Nov. 20, 2008 — Education is the key to solving the global warming crisis, according to Dr. John Agard, a professor of marine and environmental sciences at the University of the West Indies, who spoke Thursday at the St. Thomas campus of the University of the Virgin Islands.
His presentation, "Environment in Development: The Impact of Climate Change," highlighted such areas as rising sea levels and increased hurricane intensity that are of special interest to Caribbean Islands.
The presentation, was also videocast to the UVI St. Croix campus, where several dozen students from St. Joseph High School watched. It tied concerns with the environment to social and economic issues.
“A long term investment in education is needed,” Agard said. He said educated people will understand how all these issues are connected and how our well being is dependent on a clean environment.
Temperatures are rising on a scale that corresponds with the rise of carbon dioxide placed in the air. The earth has natural cooling and warming periods, he acknowledged, but because of burning fossil fuel, we have knocked the earth off its natural balance.
When asked what students could do to help solve the problem, he answered, “We must all make a personal commitment. You will be making a choice about cars. You don’t have to aspire to owning something with a three- or four- liter engine. You can get a hybrid.”
He added that he hoped the SUV would become a category of vehicle that ceased to exist and that electric cars would became common.
”Though it might not seem like much when you practice energy conservation at home, turn off the lights, pull those adapters that aren’t connected to anything out of the socket, it does add up to a lot when many people do it,” he added.
Don Buchanan, spokesman for the V.I. Energy Office, attended the presentation on St. Croix.
“Dr. Agard’s message was right on the mark," Buchanan said. "It is the message that the Energy Office is trying to get out too. His point about education and people learning about sustainability is so important. Many people don’t realize the true cost of burning fossil fuel. When you factor in all the health costs and environmental problems caused by burning fossil fuel; wind and solar produced energy looks very cheap.”
Agard, who was a lead author in the United Nations initiated Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, expressed confidence that the environmental policy under President Elect Barack Obama would improve the situation dramatically. He called Obama’s proposals “fantastic” and added that they were even more ambitious in their goals than the goals of the Kyoto Accords which President Bush backed out of.
Agard is a co-leader of the Caribbean Sea Assessment (CARSEA), published in 2007. He is a member of the Caribbean Sea Commission, formed by the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) to advance the cause of integrated management of the Caribbean Sea. He is also a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Regional Task Force on Climate Change.
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