Wilkes to Host Nationwide Event on Global Climate Change

On January 30 and 31, Wilkes University will participate in Focus The Nation, an unprecedented nationwide initiative to teach college students and others about global warming. The event will use a teach-in model centered on the three most essential pillars for today’s youth to embrace solutions to global warming: education, civic engagement and leadership.

Wilkes is one of more than 1,000 colleges and universities participating in the Focus the Nation events.

“Focus the Nation is a historic event in American higher education that gives undergraduate students and the public an opportunity to critically evaluate the impacts of humans on earth’s climate system,” said Dr. Mike Case, professor of environmental engineering and earth sciences. “Now, as a global community, we must examine our options and make informed decisions based on the best science available.”

The teach-in will kick off the night of January 30, with a web cast entitled The 2% Solution. Produced by the National Wildlife Federation and aired by the Earth Day Network, panelists on the webcast will include Stanford climate scientist Steve Schneider; Hunter Lovins, CEO, Natural Capitalism; and, environmental justice leader Van Jones, executive director, Ella Baker Center in Oakland, California, who will all discuss global climate change solutions.

The web cast will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Dorothy Dickson Darte Center for the Performing Arts and is free and open to the public. The broadcast will be followed by a panel discussion with guest experts in arctic ecology, carbon-neutral technology, meteorology, and economics. The panel will engage the audience in a question and answer session.

The next day, January 31, will include a range of global warming curricula presented by Wilkes faculty and guest speakers. More than 25 Wilkes professors will allot classroom time to discuss global climate change within the context of their classroom discipline.
Concurrent with the academic venues Wilkes will also host a Green Fair featuring posters and information set-ups on the first floor of the Henry Student Center. Posters from student projects and from regional organizations and companies involved in sustainable environmental practices will be featured.

The final piece of Focus The Nation’s teach-in model will be the Choose Your Future vote. All students, faculty and community participants will be encouraged to vote on what they think are the top five solutions from a list of ten to 15 that will be available January 21 at www.focusthenation.org. Vote results will be presented nationally in mid-February. All students who vote on the Choose Your Future ballot will be eligible to win a $10,000 leadership scholarship for a project to be completed by end of August 2008.

“We are thrilled to be a part of this initiative. This is education at its finest,” said Dr. Tim Gilmour, president, Wilkes University. “It represents the enormous power that youth have when they use their education to create positive change in the world.”

Wilkes University’s participation in Focus the Nation is coordinated by a planning committee chaired by Dr. Mike Case, environmental engineering and earth sciences; Dr. Kenneth Klemow and Dr. Jeffrey Stratford, biology; and, Dr. Ellen Flint, performing arts.

Wilkes University's Focus the Nation Committee has produced a list of answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Global Climate Change. Download the FAQ to get informed.

For more information, please visit www.focusthenation.org.