Focus the Nation

On Janurary 31st, roughly 10,000 volunteers in 1300 high schools, middle schools, colleges, universities, and other institutions across the nation will host a series of environmental teach-ins and presentations entitled Focus the Nation. Focus the Nation is a national education initiative that aims to " move America beyond fatalism to a determination to face up to this civilizational challenge, the challenge of our generation." That challenge is, namely, mitigating or preventing the effects of global warming and instilling environmentalism into the American psyche.

Since St. Olaf isn't in session on the 31st, the college is hosting their Focus the Nation event 2 weeks early. Beginning at 7:30 p.m. this evening, the college will be hosting a series of local and national environmental speakers. David Orr, a Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics and Chair of the Environmental Studies Program at Oberlin College in Ohio, will be delivering the keynote address tonight in the St. Olaf Science Center, and tomorrow the college will be hosting a series of "Teach-In sessions" in Viking Theater and the Black Ballroom.

The teach-in sessions are essentially a series of short presentations given by St. Olaf faculty and other noted environmental speakers covering various environmental topics. Arctic explorer and environmentalist Will Steger and St. Olaf President David Anderson will be among the speakers. For a full schedule, check out the listing on St. Olaf's website.

If you want to read up on the Focus the Nation initiative, you should visit their site, but suffice it to say that this is a really cool opportunity to learn about the various aspects of environmentalism, and what it might take for all of us, as individuals and a community, to correct global warming. There is no cost of admission, and since the teach-ins will be running throughout the day tomorrow, you can pick and choose which speeches to attend.

I will be doing my part to attend and report on as many of the teach-in sessions as humanly possible, and if you aren't able to attend any of the programs, you should check back here, because I will be posting audio and (hopefully) video clips from some of the presentations.