The issue of climate change is very important to be brought to the surface. The reason is, the impact of climate change is increasingly felt, where human activities are believed to be the trigger. In response to this, President University Major Association of Environmental Engineering (PUMA ENV) held EnvironmenTalk 2020 with the theme “Connecting People to Nature”. Unlike before, this year’s EnvironmenTalk was held online for two days through a webinar. The theme on the first day was “People and Climate Change”, discussed the relationship between humans and climate change. EnvironmenTalk is PUMA ENV’s annual event which aimed to provide further knowledge about environmental issues.
Reni Dwi Septiani, Project Manager of EnvironmenTalk 2020 said, “Climate change is a vital issue that must be campaigned continuously, especially to younger people, in order to provide education, increase their concern for the environment, as well as form a character that always protects, cares, and loves the environment,” said Reni. Therefore, on the first day, this webinar invited two experts who have studied this phenomenon for years, namely Ir. Eddy S. Soedjone, Dipl. SE., MSc., PhD., Lecturer in Environmental Engineering at Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS), and Putri Damayanti Potabuga, Founder and Director of the Climate Institute.
Eddy S. Soedjone said that climate change is a long-term change in the distribution of weather patterns. He said that this phenomenon originated from global warming, a state where the earth’s temperature has increased compared to the previous one. “Global warming is caused by increasing emissions of carbon dioxide gas and greenhouse gases. These gases are sourced from the use of electricity, vehicle, air conditioning (AC), household, industrial, and agricultural waste,” said Eddy. Furthermore, Eddy emphasized that the root problem of climate change is human activities that are often taken lightly, but have a big impact. “We bathe using soap, we wash using detergents, even when we defecate, it becomes a source of problems for this earth if it is not disposed of in the right place,” he said. “Therefore, the system for channeling, recycling and reusing wastewater are steps that must be taken to prevent adverse impacts on the environment,” he added.
From the organizational point of view, Putri Damayanti Potabuga mentioned, the real effect of climate change is the increase in earth temperature which will affect the intensity of sea level. “From several years of my experience in the field, I have seen the effects of climate change. For example, the Pekalongan area on the north coast of Central Java is in danger of sinking due to rising sea levels. The people who live there must survive and even risk their lives,” she said.
In addressing climate change, the cooperation of the young generation from various majors is needed. For example, the Environmental Engineering student can make a waste recycling channel and tools, the Law student can make regulations that are in favor of the environment, and the Political student can raise this issue either through direct socialization or social media. (PT/SD)
Source: https://president.ac.id/p/148-news/detail/830-environmentalk-2020-day-one-people-and-climate-cha