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Global Warming Solutions for America |
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About Us
Overview
Focus the Nation is coordinating teams of faculty and students at over a thousand colleges, universities and K-12 schools in the United States, to collaboratively engage in a nationwide, interdisciplinary discussion about “Global Warming Solutions for America”.
Focus the Nation is based in educational institutions, but also is engaging Americans in their churches, mosques, synagogues, businesses and civic organizations. The intent is to focus the growing concern in the country about global warming, and to create a serious, sustained and truly national discussion about clean energy solutions, linking students and citizens directly with our political leaders.
During the spring, summer, and fall of 2007, Focus the Nation teams will be creating campus dialogue, sponsoring talks and debates, integrating discussion of climate solutions into curricula, and drawing in faculty from across the curriculum. From Oregon to Ohio, and Alabama to New Hampshire, professors will focus on global warming solutions in their classes, and travel with their students to interdisciplinary discussion sessions and forums. Because Focus the Nation will engage thousands of organizers, and tens of thousands of educators, millions of students will have the opportunity to be involved.
Focus the Nation will culminate January 31, 2008, in the form of national symposia held simultaneously at over a thousand campuses, places of worship, businesses, and other venues across the country. On that day, each Focus the Nation team will invite local, state and federal political leaders and candidates for office to come to campus and participate in a non-partisan, round-table discussion of global warming solutions. US Senators and members of congress, state representatives, mayors and city councilors, all will be receiving dozens of invitations to speak about global warming, from over a thousand institutions nation-wide. Every campus will also vote on their top five national priorities for global warming action, producing a campus-endorsed policy agenda for the 2008 elections.
Focus the Nation is growing rapidly. The key to our success is the fact that, across the country, tens of thousands of educators, students and citizens are eager for a way to engage with global warming solutions, and quickly understand what Focus the Nation can become. The project culminates in a national teach-in in schools, places of worship and businesses, but Focus the Nation is more than that. The growth potential is vast: this is the opportunity to catalyze the country, and indeed, “Focus the Nation” around a non-partisan, reasoned, campus-lead discussion of this critical 21st century issue.
Why Now?
Over the next decade, critical policy decisions will be made with irreversible consequences for the future. Dr. James Hansen, the top US government climate scientist, believes that if we do not stabilize greenhouse gas emissions soon, we may set in motion a process leading to collapse of the West Antarctic and Greenland Ice sheets, events that would raise global sea levels by over 40 feet, inundating many of the world’s major cities (see sidebar). This of course is just one of the myriad potential consequences of human-induced warming, with regional and global impacts ranging from hurricanes of greater intensity and duration, global water shortages, altered patterns of rainfall, drought and flood, massive forest die-back, and large-scale species extinction.
Students today face many important social, economic, and security issues. Global warming however, is unique, in that if we are to reduce the risk of large-scale, irreversible, world-wide damages, then ambitious—and potentially costly—policy solutions must be undertaken within a very compressed time frame. Failure to act soon increases the likelihood of a swing in global temperatures of Ice Age magnitude within our children’s lifetimes, only in the opposite direction. We owe our young people a day of national, focused, non-partisan discussion of the decisions to be made in the next ten years, decisions that will profoundly affect their future, and indeed the future of all human generations to follow.
The second motivation for this project is to explore a new model of collaborative, interdisciplinary education, on a national scale. Focus the Nation will require campus-based teams of faculty and students to draw on campus expertise across the broad range of disciplines: religious studies, psychology, business, art, geology, law, economics, biology, communications, public health, theater, engineering, sociology, computer science, political science, literature, chemistry, philosophy, communications, music. Focus the Nation provides an exciting model opportunity to create, for one day, a true national community of scholarship bridging traditional disciplinary boundaries.
This is an opportunity for educators to take a leadership role, and catalyze a process which indeed will “Focus the Nation”. For the last 150 years we have been engaged in an unprecedented natural experiment, drastically altering the basic nature of the planet’s climate control system. Focus the Nation is engaging the country with the question: How far can we let that experiment go?
