Once again a group of us from St. Peter's, Phoenixville is here in El Salvador. Every summer for the last 9 years we have been coming here. For some of us coming to El Salvador has become a pilgrimage. This year we are participating in a course called 'Liberation Science' offered by the Global School of Engagement, a program of Cristosal Foundation. Along with our group (Gary, Cindy, Karen, Sarah, Stephanie and myself) there is a group of seminarians from California and a student from Edinborough, Scotland, and six Salvadorans are enrolled in this program. Our faculty for the course includes Prof. Rafael de Sivatte Alguero from the University of Central America, Dr. Steven Emerman from University of Utah, and Prof. Ricardo Navarro of El Salvador.
Why is there a course called, 'liberation science' and why do we study this in El Salvador? The name of the course appears to assume that the field of science is under some kind of restraint. Is it so? Well, when the knowledge gained by the pursuit of science is used or exploited or cherry picked to advance ideological views of the dominant group, and when the knowledge gained are inconvenient and do not help advance their cause are often sidelined, ignored, mocked or even silenced, in a sense science is restrained. For science to serve humanity it needs to be left alone and allow them to guide us making right decisions for the whole. According to a majority of scientists in the world today, climate change and global warming are intensely becoming an existential threat to our globe and our species. They call for a drastic reduction in our use of coal for the production of energy. As this goes against the economic interests of powerful groups, climate change science and discussion are severely curtailed today. The effect of climate change and global warming are disproportionally affecting poorer people and poorer countries like El Salvador. We find studying the the science of climate change and global warming in the context of El Salvador and its people extremely beneficial.
