I recently spoke to a classroom full of 8-10 year olds about climate change. Although I have spoken to a room full of scientists about my research and to industry practitioners on how to interpret climate data, this was the first time I addressed a group of school children. At first, I was a bit hesitant to give it a go, despite the fact that I liked the idea of talking to kids about a topic I am very passionate about. In the end, it turned out to be a great experience for me. This is the story about an opportunity that I almost didn’t take up! Last month, the director of the Climate Change Research Centre, sent out an email asking if anyone would be interested in talking to school students about climate change. When I saw the email I immediately knew it was something that interested me but I reckoned there would be others who would be better suited for this activity and so I didn’t respond. However, there was a second email calling for volunteers and I signed up for it with three others from the department. We were then put in touch with Lycee Condorcet Sydney. When preparing for the talk I imagined myself as an 8 year old. I don’t remember being concerned about any local/global issue at that age. Climate change was not a hot topic 20 years ago. Times have changed since then and technology has brought many things to our fingertips, making the world a smaller place. Kids are becoming more aware of climate change as it is constantly being mentioned in the news. So I prepared my talk, simplifying the science as much as I could. I was also determined not to give these children climate anxiety. On the morning of the talk I felt really excited. When I logged into the Zoom link and saw the kids for the first time, I was slightly taken aback at how small they were! Although I knew I was speaking to youngsters, I guess it never really occurred to me how small they would be! :D I spoke for about 20 minutes covering topics such as the difference between weather and climate, the greenhouse effect, global warming, impacts of climate change and my research on heatwaves. I concluded the talk by sharing a few tips on individual actions that can help minimize our impact on the environment. At the end of the talk the kids had many questions for me. They asked me things such as what I thought of Greta Thunberg, what more they could do to conserve the environment and what other animals emit methane. They also asked me if I were vegetarian and what made me get into studying about the environment and climate change. Overall, we had an interesting discussion and it was truly encouraging to see the students being so engaged. I felt very happy that I did this outreach event and I kept thinking about how I almost didn’t take up the opportunity. I discussed this with one of my mentors who pointed out that some of my confidence issues may be associated with humility. I always have this feeling that someone else can do a better job than me. While this may be true, it is also important to step up and say you are available to take on a role. I wrapped up the session with this quote by the Senagalese forest conservator Baba Dioum - ‘In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we are taught.’ It beautifully sums up the importance of climate literacy. We cannot bring about change if we don’t understand the need for it. Therefore, it’s important to have a conversation about climate change with children. In a world where parents protest against climate change education in schools, it was refreshing to see Lycee Condorcet Sydney taking these steps to create awareness among their students. Here's to having more conversations on climate change with children 😊
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A few weeks ago, I was invited to take part in a young professionals’ event organized by the NESP Earth Systems and Climate and Change (ESCC) Hub and jointly hosted by the Actuaries Institute and Engineers Australia. This was the first time I engaged with the industry as a ‘climate scientist’ and I was both excited and nervous. The aim of this event was to bring together early career climate scientists and young professionals across various sectors (insurance, actuaries, engineers) using a scenario-planning exercise to analyze some hypothetical future climate-related problems. The primary objectives for these events as determined by the ESCC Hub are to raise awareness about the utility of climate science knowledge including data, information, and decision-support tools, and to build capacity and develop networks with early career researchers and young professionals. What was originally scheduled for March was postponed due to the pandemic and was organized as a virtual event. Running for the 6th (and final year), this year’s event focused on assessing financial risks associated with a hypothetical situation based on the projected increase in intensity, frequency, and duration of heatwaves on the economy of Melbourne in 2030-2050. Prior to the event, the science team was briefed by Dr Nick Wood, Director of Climate Policy Research Pty Ltd, who was the facilitator for the event on behalf of the Hub. Our role in this event was to help the teams by sharing our knowledge on how best to use climate data in their risk analyses. The facilitated interactive event ran across two days, with 7 teams of industry practitioners tasked with putting together a workflow and identifying data sources needed to assess the risks associated with projected heatwaves. Each team was given 3 hours (1.5 hours on each day) to come up with a workflow to assess the impact of future heatwaves. The science team comprised of four climate scientists and each of us worked with a team (or two) to help interpret climate data. The teams worked around two themes: people and power. Impact of extreme heat on human health Some of the issues discussed under health were the increase in morbidity and mortality due to increased heat stress, impact on labour productivity resulting in supply disruptions, a rise in crime/anti-social behaviour, riots and disorder due to increased anxiety or job loss, and the effects of urban heat islands. Hospitals’ capacity being exceeded is another issue and this was an instance where a parallel could be drawn with the Covid19 pandemic. Impact of extreme heat on power Under this theme the groups tried to assess the impact of extreme heat on the reliability of the electricity network. One of the issues that came up in the discussions was the resilience of the electricity supply grid under conditions of high demand for cooling and point failure of critical infrastructure. There is a higher demand for air conditioning during heatwaves, leading to high demands on power supply resulting in system failures. Heatwaves can disrupt power generation and distribution as well. Increased thermal expansion during heatwaves could lead to the sagging of powerlines resulting in transmission failure. Drafting a workplan such as what was done in the breakout rooms have the potential to help companies with business continuance plans, town planning, health care planning, emergency services, heat policies and workers’ compensation. Another point of discussion was the interdependency between the impact of extreme heat on human health and power. When power generation and transmission fail, the demand for cooling cannot be met, thereby increasing the heat stress on the population. If this is not accounted for in the risk analysis, the population would be locked in a vicious cycle of heat stress. Taking part in this event turned out to be a great experience for me. I enjoyed working with the actuaries and engineers and hearing their perspectives on analysing climate risks. I thought the event was successful in that it helped build relationships and understanding between the climate science community and industry, as they will increasingly need to work together. Through these events, the ESCC Hub strives to identify gaps in the current knowledge base. It was a friendly environment to communicate the utility of climate science to industry and it also gave me some insight into how industry could potentially use climate data to inform their operations. If this event had taken place in person as originally planned, there would have been greater scope for discussion and further networking among the participants. However, we made the most of the allotted time to discuss the issue at hand, with the flexibility of being in the comfort of our homes. When you are a PhD researcher, you often straddle on the border of being a student and a scientist. I tend to identify myself more with the former than the latter and that probably has something to do with my confidence issues. It was refreshing to be called a ‘climate scientist’ and I am happy I had this opportunity to interact with members of the industry and to share whatever knowledge I had with the teams I worked with. Shout out to Sonia Bluhm from the National Environment Science Program ESCC Hub for inviting me for this programme 😊 |
AuthorBudding climate scientist from Sri Lanka, currently pursuing a PhD on heatwaves, at the Climate Change Research Centre (CCRC) at UNSW, Sydney. Believes in using effective science communication to bridge the gap between science and society :) Archives
June 2021
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