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Narayan Kovil: An Alternative Perspective

11/11/2016

8 Comments

 
​The opportunity to attend a COP conference is a lifetime opportunity for any environmentalists; this can obviously be seen by the older passionate delegates during discussions. I am currently an undergraduate junior at New York University and from my coursework, I have been offered mostly a historical and generalized perspective of many of the issues presented at this conference. There is nothing wrong with this, for this represents the limitations of studying in a classroom environment such as one does in college.
 
At this Climate Conference, I was blown away by the immersion of the experience. Since this is an international conference that brings the best brains of the world, many of the interactions at this conference involved talking to people who are experts in their field. Not only did I talk to experts, but I was allowed the opportunity to network with students that had similar interests to mine. However, it was not only the intelligence at this conference which made it special, but rather the diversity of opinions. When controversial topics were brought up such as biofuels, experts from different fields had different experiences to offer and even if they were in the same field, one might support nuclear energy and other scientist may be strongly against it. The intense discussions that followed in the side-events were mind-boggling because many experts had strong viewpoints on their solution to the problem.
 
One of the most profound experiences was when I learned about CO2 sequestering from the OPEC (oil producing export nations in the middle east) scientists. I assumed that they would present a case such as a climate denier, but I was seriously proven wrong, because they presented beautiful techniques and financing that held up strongly against the other scientists who were aggressively questioning them from the United States. Nevertheless, the discussion was beyond my capacity to understand and to further dig deeper into the subject I visited a UN stand that explained the science of carbon sequestering. I was then presented with a 20-minute conversation regarding the pros and cons of the method. Considering the knowledge and perspectives that I gained in this conference, I would say that each day at this conference is equal to 1 semester in college.
 
I don’t that it would unreasonable to proclaim that there is no experience that parallels attending a COP conference. I personally would tell all my peers to attend this conference if they could get a opportunity to get to do so in the future. 
8 Comments
Leigh P
14/11/2016 05:05:38 pm

I think it's awesome that you had the opportunity to attend this conference. I really liked how you said each day felt like a semester in college. It shows that students are bound to learn more about climate change when having out of classroom experiences. I also think it's important that our generation learns about climate change now rather than later; we could be the generation that helps save the planet.

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Abby N
16/11/2016 04:27:48 pm

I enjoyed how you said you were able to talk to experts, and the diversities through the opinions. I have recently only learned little on climate change, but I am curious to learn more about the techniques for OPEC, and the financing behind it. Were there more pros compared to cons?

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James R
17/11/2016 08:25:03 am

Once I read your article I have decided that if I ever have the opportunity to attend this conference I would not hesitate to jump at this opportunity. I think it is extremely important for this upcoming generation to take this problem seriously. I am glad so many people from around the world were in attendance and to the level of expertise as you described, it would truly be an amazing experience to be surrounded of people of this magnitude.

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Alice Henderson link
23/11/2016 08:43:45 pm

You should apply to be an ACS Student Representative next year! Check out the application information on the FAQ section of our website!

Emily Miller
20/11/2016 03:39:52 pm

I find it fascinating that you learned so much at this conference you compared it to a whole semester in college. Also, I think it's awesome you got to talk to experts as well as students. The amount of diversity that was there had to be incredible and it blows my mind you got to hear first handedly the pros and cons for many of the plans countries think will work. I guarantee it made you rethink some things as well as think in a different perspective.

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Nicole McLearen
22/11/2016 07:52:03 pm

I think you have given a perfect example of the lack of education on climate change in most institutions. As a college student most of what we know, or rather what we think we know is very limited to classrooms, bias text books and one perception. This is fantastic that you were able to experience multiple view points and opinions from experts.

Reply
Nirvana Lutchman
22/11/2016 08:16:09 pm

I like how you highlighted the limitations of always studying in a classroom environment. Being able to hear new and diverse opinions on environmental issues is so valuable, as well as networking with other students interested in the same issues.

Reply
Samantha Choi
27/11/2016 10:17:52 pm

That's awesome that you were able to take part in such a great opportunity. Hopefully more opportunities like this conference arise

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