Study science to help address climate change

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines — Albay Governor Joey Salceda urged high school students to take up science to play a bigger role in helping solve climate change as well as make the country prosperous.   

“We need science for development and we want to be competitive and I think the language of being competitive is in science and technology,” Salceda said during the NASA Science Caravan dubbed “Reaching for your Stars” through the cooperation of Aquinas University of Legazpi, SkyExplore, the United States International Aid (USAID), NASA and the Albay Provincial Government.

Salceda used Israel as an example of a country which lack mineral resources and despite being surrounded by inimical Arab countries is one of the eight richest countries in the world because Iaraelis used science and technology to be competitive and to survive.

“Knowledge is the foundation of competitiveness and and I believe knowledge will set us free.”    

Fr. Ramoncito Mendez of the Order of Preachers, OP, rector and president of Aquinas University, who recalled that a the age of three he was fascinated by the moon and seek stars as well.

“So today we are very lucky because through the various activities we can dream again and even wonder at the beautiful stars that we have in the heavens,” said Mendez, adding that “we need to translate knowledge to wisdom so it will be of service to life. We don’t just need knowledge that we memorize but knowledge that will help us in our lives.”

Mendez hopes that ordinary people can also learn about science because most of the time in the academe science in a technical language which ordinary people cannot understand.

“That’s why we have this kind of gathering so that we will be able to share whatever knowledge we have to our people, to our community and in that way we will be able to see the stars together and wonder at the beautiful gift God gave to us.”

Aside from the workshop, Edmund Rosales, head of SkyXplore invited the students to view the planets and stars inside the first digital planetarium in the country. Rosales is an astronomer and science education specialist.

Students were silent as they watched astronauts walk in space harnessed to a space shuttle and shouted in awe as they saw Saturn over the dome’s screen.