Coimbatore : Is earth become inhabitable, then why not go to another planet, if the earth is dying? How are domestic animals responsible for the extinction of certain reptile species? And what can we do to save earth?, these were some of the intriguing questions posed by the students at the one-day Science Conclave SCICON - 2019 held here on Sunday.
Learning to be scientific, rather than being emotional emphasised at SCICON 2019
Coimbatore : Is earth become inhabitable, then why not go to another planet, if the earth is dying? How are domestic animals responsible for the extinction of certain reptile species? And what can we do to save earth?, these were some of the intriguing questions posed by the students at the one-day Science Conclave SCICON - 2019 held here on Sunday.
Curated to talk science in a comprehensive manner to kids, the conference seemed to have achieved its purpose, as over 500 plus kids who took part in the conference stormed the speakers with fascinating questions one after the another.
The afternoon session of the Conclave organised by Mango Education included a panel of three speakers in which Sanjay Molur, Founder of the Journal, 'Of Threatened Taxa' and Executive Director of Zoo Outreach Oraganisation (ZOO), Priyanka from Zoo and Climate Scientist Ananya S. Rao shared their knowledge with the students.
Interacting with the students, Sanjay stressed that it was important for the students to look at wildlife conservation from a scientific perspective rather than with mere emotional eyes.
“It is nice to be emotional, but it is always better to be scientific,” he said to the students.
In his half an hour address revolving around conservation and science, Molur shared about the importance of pushing aside emotions that dilute scientific facts.
“Emotions tend to lead us away from science in many cases. Which is why many people think that feeding wild animals is a good deed, whereas they do not realise that they are directly interfering with its appetite and messing up its biology,” he informed.
Molur also stated that once wild animals including monkeys start accepting food from humans and added that they often tend to demand food where it turns dangerous for humans.
“We have seen so many visuals of humans feeding wild animals and tend to feel good. But we become indifferent when they attack us,” he said.
Molur also shared his study on reptiles in Sri Lanka explaining how the human raised domestic cats and dogs are becoming a major reason for the extinction of many reptile species.
“Not just being only emotionally attached to animals is dangerous, it also leads us away from scientific truth and we tend to kill them in large numbers once we are misinformed. I have seen hundreds of fruits bats being killed in Kerala because of a rumour that they were spreading Nipah virus,” Sanjay remarked.
Following Molur, Priyanka from Zoo Outreach conveyed the importance of simplifying scientific material using art forms including art works, drama and graphic content.
“Art opens doors for many people to understand science better. This is being used currently in the fringe areas of Coimbatore where people are made aware of elephants by dramas. It would eventually help them reduce negative interactions with elephants,” Priyanka pointed out.
She also stated that when diplomacy does not work with animals, humans can be conditioned to living with animals in peace.
In her speech, Ananya S. Rao, explained how the emission of carbon dioxide has resulted in the heating up of the atmosphere and earth’s temperature.
She said that the climate of India has heated up 0.6 degree celcius in the last 100 years because of global warming. The temperature of the world on the whole has increased by 1.5 degree celcius in the same period, according to her.
“Global warming is not only harmful for humans. We should also understand that many species of wildlife is going extinct at a rapid rate because of our actions,” she warned.
In order to live in harmony with the environment, Ananya advised the kids to reuse, recycle plastics and refuse to pollute the environment, as much as possible.
“You should also educate others so that the message keeps spreading, added Ananya.
The students were earlier informed about learning science through memes and comics, where two students shared their comic and meme works related to science.
Around 500 students participated in the conclave that was jointly organised by Mango Education and Prezantim Creative Services.