[ad_1]
SAN JOSE – As the state's most devastating wildfires ripped through Northern and Southern California Saturday, the end of the conference.
The Tech for Global Good Youth Climate Action Summit, organized by 12 students from eight Bay Area high schools, featured a range of panels and activities with experienced and trained scientists, from an immersive VR experience to a rainforest-themed escape room.
The conference is just a few months away from the United States, and it will take some time for it to take shape – drought, floods, extreme heat and poverty – if they are not controlled in the next 12 years.
Camp Fire in Butte County and the Woolsey Fire near Los Angeles, saying they are examples of the need for solutions to global warming. The solutions rest with the world's young people, they said.
"These students have come to the fore in the face of a beautiful home," said Haris Hosseini, a student at the Harker School in San Jose and chairman of the Tech Museum's Global Good Student Board, which organized the event. "They are a reminder of a few things. They're a reminder of the state of our planet today, which at times can be really bleak. But they are also reminder of the importance and necessity of these days.
Tech Museum President and CEO Tim Ritchie called global warming one of the "fundamental challenges facing all of humanity."
"As I was driving in this morning through the most destructive fire in California, I thought about you, the students assembled here, and the tasks that you face when it comes to global warming," he said. "Engage in this challenge not only because you need to succeed, but also because you are able to succeed …"
Speakers on Saturday steers clear of politics by President Trump. In a controversial overnight Twitter post, he blamed poor forest management for the wildfires.
Organizers said they were pleased with the turnout – about 500 students pre-registered for the event and many others showed up at the door, said Tech Museum spokeswoman Marika Krause.
Pioneering oceanographer and marine geologist Bob Ballard, most famous for discovering the Titanic's wreckage in 1985, delivered the keynote speech Saturday remotely from his research vessel, Nautilus, stationed off the Channel Islands in Southern California. He's led more than 150 deep-sea expeditions during his decades-long career.
Ballard, 76, who grew up in California during a time when the ocean was abundant with wildlife, said he's witnessed that vanished over the decades.
"I'm worried about the earth, but quite honestly, I'm worried about the human race," he said. "Are we going to survive?"
He encouraged students to get involved and "realize how important it is to understand the earth and understand how it works."
"The earth is a creature, it's responding to us right now … we need to footprint our footprint," he said.
Source link
