Climate Change Literacy Seminar for Tufts Faculty by Tufts Faculty

Despite the snow, many faculty were able to make it to the Climate Change Literacy Seminar - for a recap, follow this link.

Tuesday, January 15th, 2007 – Tufts Institute for the Environment

Climate change seems to be in the news every day nowadays; whether it is IPCC reports, flooding, wildfires, the Bali Summit, ‘green jobs’ or windmills, there is a constant barrage of information about our changing climate. The challenges that face a warming planet are real and in need of urgent action. Right now, the opportunity to limit the global average temperature to 1 degree Celsius still exists, however, in less than 10 years, we will have lost our window of opportunity to follow this path. This seminar is designed to help you sort out the latest information about climate change and think about how to incorporate climate change into your subject area. Faculty who are not sure how climate change is relevant to their subject area are especially encouraged to sign up.

Schedule:

The facility is available until 2 PM for those who would like to stay and continue talking

Session Descriptions:

Session 1: Climate change: what’s new, what’s current and what’s out in climate change research?
Professor William Moomaw (Fletcher School) and Sivan Kartha (Stockholm Environment Institute)
A review of current thinking about climate change including the causes, effects, mitigation options, social justice issues and the timeframes needed for prevention of severe climate effects.

Session 2: Climate change in the classroom
Professors Jonathan Kenny (moderator), Kent Portney, Jonathan Harris, John Durant
Examine methods of incorporating climate change into any type of coursework, from mathematics to economics.

Breakout sessions: moderated by the faculty presenters
Divide into small, moderated groups to brainstorm methods of incorporating climate change information into your classes. This is a fantastic opportunity to get feedback from other faculty and develop collaborations.

Overview of Sustainability at Tufts
Sarah Creighton
Short description of the various sustainability initiatives that are going on at Tufts University.

Focus The Nation
Tina Woolston, Adam Frank
Focus The Nation is an unprecedented educational initiative on global warming solutions for America occurring at more than 1,000 universities and colleges and in all 50 states on Jan. 31, 2008. As the largest teach-in in U.S. history, Focus The Nation is preparing one million students to become leaders in the largest challenge to global civilization any generation has faced. For more information about what is going on at Tufts, please visit the Office of Sustainability's Focus the Nation website.

Sponsored by: Tufts Office of Sustainability, Tufts Climate Initiative, Tufts Institute for the Environment, Dept of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, and the Fletcher School.

Directions to the Tufts University Boathouse

By public transportation:
• The closest T stop is Wellington Station on the Orange Line (Forest Hills). From Wellington Station, walk 0.6 miles North on Corporation Way. The boathouse will be on your right.
• The 100 and 134 buses run along Corporation Way if you do not wish to walk.

To arrange a carpool to the boathouse please try: www.goloco.org

Driving directions from Tufts University (Medford Parking Garage). UPDATED 1/9/08