Focus the Nation at Bellevue Community College

What is Focus the Nation?

"We stand at a unique moment in human history. Decisions that are ours to make today – to stabilize global warming pollution and invest in clean energy solutions – will have a profound impact not only on our lives and the lives of our children, but indeed for every human being who will ever walk the face of the planet from now until the end of time. At this moment in time, we owe our young people one day of focused discussion about global warming solutions for America" (Focus the Nation national web site)

On Thursday, January 31st, BCC will be participating in Focus the Nation – a 1 day teach-in event that is being held across the country on over 1100 college and university campuses (as well as at additional high schools and community centers). The goal is to “focus” the attention of people across the country on the issue of climate change, with a particular emphasis on solutions. Participation at BCC is being sponsored by the Student Science Association and the Environmental Advisory Committee

Please Consider Participating: We encourage all interested instructors to discuss climate change in your lesson for the day. It is a topic that spans virtually all disciplines, and it would be great for students to hear about the issue from different points of view and different areas of expertise. For example, there are numerous aspects to the science of climate change; there is the economics of changing our ways; the politics of climate policy; the culture of change; the unequal distribution of impacts (environmental justice); the business (losses and gains) of adapting to a changing climate; and the history of societies reaction to changing climate (remember those poor Vikings and Anasazi, not to mention the Dust Bowl migration). If you are having trouble making a connection to your discipline, drop us a line – and we can help come up with something.

Participation may mean an entire lecture devoted to the topic, or just ten minutes connecting it to class materials. Or it might just be a good example or case study for an exercise or math problem. Anything would help students see the connection climate has to all aspects of our life and society.

Note that there is a lot of overlap between this topic an the BCC Reads book this year – The Worst Hard Times (In both cases, humans change the climate/environment, then need to deal with and adapt to the consequences).

Schedule of Events

There will be a few events scheduled throughout the day and we encourage you to invite your students or bring classes. More details will be posted as they become available. Morning events are in N201 and afternoon events are in C130!

• 10:30-11:20 – Lecture by Yoram Bauman, UW Economic Professor and Stand-Up Economist - “Stand-up Comedy: The Economics of Global Warming” (Location: N201)
  Yoram is a UW economics professor who specializes in climate change. He performs stand-up comed for charity, often with an economic theme. Who says economics is boring? (Yoram's web site)
• 11:30-12:20 – Lecture by BCC’s Kent Short, BCC Meteorology Instructor - “Why You Should Be Terrified about Global Warming (Whether you "Believe" it is Happening or Not)” (Location: N201)
  Kent, an expert on the science of climate change, will discuss the benefits of doing something about climate change, whether you believe it is a significant issue or not (in other words, what are the other benefits of making changes). See the video from Kent's lecture on You Tube - The Most Terrifying Video You'll Ever See.
• 12:30 - 1:20 – Focus Group with the ASG Legislative Committee - “Taxes, Tolls and Transportation: Current Washington State Legislation” (Location: C130)
• 1:30 – 2:20 – "Let's Talk About Climate" - Employee discussion on climate change (Location: C130)
  For BCC faculty/staff who want to talk climate. Feel free to bring lunch (and we will provide some snacks). For those interested in participating in the discussion, we encourage you to read the first half (Chapters 1-4) of “Field Notes from a Catastrophe” by Elizabeth Kolbert. This is a short, excellent book by New Yorker journalist Kolbert, that covers the climate issues in easy-to-read and scientifically accurate manner. (It is also the Freshmen Common Read book this year at UW.) We plan to have a second discussion for faculty/staff at the end of February, possible as part of Profession Development Day, to discuss the second half of the book.
• 2:30 - 4:30 – Showing of An Inconvenient Truth (Location: C130)

Online Activities

If you are interested in having your online students participate in Focus the Nation, you might consider the following online activities.

1. Focus the Nation will also be streaming a video on the night before (Jan 30th) called The 2% Solution. You can see it on their site. (Live at 5pm, archived and available anytime after)
2. UW will be streaming a live town hall discussion on climate change policy on the evening of the 31st. This discussion will include Congressman Jay Inslee, Representative Fred Jarrett, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, and King County Executive Ron Sims. See <http://depts.washington.edu/uwfocus/> for more info. (Live from 7-9 on the 31st, possibly archived afterward.)
3. Architecture2030 is streaming a new half-hour video on climate change solutions beginning 9 AM on January 30 called Face It - There is a Solution to Global Warming <http://www.architecture2030.org/faceit/index.php>. They are also launching a graphic design competition for students with $20,000 in prize money on that day.
4. Have students watch and comment on/discuss An Inconvenient Truth.

Check back for updates and please let us know if you know of any additional activities for online students.