problems

Bangalore, Jan 12 (UNI) The technology of the 21st century, while offering a lot of new opportunities for the betterment of mankind, has posed environmental challenges which needs to be addressed urgently, renowned astrophysicist and Royal Society of London President Lord Reev said today.

Delivering the 12th Rajiv Gandhi Science and Technology Lecture on '21st Century Science: Cosmic Perspectives and Terrestrial Challenges' here, he said excessive use of fossil fuel around the world had resulted in global warming.

Lord Reev pointed out that the International Energy Agency had expressed concern that burning of fossil fuel during the last 50 years was higher than any time in the last half a million years.

Unless urgent remedial measures were taken to decrease generation of carbon monoxide and mitigate the consequent problems, the future hanged in balance.

He said that taking into consideration the increased generation of carbon monoxide and its adverse consequences for humanity, the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had proposed to create under the United Nations a Planet Protection Fund, to which all countries would contribute a fixed percentage of their GDP. ''It is very sad that the far-sighted proposal did not materalise as all humans are collectively contributing to the very existence of our planet and endangering it,'' he regretted.

Lord Reev rued that eventhough technologies were evolved to face the challenges of Global Warming, its benefits were not reaching all, but mainly went to developed coutnries.

He felt that much developments were not witnessed in cosmic research since the landing on the moon by man. Taking advantage of computer technology, research works should be expanded beyond space and universe. ''There is a possibility of many more universes than what we are seeing now and there may be many more 'big-bangs' and it needs to be explored aggressively.'' The lecture was organised by the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and co-hosted by the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research and Indian Institute of Sciences.

UNI