“Climate change is not a hoax.” Talking climate change in today’s world.
“Climate change is not a hoax.” That’s a national campaign to educate the public that climate change is actually happening.
One Idaho State University student decided to localize that campaign. So he organized a movie and discussion on Wednesday.
National Geographic produced a documentary called “Before the Flood.” It stars Leonardo DiCaprio who travels the world to see the effects of climate change first-hand.
Sanjay Thakur, who put the event together, said after he watched the documentary, he wanted to educate people locally. He said world issues affect everyone. His main message to people is simple.
“Consume differently, what they eat, what they do and how they use power,” Thakur said. “These are the three things I need to convey to the people.”
Hannah Sanger, science and environmental division with the City of Pocatello, said climate change could heavily affect Pocatello’s water supply. For example, warmer temperatures mean less snow, which means less water. She said finding enough water sources is something that’s a key concern for the Gate City.
But she said reducing the amount of carbon materials in the air can help combat climate change. Sanger said people can help reduce carbon by doing a few things, including one thing that seems really simple.
“Planting a tree,” Sanger said. “You know, trees do a great job of capturing carbon dioxide. It helps clean the air so all the particulates that are blowing across from the desert into Pocatello, they get cleaned by trees. But it also captures carbon dioxide.”
Sanger said it’s important students understand these issues because they are the future.
“These are all problems that they’re not going to go away tomorrow and we’re going to need all these students to help solve them,” she said. “And we need them to not only solve them wherever their hometowns are but we need their help here. We need lots of smart minds working on it and so I think that’s why this is so important.”
More information on the “Before the Flood” campaign can be found on its website.
