Binus hosts global warming campaign

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Nearly 40 Senior High School students sat peacefully as Verena Puspawardani of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Indonesia talked about deforestation, industrial activity and global warming issues.

The students listened to her presentation attentively at a gathering recently. Once in a while, they talked to each other.

The students were representatives of senior high schools in Jakarta invited by the Bina Nusantara University (Binus) to the annual student gathering.

This year, the gathering, which took place at Hard Rock Cafe, eX Plaza in Central Jakarta, had the theme Save Our World.

"This is an annual event that we have been organizing since 2003. The topic of discussion is selected to connect with the recent issues," the university's media relations office Surano M. Noor said.

Surano, known as Rano, said the event was aimed at telling students how to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and how to save energy as well.

This year, Binus is working with WWF to share information and knowledge with the students.

Rano said he hoped the students -- mostly the chairpersons of Student Organization (OSIS) in their schools -- would convey the message to fellow students.

Not only did the students get information from WWF but they also got practical training on how to make an effective campaign and how to create an interesting presentation.

"We hope these students will share their knowledge with their peer groups," he said.

Verena, meanwhile, said that her presentation focused on global warming and factors that step up the process. "This discussion also serves as a warning to the students that they also have a responsibility for the future," she said.

Global warming, she said, occurs because of the increasing anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations as a result of industrialization and the massive use of automobiles.

Because many power plant also use fuel, the massive use of electricity also contributes to global warming, she said.

During her presentation, Verena also screened a short documentary film about deforestation. Then, she invited students to ask questions.

A student who introduced himself as Joshua asked Verena why people have to save energy.

Responding, Verena emphasized that "saving energy" does not mean that people have to stop using electricity.

"What we can do to save energy is to use electrical devices at home properly," Verena said.

She suggested that students should switch off TVs, CD players and computers -- not leave them in standby mode -- if they are not using those appliances.

"Dirty clothing must not be washed with a washing machine. Instead, it should be washed by hand," she added.

Verena said that students should not put hot food in a refrigerator because it will make the device work harder -- meaning that it will consume much energy.

"The keyword is use devices at home properly," she said.