Local Colleges Join Focus on Global Warming
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As part of Focus the Nation, a national campaign to bring attention to the issue of climate change, the two Northern Berkshire colleges will lead separate teach-ins - faculty-led discussions and events that provide interdisciplinary insight into the effects of global warming.
"The goal is to engage people from all across the country from all different backgrounds to talk about global warming solutions," said Elizabeth Irvin, a Williams College sophomore who has helped organize her campus' events.
In its inaugural year, Focus the Nation is primarily an educational initiative occurring on campuses around the county, but the idea behind the efforts is to advocate civic engagement through the achievement of four specific goals:
- Hold a teach-in on Thursday, Jan. 31, in which millions of students nationwide will participate in workshops and panels, brainstorming global warming solutions.
- Work together with decision-makers to facilitate change.
- Participate in "Choose the Future," an action plan that relies on five solutions voted on by the students. "'Choose the Future' is the place for serious discussion about how to achieve what science and justice demand," according to Focus the Nation's interactive webcast "2 Percent Solution," featuring Stanford climate scientist Stephen Schneider, sustainability expert Hunter Lovins, and green jobs pioneer Van Jones.
<L2>"2 Percent Solution" will be webcast live tonight at 8 through participating venues and on Earth Day Television; it also will be archived for viewing on Earth Day TV.
At MCLA, the Jan. 31 day of action will kick off with a seminar on photovoltaics by Christopher Derby Kilfoyle and on Feb. 1, environmental studies instructor Audrey Werner will present "Carbon Calculator 101 - Your Questions Answered."
Student-run initiatives that promote recycling will also take place all week in various on-campus locations. For a complete listing of the MCLA events, see the blog.
"The student activities are part of the course I teach - 'Introduction to Environmental Studies.' We look at the natural systems on our planet, how man has interacted with that natural system and then at the solutions to problems man may have created. These activities are part of the chapter on waste management and learning about increasing education and awareness of reducing and recycling here on campus," said Werner.
The events are also coordinated with MCLA's "Green Team," a faculty/student collaboration that concentrates on environmental sustainability and clean energy through action on the college's campus.
At Williams, the Feb. 5 activities are being touted as a way to "promote big-picture policy changes as well as local innovation" and will feature presentations and panel discussions from leading scientists, environmentalist and activists, including a keynote by Christopher Flavin (a Williams alumnus), the president of Worldwatch Institute.
The Focus the Nation events will take place on Feb. 5 because students aren't expected to return to campus until tomorrow, too late to mobilize an entire movement.
"Plus, we can coordinate with Super Tuesday," said Irvin.
The day of national activism has a special significance for the liberal arts college as Eban Goodstein, Focus the Nation's project director, also is a Williams graduate. With his personal message of motivation, the student organizers are eager to allow diverse voices to participate in the dialogue about the answers to global warming.
"To see people coming at this from different angles is absolutely incredible," said Irvin. "We want to see a wide spectrum of people show up."
A full list of events is available on the Williams Web site.
