MAGELANG, Indonesia (UCAN) -- Church people in Central Java had decided it was time to take the message of global warming to younger people and urge them to start protecting their future now.

As a result, 100 elementary, junior and senior high students from local Catholic schools formed the bulk of participants at the symposium Kedu episcopal vicariate conducted on Nov. 8. Fifty local farmers also joined in the event at Catholic-run Pangudi Luhur Elementary School in Magelang district, 400 kilometers southeast of Jakarta.

Jesuit Father Petrus Sunu Hardiyanto warned them, "If we do not stop global warming, it is not unthinkable that all creatures -- including human beings -- could die." He urged the students and farmers to simplify their lifestyle, for example, by using environment-friendly means of transportation.

"Energy usage will decrease if more people live a simple life. And in the end, global warming can be reduced," asserted the priest, a lecturer on the pharmacy faculty of Sanata Dharma University in Yogyakarta. Semarang archdiocese, to which Kedu vicariate belongs, also covers Yogyakarta.

Sister Emelia Brugman, who organized the symposium, told UCA News a main goal was to encourage the young people to think about the issue "and take an active part in doing something" about it.

Even though they may not be able to achieve much, "it does not matter as long as they do it according to their age and ability," the St. Charles Borromeo nun said.

Such symposiums are usually aimed at adults, she noted. "But we think that children are the future of this earth, so it is no wrong if we invite them to understand a problem concerning the earth that all people in this world are facing."

Daughters of Mary and Joseph Sister Alfonsa Triatmi and layman Albertus Dwi Widiatmojo, who both work with farmers, emphasized in their presentations that organic farming is one way to combat global warming.

"By minimizing the use of chemical fertilizers that produce methane, we can reduce global warming," the nun said. She recommended using animal waste to produce biogas as an alternative source of energy and planting trees, particularly on barren land, as ways of combating global warming.

Almost a week after the symposium, Thomas Antar Riyanto, a teacher at Tarakanita Senior High School, told UCA News his and other schools under the Tarakanita Foundation in Magelang had planned a reforestation campaign to start in early December. "Each student and teacher has been asked to plant trees around their home," he explained.

Kromolegowo, a farmer, said he had thought global warming was a natural phenomenon, but after attending the symposium, he now realizes "the problem is so serious." The 56-year-old Muslim man told UCA News, "I must do what the speakers have suggested, so that the earth and human beings will be safe."

According to Sister Brugman, the symposium resulted directly from local people's experience. "Global warming is something we can really feel here," she shared. "About five years ago, Magelang was known as a cold place. Many people taking a bath after 4 p.m. would use warm water."

However, the temperature has risen, and springs in some villages in the district have even dried up, she said.

She added that the symposium also was linked to World Food Day, which the United Nations has set as an annual commemoration on Oct. 16. This year's theme was World Food Security: The Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy.

END