US based Environmentalist David W Orr, who is also a special assistant to Barack Obama in sustainability and environmental affairs, on Tuesday, gave an omnious view on the effects of the changing climate across the world in the coming years. He was speaking at the 2nd Asia Regional Conference of the Society for Conservational Biology at the IISc Campus in the city.
With 25-50 per cent of all species in the world in jeopardy of extinction and Carbon Emission levels shooting up to 395 parts per million from 280 in 1890 AD, Orr said that it is high time that Governments around the world including the USA took concrete steps to minimize the effects of increasing carbon emissions. “We have to take steps to stabilize Carbon Dioxide emissions in the world and adopt renewable energy and more efficient systems. Around 60 per cent of our energy needs to be cut using technology. The policy and the motivation is missing,” he said.
Dr Orr added that he would push for Obama to reach out to the American public to tell them the truth about the dire situation and to formulate an action plan for Climate Change. “This will happen of course if he gets re-elected,” he wryly remarked.