Letter from the Climate Editor
New Year, new section! The Saint is now the place to go to quench your thirst for climate news, both from within the St Andrews community and further afield. Whether it’s holding the University accountable for their climate goals, or sharing nuanced articles from within the increasingly diverse climate field, our climate section promises to provide you with an in-depth look at a range of environmental issues. Anthropomorphic climate change is real, but it is the extent to which it is harming our environment and social capabilities that has become the topic of lively debate. Therefore, through these columns, we hope to bring to you arguments from different ends of the spectrum and debunk some common misconceptions.
There are plenty of organisations and initiatives in St Andrews doing fantastic work in the battle against climate change. We hope to provide a platform for positive exposure for some of these groups, so please do get in touch if you feel there is something we should be covering. For those of you who are not aware, The Saint also runs an insightful podcast which should soon be focussing on some green issues and opportunities.
As a combined honours student in my final year, with a background in both the sciences and humanities, I have noticed the difficulty inherent to an interdisciplinary study of climate change. Gaining a holistic understanding of the problem necessitates both deciphering climate models and statistical analyses and, simultaneously, confronting moral questions of individual and collective responsibility. Therefore, in tandem with providing boots on the ground investigative articles, we will look at tackling some of these ethical issues, and provide the reader with some unpacking of the science behind the statistics.
Open discussion is the key to progress. We hope that this new section will spark debate and discussion within the St Andrews community about the best means of tackling the climate crisis. Hopefully, this can help us all think about how we can more effectively play our part in preserving the future of the planet.
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