LECTURE HELPS EXPLAIN THE SCIENCE
BEHIND DISASTER PREPAREDNESS

The Congressional Commission on Science Technology and Engineering (COMSTE), the Manila Observatory (MO) and Ateneo University presented a lecture yesterday by renowned environmental scientist and Professor Dr. Kelvin Rodolfo as part of the establishment of the Philippine Disaster Science Management Center (DSMC).

Dr. Rodolfo discussed the effects of humanity on global warming and climate change in a lecture entitled, "The Global Temperature Record Of the Last Two Millenia, And How We Determine It."

Dr. Rodolfo is Professor Emeritus with the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, and Senior Visiting Fellow of Earth System Science of the Manila Observatory. He is also a member of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) and the Philippine-American Academy of Science and Engineering (PAASE).

The lecture explored the record of directly measured temperatures back as far as they are reliable, and how we extend it back 2,000 years with proxy techniques. These include historical documents, including those of phenology, the scientific study of the chronologies of periodic biological phenomena, such as flowering, harvests, breeding, and migration, as they relate to changing climate.

Senator Edgardo J. Angara, Chair of COMSTE, noted that the lecture marks the continuation of a series that will present an overview of the effects of climate change, and will evolve into more technical discussions about disaster science. Angara said that this series of lectures marks the beginning of the DSMC.

DSMC is envisioned to become a regional hub for disaster science where our scientists can help prepare officials and LGU's to handle natural calamities.

Angara said that the ongoing lectures will tackle issues like how flooding and can affect insurance companies and how to quickly adopt Renewable Energy Systems to lessen local fossil fuel use. Both local and foreign scientists and experts will be lecturing.