Tulane students and faculty took part in "Focus the Nation," a campus-wide conversation about climate change and global warming Wednesday and Thursday. The Tulane Office of Environmental Affairs organized the two-day event, part of a nationwide effort that concurrently took place at more than 1,100 high schools and universities. It gave students a chance to attend classes and seminars about the effects of this problem and to discuss solutions.
"It's about sharing knowledge across boundaries in the university and taking an inter-disciplinary approach in discussing the issues of climate change," said Liz Davey, Program Manager for the Tulane Center for Bio-Environmental Research.
"Focus the Nation" began with a lecture by Chris Mooney, author of "Science at High Speeds: Hurricanes, Politics, and the Battle Over Global Warming." He spoke about the connection between worldwide temperature increases and the intensification of recent weather, as well as the politics in addressing the issues of environmental conservation.
"Given that global warming is happening due to human cause, it would be staggering, it would be astonishing, if that had no effect on hurricanes," Mooney said. "These are storms dependent upon heat and moisture."
The lecture was followed by a live webcast, "The Two Percent Solution," linked to other participating colleges and universities throughout the country taking part in the "Focus the Nation" initiative.
On Thursday, students were invited to attend courses on the themes the conference addressed, taught by more than 25 members of the Tulane faculty. Morning sessions covered an overview on climate change, while afternoon sessions focused on more specific subjects, such as "Ancient and Modern Indigenous Responses to Climate Change and Weather Events," "Religious and Ethical Perspectives on Global Warming" and "Global Warming Politics and Policy."
"It gives students the ability to take classes for one day in areas they might not usually get the chance," Davey said.
As part of the "Focus the Nation" initiative, a photography exhibition on environmental transitions was displayed outside of the Lavin-Bernick Center, sponsored by the British Council, a non-ministerial department of the United Kingdom government. The exhibit, "Northsoutheastwest, a 360° View of Climate Change," has been traveling around the globe since 2005 and has been featured in places such as the United Nations building in New York.
Student response to the event was very positive, with high attendance rates for the lecture and classes.
"It's nice to know that the Tulane community is so involved in confronting the issues on global warming," freshman Michael Baker said.
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