Portland State is holding a symposium this Thursday with Focus the Nation, an organization working to raise global climate change awareness, during a one-day campaign set to take place in over 1,000 schools nationwide.
The PSU symposium, which comprises six lectures and a panel discussion led by faculty and professors, will take place in the Smith Memorial Student Union Ballroom (SMSU 355) from 8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. Free coffee and refreshments will be served by Aramark, said Jennifer Allen, associate director of PSU Center for Sustainable Processes and Practices.
The symposium is free to attend and open to the public. Allen said she hopes a few hundred students will attend. There will be a raffle at the end of the event, she said, and students will have a chance to share their views on global climate change.
“Global climate change is very real for this generation, so we’re hoping for a large turnout and some real effort towards opening up discussion about climate change and possible solutions,” Allen said. “Today’s students are the ones that will be affected, and Focus the Nation will help them prepare for tomorrow.”
About 1,675 events are planned for Thursday at primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities nationwide, according to Minna Brown, national coordinator for Focus the Nation, who expects the campaign to reach over 1 million students. More than 50 congressional offices are participating in Focus the Nation events, she said.
Oregon politicians–Gov. Ted Kulongoski, Rep. Earl Blumenauer and Rep. Jackie Dingfelder–will discuss global climate change at a Focus the Nation roundtable discussion at the University of Portland’s Chiles Center, located at 5000 N. Willamette Blvd. The discussion starts at 5 p.m. and will be broadcast on Oregon Public Broadcasting radio stations from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Tickets are required to attend the discussion and are free through the University of Portland. Focus the Nation was founded by Lewis and Clark College economics professor Eban Goodstein, who began contacting universities and political figures several years ago to organize a single day that brought together thousands of schools to discuss global climate change, Brown said.
“This is an enormous effort that’s taken lots of planning, and I’m anticipating some really great things to happen as a result–the creation of a national discussion about just how real global climate change is, and what we can do about it,” she said.
Focus the Nation AgendaJan. 31Smith Memorial Student Union Ballroom (SMSU 355)
8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Welcome and Introduction9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. “Climate Change Science”9:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. “Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health”10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. “Climate Change and Water Sustainability”10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. “Energy Use, Human Behavior, and Climate Change”11 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. Break11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. “Climate Change Solutions”12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. Lunch 1 p.m. to 1:20 p.m. “What You Can Do Next”1:20 p.m. to 2:20 p.m. “State and Regional Policy Approaches to Climate Change”2:20 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Closing Remarks2:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Raffle and Tables