Andrew Crighton

News Editor

What is the effectiveness of a carbon tax? What could be the economic impacts of climate change? What is the current political context of climate change? These questions will be addressed Tuesday, February 7 at 2 p.m. in the PSUB Wood River Room.

Sanjay Thakur is an ISU student who organized a student-driven climate change event last semester on campus, and due to requests from those involved, will host a follow-up event this semester.

Thakur drew inspiration to organize such an event after watching the National Geographic documentary “Before the Flood,” a film created and hosted by Leonardo DiCaprio released in October 2016. 

After watching the film, Thakur was spurred to create an event here, so that a dialogue could be opened up at a more personal level.

“I thought ‘Let’s do a campaign on our campus,’ vocalizing it to the Pocatello community.”

The first event took place in two parts. First there was a discussion period where ISU faculty and community leaders gave presentations, followed by a three-day viewing period of “Before the Flood” at the Bengal Theater.

Approximately 50 people attended the first portion, with each viewing holding around 20 people in the following three days. Thakur saw this as a success, considering he planned and organized the event within a week.

In order to get the event to happen before finals, when students would not have the time to attend, it had to take place within this strict timeline.

Thakur has organized a second follow-up event which will evaluate the questions of human involvement in climate change, how effective a carbon tax would be and the current political climate.

Linda Engle, an instructor in the ISU mathematics department and local member of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby will be one guest speaker. Engle was one of the presenters at the first event along with ISU President Arthur Vailas.

Thakur is a science and engineering student with no definite plans to study climate change in the future; however he attributes his field to his passion about climate change.

“I’m a science student, so I believe in the science and facts and evidence,” he said.

He believes it is important for people to learn about climate change and use the facts and evidence to support their beliefs, not simply “blindly follow,” the words of their leader, as Thakur phrased it. To get people involved and raise awareness is key.

“One person cannot do anything. It has to be a global thing,” Thakur said.

Thakur feels that a lot of Americans aren’t really concerned with climate change because they don’t see it as affecting them now.

Island countries and the city of Miami are at large risk for feeling the effects of sea level rise in particular due to their low elevations directly next to the oceans.

Thakur’s home country of Nepal is another area of inspiration. Mount Everest forms part of the border between Nepal and China, and has experienced an increased number of avalanches and storms, which experts attribute to growing temperatures.

Thakur explained that every year more and more of Nepal’s mountain snow disappears, which has placed in the list of countries most susceptible to loss of habitat.

Thakur mentioned three important ‘mantras’ to keep in mind that he believes everyone should think about: Whatever you buy, whatever you use and how you utilize energy.

These are the types of things that each person can do to lower their personal impact.   

“Climate change is not, like, a hoax you know,” Thakur said.