Call to fight for climate justice

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As many as 97 mango saplings were planted on Tuesday on the Karyavattom campus of the University of Kerala which is hosting the ongoing 97th Indian Science Congress. Education Minister M.A. Baby inaugurated the drive by planting and watering the first sapling along with scientist M.G.K. Menon. In his inaugural address, Mr. Baby said the best way to protect the environment was to ensure that it was not destroyed or altered in the first place. Even though the Copenhagen summit did not work out to India’s satisfaction, the University of Kerala was doing its bit to conserve the environment, he said. There was a need now to fight a war of ideas, to win over Western countries on issues relating to global warming and to counter nations and leaders trying to subvert the Kyoto protocol, Mr. Baby said.
Value system
Addressing those who had gathered on the plot of land identified for planting the first saplings, Dr. Menon said sustainable development was much more than planting trees or even trying to protect the environment. The concept had to do with something deep inside each person. Sustainability had to be understood as the sustainability of the earth’s systems in the face of a burgeoning human population. “This is the age when industries clear vast swathes of land in the name of development so that they can make quick money out of the venture. Such tendencies need to be checked. We can’t destroy our inheritance—physical, culture or linguistic.” Education was the key to the preservation of a value system, Dr. Menon added.
Green lung
A total of 10,000 saplings would be planted as part of this campus beautification drive. These include saplings of mahogany, jackfruit, gooseberry, Sappotta and guava. Hundreds of acacia trees that stood in acres of land on the campus had been cleared prior to the science congress to facilitate the construction of various temporary and semi-permanent structures, including the main venue. In his address, Kerala University Vice-Chancellor A. Jayakrishnan said he hoped that in another 20 years the university campus would become the green lung of the city. Pro Vice-Chancellor J. Prabhash was among those who planted the first few saplings.
Source: The Hindu, Dated: 6.01.2010