▲CWNU's Climate Doomsday Clock

The 11th of this month, SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) Climate Doomsday Clock was unveiled in front of CWNU Dormitory Administration Building, across the Cheongwoonji, known as a local attraction. Gyeongnam said that the SDGs Climate Doomsday Clock was installed in consideration that citizens frequently visit Cheongwoonji, a local attraction, and many students come and go to the dormitory.

The Climate Doomsday Clock in our school was installed beginning with the ideas of none other than our school students. In August of last year, 4 students from CWNU, formed a research team on the theme of School and Education at a college student conference on, ‘Korea's Green New Deal and 5 Major Projects,’ and received the CWNU President's Award. The School Education Team (Advisor: Professor Kim Min-jung, Department of Early Childhood Education), attended the Opening Ceremony, gave a congratulatory speech, and received a Certificate of Appreciation from CWNU President Lee Ho-young. Details of CWNU's Climate Doomsday Clock can be heard through an interview with the Team Leader of the School Education Team.

Q. Please introduce yourself.

Min: Hello. My name is Min Kyung-taek. I graduated from CWNU Majoring in Sociology and am currently in the Master's course of History at CWNU.

Q. What is the, ‘Climate Doomsday Clock’?

Min: There is no definite definition of a Climate Doomsday Clock yet. By rough definition, the Climate Doomsday Clock represents the, "last time of mankind to prevent an irreversible climate crisis." The irreversible climate crisis here, is a 1.5 degree increase in global temperature, as compared to what it was before industrialization.

Q. What is the purpose of the idea of setting up a Climate Doomsday Clock on our campus?

Min: Climate crisis is a very vague concept, so we think local communities and schools should set an indicator of time, and consider solutions to problems, to delay that time. Therefore, it can be seen that it has the purpose of awakening the climate crisis consciousness of students and residents, by visually showing the climate crisis through the Climate Doomsday Clock.

Q. What are the expected effects of installing a Climate Doomsday Clock?

Min: I want people to be alert to the Climate Doomsday Clock as there is not much time left. I think the awareness that there are only 7 years left, can lead to actions that people take to save the climate in their daily lives. The installation of Climate Doomsday Clock, will provide a catalyst for university members to have their own ideas to slow down climate change, providing a place for communication where local and university members can think of solutions with each other.

Q. Please tell us how you feel about installing a Climate Doomsday Clock.

Min: For our team, the fact that the papers we wrote actually came true, made us feel hopeful that what we only thought was possible, became so, with the help of the teachers and the community. In the future, I hope that you and many people at CWNU will be active performers in communicating and practicing through the Climate Doomsday Clock, to solve community problems.

The SDGs Climate Doomsday Clock, installed at CWNU, is currently set to be about 7 years and 72 days. As climate crisis awareness and the need for sustainable development are emerging, members of CWNU should be able to realize that the climate crisis is no longer a problem in the distant future, but a problem we are facing right now, and need to solve for the wellbeing of our continued futures. As CWNU's Climate Doomsday Clock was installed with the main local members as a private-government-industry-academic funding platform, it is hoped that the climate clock can be an indicator of awareness of the climate crisis, for both local communities and university members.

By Kim Su-gyeong, cub-reporter  tnrud2824@naver.com

<저작권자 © The Campus Journal, 무단 전재 및 재배포 금지>