Last night, Pearson 106 hosted three speakers who discussed the varying contexts of impending climate change in the 21st century.
The event - which was sponsored by Tufts Environmental Consciousness Outreach (ECO) as part of Earthfest 2006, a week-long environmental awareness festival - focused on climate change's implications for the world, the Boston area and Tufts University.
Dr. Jerome Delli Priscoli, senior advisor to the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and current editor-in-chief of the journal Water Policy, discussed the "gloomy arithmetic" behind the problems stemming from water in the world today.
He said that worldwide, 1.4 billion people lack access to safe water in a world where 80 percent of diseases are transmitted through water and 50 percent of the world's population lacks access to proper sanitation.
Priscoli argued that access to clean, safe water should be considered a basic human right, the security of which should be protected in the policies of governments and multilateral institutions.
"The dialogue in this world," said Priscoli, speaking to a crowd comprised predominantly of engineers, "needs to be changed."
This renewed dialogue should be focused on "building a new ideological and ethical consensus [as well as] combining engineering means and environmental ends," he said.
America, he said, must decide whether it will be a consumer in the global economy, seeking only to purchase and trade goods, or a citizen, working proactively for the benefit of others.
Water, Priscoli said, should be recognized for what it is: a breeding ground for community, a necessity for the security of nations and a potent force for economic development.
He added that with the proper transport of electricity, hydroelectric power from Ethiopia, for example, has the potential to power all of Africa and Europe.
Investment in the environment today, Priscoli concluded, is cheaper than cleaning up after, and more effective at preventing, future crises.
Paul Kirshen, a research
professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, spoke on similar themes.
He authored a five-year study entitled "Climate's Long-term Impacts on Metropolitan Boston" (CLIMB) that examined the effects of climate change on infrastructure services over the course of the next 100 years.
In 2100, Kirshen predicts that there will be a 3 to 5? C increase in Boston's average temperature, as well as a 25 percent increase in yearly precipitation.
He said he doubts humans' ability to suddenly reverse the damage already done to the environment.
"Climate change has occurred, will continue to occur and will continue to impact human and natural systems for quite some time," he said.
The focus, therefore, must be placed on "proactive adaptation," or actions to mitigate the impact of future climate change, he argued, adding that this preventive approach will ultimately be cheaper and more effective than "reactive adaptation," which focuses on dealing with problems caused by climate change after they occur.
Ramsay Huntley, the final speaker, focused on Tufts' efforts to be an environmentally conscious university. As the Tufts Climate Initiative (TCI) climate entrepreneurship specialist, Huntley is the University's point man on energy policy, managing emissions inventory and working on relevant policy issues.
Tufts has committed itself to environmentally conscious policies: It pledged to meet or beat the CO2 emissions standards set by the Kyoto Protocol, and as a founding member of the Chicago Climate Exchange, pledges a one percent reduction in emissions each year.
Huntley pointed out the steps that Tufts has taken recently to reduce its energy consumption, most notably the constructing solar panels on the roofs of Fairmont House and Sophia Gordon Hall.
Huntley said that Tufts students can play a role in promoting alternative energy sources by using energy-efficient light bulbs, shutting down their computer when not in use and purchasing Renewable Energy Credits.
The credits will be sold next fall in the dormitories by TCI as offsets to the electricity produced by each individual dorm room.
The money earned will be used to purchase an equivalent amount of energy from alternative sources, either wind, solar or hydroelectric power.
Lastly, Huntley stressed, the most important thing Tufts students can do is vote.
"Everything we do, important as it is, is a drop in the bucket compared to the changes that can come from politicians that share our views," he said.
