January 23, 2008
Bowling
Green, Ky. - Western Kentucky University will join more than 1,000 schools for Focus the Nation, a national teach-in on global climate change next week.
The Jan. 31 teach-in will conclude “The Great Conversation” on climate change sponsored by WKU’s Political Engagement Project. The conversation, one of four scheduled during the 2007-08 academic year, began in October with a visit by Jeff Corwin.
“Our goal has been to raise awareness about the issue,” said Dr. Saundra Ardrey, head of WKU’s Department of Political Science. “We will have an open discussion and conversation. We will not be pushing the issue but discussing it.
“We’re encouraging global climate change believers and non-believers to be a part of this discussion.”
The Political Engagement Project and WKU GreenToppers are sponsoring the teach-in activities on campus.
Those activities include an online petition encouraging President Gary Ransdell to sign the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment (http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org), which calls on universities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (The petition is available at www.ipetitions.com/petition/wku/)
Jan. 30 will be “too much coal” day with piles placed at Downing University Center and Cherry Hall to show how much coal is needed to keep one student warm.
At 7 p.m. Jan. 30 at Mass Media and Technology Hall Auditorium, WKU will host a viewing of “The 2% Solution,” a national webcast featuring Stephen Schneider of Stanford University.
On Jan. 31, several WKU faculty members will incorporate global climate change into their classroom lectures. Other events that day include a community green fair at Grise Hall’s first floor lobby, tours of WKU’s central steam plant, a presentation on solar energy at the ALIVE Center and an art exhibit at the Ivan Wilson Fine Arts Center Gallery. (The schedule is available online at http://www.wku.edu/green/focus/)
The closing session, presented by Dr. Chris Antonsen of the Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology, will begin at 7 p.m. at the Ivan Wilson Fine Arts Center Recital Hall. The session will feature an excerpt of “An Inconvenient Truth.”
Additional information on the event is available on the GreenToppers website at http://www.wku.edu/green/. For more on Focus the Nation, visit http://www.focusthenation.org/nationalteachin.php
More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
For information, contact Saundra Ardrey at (270) 745-4558.
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