This content was published: February 11, 2008. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Teach-in proves interest isn’t cooling on global warming
Story by James Hill. Photos by James Hill and Gabriel McGovern.
Nathan Jones, former student – Maureen Driese in the PCC Smart Car
On one day, thousands of colleges and community organizations around the country joined together for a teach-in on their campuses to facilitate discussions on climate change solutions. PCC was one of them.
On Jan. 31, “Focus the Nation: Global Warming Solutions for America,” conceived by Lewis & Clark College Economic Professor Eban Goodstein, was used primarily as a teach-in where the college turned its attention to the issue for the entire day. Linda Fergusson-Kolmes, biology instructor at the Sylvania Campus and coordinator of the campus’ teach-in events, said that the day was well attended.
“There was a lot of emphasis on the positive and every talk was packed,” she said. “Students were engaged and afterward we had 30 teachers inquiring about adding information to their classes.
“In the Upper CC mall we had an area for alternative transportation where the company Eco-Motion came with their Zap truck, PCC’s parking and transportation with their people mover and Smart car, and Tri-Met had a table with information. It really had a community partnership feel. The positive thing is that people could look ahead and see that there are options and people are working on those options,” she added.
At Rock Creek and Sylvania, more than 70 faculty and students gave presentations and organized displays on climate change solutions for the week. Several speakers talked at Sylvania about green building, EPA climate policy, and more. Rock Creek featured presentations like Building Construction Technology instructor Spencer Hinkle showed his documentary on the effects of Hurricane Katrina; Eric Kirchner, Microelectronics Technology instructor, exploring “Fluorescent Bulbs and Efficiency,” in which attendees got a free compact fluorescent bulb; and “Artistic Gladiator” where teams of sculpture students created art from recyclables.
Also at the campus, students put up displays around the Building 3 mall that included information on the benefits of grain fed/no antibiotic beef, Green Cleaning Products, Mexico’s reuse of products, low sulfur diesel and the new trucking industry fuel standards.
At Sylvania, former PCC student Nathan Jones hosted “Beyond Transform Transportation: PCC & the Youth Climate Movement,” where he focused on last year’s PCC transportation success on bio-diesel for the shuttles.
Other events included displays on the future of green jobs and a talk by Jean Baumann, volunteer with Al Gore’s Climate Project, who spoke about global warming and the science behind it. At Cascade, Micah Jordan, biology instructor, explored the issue of species collapse as a predictor of global warming and Lutgarda Cowan, who asked her students to write papers on environmental issues, shared her students’ findings.
The day culminated in an evening discussion at the University of Portland’s Chiles Center. In coordination with PCC, Portland State University, Lewis & Clark College and other Oregon colleges and universities, this event featured a “Green Democracy” forum, in which students from nine universities and colleges across Oregon posed questions to four policy makers, including Gov. Ted Kulongoski and State Rep. Jackie Dingfelder, chairwoman of the Oregon House Energy and Environment Committee. The forum aired live on Oregon Public Broadcasting radio stations throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington.
“What was really wonderful is that a lot of PCC faculty attended the evening event and students were there on the panel,” Fergusson-Kolmes added. “This was one of the biggest coming together of regional schools for a common cause that has ever happened.
Related Pages:
Sustainability, News: PCC joins ‘Focus the Nation’ to target climate change