Answering the college

Focus the Nation events to heat up campuses across the U.S.

Posted by Todd Hymas Samkara at 3:47 PM on 29 Jan 2008

Focus the Nation, a series of climate-change-focused educational events on over 1,000 campuses across the United States, is basically the student-centered cousin of Step It Up. And if you were one of the thousands who attended SIU (or SIU 2), you know that raising climate consciousness doesn't have to be a drab affair. It can be a colorful, creative, youth-infused party of a time. Enter Focus the Nation.

Hoping to pick up where SIU left off, Focus the Nation is gathering together thousands of students and teachers for climate festivities, billing it as the largest teach-in in U.S. history. It all goes down Jan. 31. (Or, you know, whatever the kids say these days.)

In the lead-up to Jan. 31, over 1,000 campuses will be marking the occasion with a variety of events that promise to be as varied as the schools and students themselves, with the common theme of doing something already about the climate crisis. Two Missouri schools have decided to truck in 15 tons of coal for their Focus the Nation event that will serve as a life-sized visual aid showing students what their school consumes to produce just one hour of electricity. Other schools are planning everything from theatrical demonstrations to climate-themed plays to speeches by big-name celebs, greens, and politicians.

Then of course there are the teach-ins. Professors will devote a portion of their regular class time on Jan. 31 to teaching students about some aspect of climate change or let students out early to attend other climate-focused events. On Jan. 30 there's also a pre-teach-in ~~pep rally~~ webcast featuring Ed Norton, Van Jones, and Hunter Lovins.

Focus the Nation organizers are treating the multicampus events as the most important climate activism in a long while, which it may well be -- a vital, nonpartisan, feel-good time centered on confronting one of the most complex, potentially dire, intensely, gravely, astutely, acutely moral issues of our time (to paraphrase the Goracle).

Should be a kick in the pants ... see you in class.

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Numbers

1,700 Focus the Nation events (and counting) are mobilizing tens of thousands of educators and will engage not thousands but one million students with elected officials on global warming solutions this Thursday.

More than 50 members of Congress including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are participating in Focus the Nation events along with hundreds of local and state politicians.

Certainly 2% Solution web-cast guests Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman of the IPCC and renowned Climate Scientist Stephen Schneider don't think it's a pep rally.

If Focus the Nation is a feel-good event, it's because getting educated on solutions and talking global warming policy with policy-makers feels good.

See for yourself what events around the country will look like:

Arizona State University

Cal Poly

College of the Canyons

Humboldt State University

San Francisco State University

French American International School

Colorado State University

CU Boulder

Central Connecticut State University

University of Connecticut

University of Central Florida

Georgia Students for Sustainability

University of Georgia

Boise State University

University of Illinois

DePauw

Georgetown College

Western Kentucky University

Tulane University

University of New England

University of Michigan

Drury University

University of Montana

University of Nebraska

University of Nevada Las Vegas

University of Nevada Reno

Bard College

College of New Rochelle

University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

Lewis and Clark College

Penn State University

Brown University

Clemson University

Appalachian State University

University of Utah

Utah State University

University of Vermont

University of Washington

University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez

by Alex M Tinker at 6:13 PM on 29 Jan 2008

Success is Fun

It is important to remember that such significant, and often discouraging, issues can be approached with creativity and spirit. Creativity is necessary. It is how we keep our momentum to pursue change. It is also the best way to reach out to people from all backgrounds, particularly those who feel overpowered by the breadth of this challenge. Focus the Nation has a special approach that encourages campuses and institutions to find the best way to engage all audiences in the topic of climate change, and what's more, prepare them to put in their two cents about it.

Focus the Nation's academic, interdisciplinary, and solution oriented approach is what has made this educational initiative so successful and empowering for the over 1700 colleges and institutions that have signed on to hold events. Focus the Nation draws involvement from a wide audience, and prepares them to discuss practical applications for solutions to climate change. Because of this our events will be attended by over 50 US Senators and Representatives and countless local government officials.

Focus the Nation is a "feel good event," not only because we have found fun and creative ways to draw people in, but also because it inspires, empowers, and educates the coming generations to effectively shape the world they will inherit. Your right that does "Feel Good."

by Kate PDX at 6:39 PM on 29 Jan 2008

UC Santa Cruz

As the UC Santa Cruz organizer, I feel the need to brag about what's going on here!

We have over 35 professors speaking in their classes about climate change this week. That means that over 4,000 students will hear learn about the issue from different perspectives. The professors span many different departments, for a truly interdisciplinary event.

We are hosting an all day event and expecting about 300 people to come listen to local climate speakers, eat locally produced organic food, take workshops on reducing their climate footprint and finally discuss their visions for campus sustainability.

The main environmental group on campus will be hosting a screening of the 2% Solution the night before.

For more info, visit sustainability.ucsc.edu

Focus the Nation on January 31st 2008

by tboggia at 6:42 PM on 29 Jan 2008

Heating up? It's boiling!

When Dr. Eban Goodstein thought up Focus the Nation in the fall of 2006, his colleagues said, "you must be crazy!"

Then, when Focus the Nation hit the 1,000 event mark in November of 2007, they thought, "maybe he wasn't so crazy after all" and took notice.

But now, with the 1,700 Focus the Nation events just one day away, they must be scratching their heads thinking, "looks like that idea was just crazy enough to make the difference."

With the participation of IPCC Chair Rajendra Pachauri, 50 U.S. Senators and Congresspeople including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority leader Harry Reid, thousands of local student, faculty, faith, community, business and political leaders, and lest we forget, Edward Norton, Focus the Nation will engage MILLIONS of Americans in the neccessary conversation on the steps we must take to address climate change in a just, economically viable and environmentally sound way.

And that, my friends, is going to feel great.

by MinnaB at 6:46 PM on 29 Jan 2008

Scientists react to Focus the Nation

I talked to some of the climate scientists involved in yesterday's Focus the Nation events and wrote about their reactions on the Climate Feeback blog at Nature Reports Climate Change. Check it out here.

by peachybetts at 9:54 AM on 01 Feb 2008

ADVERTISING POLICY

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