POSTCARD

WHO:

Julian Rodriguez, specialist, and his collaborators Jairo Becerra, director and researcher at Catholic University of Colombia, and Griselda de la Rosa (’19 BA, Journalism)

WHY:

“Our team produced a one-hour special for The Weather Channel en Español focusing on access and use of public data to address challenges imposed by climate change and global warming, especially in Colombia. Going to these places was imperative given the topic at hand so we could document firsthand accounts of climate change’s impact on natural environments, with Antarctica being of central importance to the balance of our planet.” — J.R.

LESSONS THEY TOOK BACK HOME:

“Humans have lost contact with the natural environment. We see products and services, not the environment that makes these possible, and now, many have become unsustainable or impossible. Those who are in direct contact with nature are seeing and experiencing dramatic changes in their lifetimes. Climate change and global warming happen slowly, but their effects can be felt like falling off a cliff in very short periods. Our current world is unsustainable, and ecosystems will continue to collapse, but even at the magnitude of what we are and will experience, we can still take action and curb the negative effects of climate change. I believe our new generations will save us from the damage caused by our oldest ones.” — J.R.