How you can help
To be a part of Focus the Nation for UCF, simply join the meetings which are currently being held from 4:30-5:30PM at the Sociology Conference Room, Phillips Hall Building, 4th Floor , Room 406I, during the 2007 Fall semester (updated information will be provided for proceeding semesters). By joining the meetings, you are committing to help organize an educational event about global warming solutions at your institution on (or around) January 31st, 2008. At this point, you do not need to know exact details for the event— by joining, you are simply signaling your desire to help build Focus the Nation in your community. As colleges, universities, high schools, middle schools, faith organizations, businesses, and civic groups come together, we can launch a discussion far-reaching enough to change the future.
More information is provided at the national Focus the Nation page:
Guiding Principles
Participation in the national educational initiative called Focus the Nation on Solutions to Climate Change is guided by the desire to create a learning experience for our community that:
| 1. | Provide the stuff to grapple with the moral and ethical dilemma of our time and that of generations to come, defining cohort experience that will matter; |
| 2. | Provide avenues to think about the urgent topic of global warming with the kinds of critical acuity, knowledge, and experience that is generated by/created in/attracted to a research university, especially one that favors community partnerships; |
| 3. | Foster the learning that enables us to dream of revolution in technology, culture, natural resource management, and social institutions that pave a peaceful path to a globally prosperous decarbonized global society; |
| 4. | Challenge us to lead in the design and management of livable communities and successful enterprises that are sustainable, globally, regionally, nationally, and locally; |
| 5. | Participate in a series of national events that link university community leaders across the nation, region and state; and, |
| 6. | Focus the nation on solutions to climate change. |
Endorsements
Department of Sociology, University of Central Florida
The Department of Sociology at UCF currently houses the FTN Organizing Committee, and generously provides a meeting room each week in Howard-Phillips Hall.
The United States Branch of the International Innovations Project (IIP)
The IIP was founded at the University of Toronto in 2000 to coordinate environmental research and applied natural technologies for the benefit of humanity. IIP is a humanitarian network of people who are working for sustainable solutions to provide those in need of life’s fundamentals of clean water, food, shelter, and education. IIP is headed by Roger Hansell (University of Toronto, emeritus) and Biswajit “Bob” Ganguly (University of Sao Paulo, biologist and engineer).
Linda Chapin, UCF Metropolitan Center
Linda Chapin, Director of the Metropolitan Center for Regional Studies at the University of Central Florida, joined UCF in 2001 having completed two terms as Orange County's first elected Chairman. A committed proponent of citizen involvement and the need to build social capital and confidence in public decision-making, Ms. Chapin has published articles in the National Civic Review and other social policy journals.
Orlando Utilities Commission
At OUC, we understand that as a company and a community there is no greater commitment we share than caring for our environment. Clean lakes and rivers, pure air and clear skies make our region the envy of many. That’s why for more than 80 years, OUC has been one of Central Florida’s leading environmental stewards.
City of Orlando
Green Works Orlando is an environmental action agenda designed to transform Orlando into one of the most environmentally-conscious cities in America. It’s our opportunity to lead by example and promote environmental stewardship. It’s our chance to educate people about “going green” and encourage others to incorporate a concern for the environment into the everyday workings of government and private business.Orange County
Orange County is one of seven counties recognized as comprising Central Florida. It is a charter county, meaning it has its own constitution and is self-governing. Having a charter gives the county the ability to respond to a changing environment and meet local needs. The first charter was adopted in November 1986 and went into effect on January 6, 1987.
National Wildlife Federation
National Wildlife Federation (NWF) works with over 4 million members, partners, and supporters to actively educate, inspire, and promote achievable solutions to everyday Americans in communities from coast-to-coast. Our conservation work focuses on three major areas that will have the biggest impact on the future of America’s wildlife: Confront global warming, protect and restore wildlife habitat, connect with nature.
Page last updated: Tuesday, January 29, 2008