Central Florida Future: Global Perspectives hosts forum on climate change, global security
By Ian Bell
The Office of Global Perspectives invited students and guests to a symposium on climate change and global security on Thursday.
Speakers from the government and institutes specializing in global climate and foreign policy addressed the issues of climate change from their experiences.
“The program complements UCF’s unifying theme on the environment,” said UC F President John C. Hitt, who attended the event.
Among those who spoke were William Powers, a senior fellow at the World Policy Institute, Joan Johnson-Freese, a professor with the National Security Decision Marketing Department at the U.S. Naval War College, Janet Larsen, the director of research at the Earth Policy Institute, James Carafano, the director of the Douglass and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies, and Lee Gunn, a former vice admiral in the U.S. Navy.
“The speakers said that small changes could make a big difference, like reducing driving by taking the shuttle could make a long-term difference at UCF,” said sophomore social science education major Annemarie Potts.
Gunn spoke on the military ramifications of climate change and said he was not optimistic about preparations undertaken so far.
“I have never seen a threat so complex and that we are so underprepared for,” Gunn said.
The Climate Security Index report by Gunn and the American Security Project suggests that Florida would experience coastline erosion and extreme weather. As a result, the state could experience refugee and migration problems as well when the effects of climate change are realized, he said.
Through the conference, UCF students gained knowledge about global climate change and its relevance to their studies.
“Optical science uses a lot of energy and works with a lot of energy sources, and I can see that it is important to use renewable energies in our applications,” said Apurva Jain, a optics graduate student.
Local high school students from Dr. Phillips High School and Trinity Preparatory School attended the conference to share ideas about climate change.
“These kids are really fascinated by issues that pertain to a global perspective, and it really is a hot topic, no pun intended,” said Roger Barrows, director of international studies at Dr. Phillips High School.
Members of the Learning Institute For Elders also attended the event as part of a larger effort to stay involved in community and global affairs, said LIFE member Dee Burk.
“It’s a political issue with a lot of money behind it, because people are divided into two camps, those that believe climate change is happening, and those that don’t,” Burk said. “I firmly believe it is happening, and there are ways that we can change its course.”
