Sir, – A recent report by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications (“Climate change: People do not want to take actions amid belief Ireland not being harmed, survey finds”, July 4th) highlighted a low level of interest among Irish citizens when it comes to climate change and taking action to mitigate it.
Earlier this year it was reported that nationally there was a decrease of 17 per cent in applications for environmental science and natural science degrees in general.
In our capacity as science lecturers, we regularly encounter first-year university students who have no idea how natural phenomena such as the greenhouse effect work or that the ocean is acidifying due to combustion of fossil fuels.
These trends are in stark contrast to the threat that climate change presents to human existence and the habitability of our planet – the evidence for which is reported on by the media every day.
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Adaptation to future climate change must include consistent education from as early in the school cycle as possible.
This does not mean the introduction of doom and gloom rhetoric, rather an appreciation for our planet’s natural history, the evolution, cycles and natural phenomena (including anthropogenic influence) that have led to the planet we live on today.
Ireland will not be immune to the threats of climate change, so this knowledge should be of interest to all of us. A more informed citizenry would help us to confront the challenges that lie ahead. – Yours, etc,
DR BRIAN KELLEHER,
DR SEAN JORDAN,
School of Chemical Science,
Dublin City University,
Glasnevin,
Dublin 9.