Winter 2010 Climate Alert
Mexico: Inspiring Climate Solutions [ PDF ]
In this Newsletter:
Pride In Having World’s Highest Observatory Sparks Growth of Interactive Network
Mexico will soon have the world’s highest climate observatory, which will become a crucial part of the international observation network run by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This prospect has generated considerable pride among government leaders in Mexico and broadened public interest in climate education and action. Catalyzed by the efforts of the Climate Institute staff in Mexico, this interest has been translated into the beginnings of a National Interactive Climate Awareness and Response Network, the first such effort of its kind on Earth.
Significant progress has already been achieved. The roots of the initiative are found in the state of Puebla, where Secretary of Natural Resources and Environment Francisco Castillo Montemayor saw an opportunity to build an outreach centre to accompany the Observatory in an environmental education park and won the active support of Governor Mario Marín Torres. The Tickell Observatory Education and Outreach Centre in Flor del Bosque State Park, which opened in February 2009, uses NOAA’s Science On a Sphere globe projection presentations, followed by question and answer sessions.
Ninety thousand people, many of them high school and college students, have received these climate change multimedia briefings since the Centre opened. The success of these efforts has led the State of Puebla to build annex buildings to the Outreach Centre, which are expected to be ready by the summer of 2010. This will allow space for visitors to use computer terminals to sample online problem solving tools and climate educational games, as well as to view videos of innovative actions by individuals and groups.
The Climate Institute has created a similar climate theatre in Mexico City's Museum of Natural History in the renowned Chapultepec Park. This is scheduled for inauguration by Mayor Marcelo Ebrard on February 10, 2010. Under Mayor Ebrard’s leadership, Mexico City is bidding to become a premier environmental city in North America. His Secretary for the Environment Martha Delgado has spearheaded this effort and recruited Eduardo Vázquez to reshape the city’s natural history museum into the Museum of Natural History and the Environment.
On February 11, an additional climate theatre is set to open in Parque Ecológico San Miguel Acapantzingo in the state of Morelos. Jorge Hinojosa, the state’s Secretary of Water and Environment, with strong support from Governor Marco Antonio Adame Castillo, has worked with the Climate Institute to create this new theatre in Cuernavaca, the state capital. The climate theatres in Puebla, Mexico City and Cuernavaca all are using NOAA’s Science On a Sphere global projection system. The Climate Institute has arranged for the installation of a similar global projection system in the Pelopidas Art Museum in Cancún, whose chief benefactor, businessman Juan Poch, is a strong environmentalist. It is anticipated that this theatre will be operational later in 2010. Funding for these climate theatres is coming from museums and state governments.
Ten other states in Mexico have indicated their interest in having climate outreach and education centres using the Science On a Sphere projection system and participating in the Tickell Interactive Network. These states are Michoagan, Zacatecas, Hidalgo, Guanajuato, Baja California Sur, Guerrero, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Veracruz and Nayarit. The Climate Institute anticipates that as many as a dozen outreach centres will be operational by December 2011. By then, these Tickell Network sites will collectively provide multimedia briefings on climate change to as many as one million visitors each year. The promising start in Mexico has drawn interest in expanding the Network to other countries. The Philippines and the United States are likely the next sites, (see articles on pages 12-15) with sites in Central America potentially to follow. NOAA has also expressed interest in the possible extension of the Tickell Network to the United Kingdom.
The ultimate purpose of the climate education programs within the Tickell Network is to ignite a strong interest in climate protection among visitors. The Network aims to inspire visitors to become active problem-solvers in many different areas, including efficient energy use, coastal protection planning, and carbon storage in vegetation and soils. The Network’s online tools can be freely used to develop adaptation and mitigation action plans and to provide access to information systems that can enhance climate protection efforts. While this work will typically begin at the climate theatres themselves, it is fully expected that the large majority of users’ efforts will occur in the weeks and months after initial exposure to the online tools. Users will be able to connect to the Network’s resources from any computer or smartphone with internet access.
The UN’s annual climate conference is due to be held in Mexico late this year. The Tickell Interactive Network, including the Observatory, the climate theatres, online tools and outreach efforts, will be in place to serve Mexican citizens and international visitors who wish to become better informed and more active on climate change during both the lead up to the conference and afterwards. The Tickell Interactive Network seeks to facilitate grassroots collaboration for innovative solutions to the climate crisis as a complement to the international negotiations at COP16.
Other Articles in this Newsletter:
A Message from the President: Mexico Lights the Way to Climate Stabilization
Primer Centro Nacional de Observación Climática Global de Gran Altitud Sir Crispin Tickell
Tickell High Altitude Climate Observatory Fills Crucial Gap in Greenhouse Gas Analysis
Sir Crispin Tickell: un pionero ambiental
Sir Crispin Tickell: Environmental Pioneer
Heherson Alvarez Appointed Climate Change Commissioner
Heherson Álvarez nombrado Comisario del cambio climático