WITH all the political conversations occurring in Guyana currently, it was vastly refreshing to witness Guyana’s first ‘Carbon Conversation’ on Monday evening at which the key speaker was the renowned Dr. Suresh Narine. I extend congratulations to him and his team for putting together the well received and certainly thought provoking event.As a young professional Guyanese interested not just in the trajectory of our economy, but in our impacts on our environment, Dr. Narine’s presentation highlighted the fulcrum of the carbon crisis: climate change, economic development, environmental stewardship and the consumption of resources in local and global perspectives, allowing his audience to fully note Guyana’s interrelatedness with the rest of the World’s problems.
I found the most notable point in the presentation to be the possibilities underscored by the professor for Guyana’s natural resources. In a time when the University of Guyana is not adequately qualifying its students and job opportunities are somewhat scarce, to hear our future can be so vivid, and to hear why and how it can be illustrious was a breath of fresh air.
Guyana is on the brink of an oil boom and our future will only be bright if we properly prepare. While the education sector without a doubt needs to facilitate current and future generations to meet the needs of the black gold industry, we must not forget our environmental responsibilities which should be intrinsically linked to our economic growth.
I implore both Dr. Narine and the sponsors for such events to create more opportunities for Carbon Conversations that will engage the younger generation for their ideas and solutions, particularly in an environment moderated less formally to fully facilitate audience participation. Let their substantial presence to the first conversation be an indication of their interest that is not wasted.

LALETA RAMDIAL