- Everyone has been warned to evacuate before the typhoon comes, but why there are still thousands of people who died? Does it mean, they did not listen to the warning?
- Who's at fault: the people, the media, or the government?
- The climate change is on—what does this mean for you?
- What the Mind Museum's Cafe Scientifique can do to help you deal with this rising climate crisis?
It's been three weeks after Yolanda hit the Visayas region and most of the people think that this battle has come to its end. You might say Yolanda has already won this climate war. It left the most tragic scene—the darkest in the Philippine history. Its wrath has ended so many people's lives, destroyed people's houses and reformatted the cities, small towns and barrios.
Now, since this monster typhoon has already passed, you started to feel safer. It's the end of this climate war, you thought.
But then, think again. Is it really the end or just the beginning?
Along with the Philippines' renowned weather scientists and experts, this question was meticulously being answered during the Cafe Scientifique discussion that was held at the Canopy Plaza at the Mind Museum in Taguig City on November 30, 2013. Unlike other seminars, this session has opened an opportunity for the audience to ask questions related to climate change, which is really happening now, and what are we going to expect in the future.
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| What will be the future after the typhoon's aftermath? |
Moreover, Cafe Scientifique is a worldwide movement that allows the public to realize that science should not be feared due to its complexity, instead it encourages everyone to be more conscious and be more comfortable in knowing how our natural world could affect us today. Thus, this program is bringing science to the public...closer. Aside from this, the program focuses on some major and minor issues on science and technology too.
Along with other institutions and organizations worldwide, the Mind Museum has been conducting these sessions even before they officially opened on March 2012.
Still stuck with the past, big environmental phenomenon that happened a few weeks ago, which is the disastrous typhoon Yolanda, this question-and-answer discussion during the Cafe Scientifique ended up successfully when these experts have laid all the answers. The discussion focuses on some relevant questions like: What would have been the environment-triggering factors that created this monstrous typhoon? What went wrong? What are some possibilities that we might expect to happen in the future? And most importantly, what can we do after all?
Pinpointing the Cause: Who's to Blame, What Went Wrong?
There can't just be one factor that caused the death of so many people during the typhoon. We can't really generalize and drop the names of whoever we want to put all the blame onto.
However, due to the irresistible questions from the audience about this, speakers in the program were able to single out important facts that could meet the audience’s insatiable curiosity.
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| The Speakers - From the left: Maria Isabel Garcia (The Mind Museum's curator and a writer for Rappler.com), Dr. Gemma Narisma (Head of the Regional Climate Systems Research Program of the Manila Observatory Institute & recipient of 2012 Outstanding Young Scientist (OYS) Award in the field of Atmospheric Science by the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), Dr. Gerry Bagtasa (Assistant Professor in the College of Science of Meteorology in the University of the Philippines, developer of Weather Manila), Dr. Renato Solidum Jr. (Head of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology), and Dr. Mahar Lagmay (Executive Director, Project NOAH, PAGASA) |
Here are some of the speculations behind the death of thousands during the typhoon Yolanda:
- The warning information was loosely presented. Dr Gerry Bagtasa highlighted the keyword: disaster imagination. He said that if the media has used more effective tools and more emotion-driving strategies in presenting how will it feel and look like during the typhoon, or if they were able to make triggering visuals on how dangerous will this storm surge will be (and have explained how will this look like); this will turn on more urgent response from the public.
- Filipinos usually rely on their past experiences. Due to the patterns of the typhoons from the past years, the Philippines has not experienced such strong typhoon as Yolanda since 1912, when a remarkable devastating typhoon had also hit the same place, Tacloban, that was said to have killed and injured 15,000 inhabitants. Knowing the reality that the Philippines is experiencing more than 20 typhoons per year; Filipinos might think that every typhoon has been always manageable. However, Yolanda proved that our assumptions are incorrect.
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| One of the very passionate audience that verbalized her thoughts about several factors that might cause the death of many people during the typhoon |
- The authorities might have not appeared authoritative enough to give such warnings. Is the person who delivered the warning sounded powerful and appealing enough for the public to believe? Does the person with the authority (ex. mayor, governor) or any group of people who are delivering the warning foster a public image that one can lay his or her trust to?
What's the Difference Now: What Can You Do?
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| Dr. Gerry Bagtasa (left) and Dr. Renato Solidum (right) |
Of course, this is not going to be the end of the discussion yet. As Dr. Solidum have said:
"We are already advancing in terms of technology; therefore, we're now living in the modern world. However, the reality is, there are still some who do not know what really the present situation means and what is the science related to it."
Yes, he is talking about the science related to our present situation. To make it easier to understand, he wanted that every Filipino should be fully aware of how this current leap on natural phenomenon can affect us. He wanted that every Filipino should heighten their effort of broadening his or her knowledge about global warming and climate change.
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| Dr Mahar Lagmay from Project Noah (on the right), also commented how they made some efforts in reminding the public about typhoon Yolanda |
Today, the Philippines and the world are facing a kind of war that does not involve merciless killing of enemies, race against race, culture against culture. Today, we are battling against this uncontrollable, non negotiable, uncooperative threat—the forces of nature. Aside from Dr. Solidum, the other speakers also encourage everyone to be more vigilant, be prepared and of course, be more responsible to do some specific measures to lessen the effects of climate change...and that is what 'science' really means.
What Else to Expect from the Mind Museum's Cafe Scientifique?
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| The speakers were always interested in what the audience has to say in the entire program |
Cafe Scientifique is more of an open forum. Like what I have mentioned earlier, it's a two-way discussion that aims to broaden everyone's way of thinking towards a certain scenario that involves science.
If you think that only those people who are highly intelligent could attend this kind of gathering, you are wrong. This forum does not discriminate anyone's knowledge level or cultural background. Everyone can attend. Yes, everyone.
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| Everyone is encouraged to join the discussion |
To make things more easy to 'chew', Cafe Scientifique used the Filipino language during the event. If you're an English speaker, you're not discouraged to join, though. It is also not a very formal occasion where you need to dress up like you're going to attend a Senate conference. If you are comfortable with your plain shirt, with your pair of denim jeans and sneakers, you're good to go.
The program lasted for about an hour and a half hour. Don't worry, this is not a whole-day event that could eat up all your time. Good thing, this was done almost late in the afternoon— 4 PM to be exact—making sure that everyone is already done with their personal commitments for the day. However, if you might feel a little sluggish during the event, you can always grab a cup of coffee at the small booth located just near you. You'll surely love it because it's all free.
Cafe Scientifique usually does not follow a specific schedule so it's a must to check out their website regularly if you really want to attend next time.
But then, if I receive any information regarding their next schedule, I will post it immediately to the sidebar on the left side corner so you'll be informed prior to the event.
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| This event is FREE! |
Mind Museum's Cafe Scientifique is indeed the new trend of learning new information. There is no such thing as money-back guarantee here because you're not going to pay anything, though. Yep, it's all FREE and it's all worth it!
So... will see you at the next forum, then?
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