|  Focus
the Nation at Tulane was a campus-wide, interdisciplinary
discussion of global warming & global warming solutions
held January 30-31, 2008. Programs & panels featuring
Tulane faculty and students ran during class periods throughout
the day. Tulane's event was part of a national day seeking
to "Focus the Nation" on climate change; over
one thousand schools and universities across the country
held similar events. Focus the Nation at Tulane was the
culminating event of the Tulane
University 2007 Reading Project. Over 20 faculty from 15 different departments spoke; the
event's audience of over 550 people included students from
30 different courses. With this broad participation by faculty
and students, the day's presentations and discussions included
new findings, previously unconsidered perspectives, and
insights into emerging trends. This website attempts to
archive the day's wide-ranging discussions, largely through
session reports written by Tulane students.
These session summaries were reported by students
of Rick Duque, Department of Sociology. They are freshmen,
sophomores, juniors and seniors from Prof. Duque’s
Environmental Sociology, Global Social Change and Sociology
of Science classes.
1. Chris
Mooney, “Science at High Speeds: Hurricanes, Politics
and the Battle Over Global Warming”
2. “The
2% Solution.” The national Focus the Nation webcast
View the webcast: "The
2% Solution"
3. Opening
Plenary: Global Warming – The Physical, Biological
and Human Dimensions
View the presentation slides:
Torbjörn Törnqvist, Global
Warming -- The Physical Dimension
Tom Sherry, Global
Warming -- The Biological Dimension
William Balée, Global
Warming -- The Human Dimension
4. Biodiversity
and Climate Change
View the presentation slides:
Lee Dyer, Biodiversity
and Climate Change
5. Global
Warming Politics & Policy (and speakers from Student
Advocacy and Youth Leadership)
6. Ancient
and Modern Indigenous Responses to Climate Change and Weather
Events
View the presentation slides:
Grant McCall, Pleistocene
Climate Change and Modern Human Origins
Kit Nelson, The
Big Squeeze: Human adaptation to the desertification of
Egypt
William Balée, Modern
Indigenous Responses to Extreme Weather Events
7. Alternative
and Renewable Energy
8. Public
Service and Career Opportunities in Climate Change
9. Global
Warming & Health
View the presentation slides:
Kevin Caillouet, Global
Warming and Health
10.
Rebuilding in the Face of Global Warming
View the video
on YouTube
11. Religious
& Ethical Perspectives
NorthSouthEastWest:
A 360º View of Climate Change
This outdoor exhibit of photographs depicting the effects
of climate change on ordinary people around the world was
displayed at Tulane throughout the week. Commissioned by
the British Council and photographed by members of the international
cooperative Magnum Photos, the images show the particular
ways climate change is experienced and addressed in places
around the world.
Tulane Law School's
Environmental Conference on Law, Science & the Public
Interest
"Climate Change: In the Community and the Courtroom"
April 4-5, 2008
A great follow-up for Focus the Nation participants, this
conference will feature panel discussions of climate change
policy by attorneys, professors, scientists, activists,
and industry & agency representatives. Topics include
water impacts of climate change, coal in the post-Mass v.
EPA world, a biofuels debate, impacts of climate change
on forests, sustainable civil planning, sea level rise &
coastal risk, the Morganza Project, recent climate change
litigation, impacts on various endangered species, Kyoto
implementation, ocean acidification impacts of CO2 emissions,
and impacts of climate change on indigenous communities.
Jerome Ringo, Chair of the National Wildlife Federation
and President of the Apollo Alliance, will be one of the
keynote speakers. Registration is free for Tulane students
and faculty. To go straight to the event's remarkable program, click
here.
Environmental
Career Fair
Throughout the day, HireTulaneGrads.com hosted an environmental
career fair outside the event's main hall. Employers include
Global Green, PACE, and MWH Consulting. HireTulaneGrads.com
features jobs that students can search for that are green
friendly, including positions with the World Wildlife Foundation.
Tulane
School of Architecture's Green Building Exhibit
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the streets of New Orleans
have become lined with rich stores of cast-off architectural
fixtures, but the bulk of this waste is sent to the landfill.
A team of architecture students built a beautiful piece
of furniture from the materials they found in one single
trash heap. It was on display in the LBC throughout Focus
the Nation.
For more information on Tulane's Focus the Nation event,
contact Liz Davey at ldavey@tulane.edu or 504/865-5145.
For more information on the national teach-in, visit
the Focus the Nation
website.
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