Associate professor of geography Peter Walker’s Perspectives on Nature course will host a free global warming teach-in tonight at 7 p.m. in 100 Willamette.
“The idea behind this class is, this is such an urgent issue,” Walker said. “We have an obligation as scholars and citizens to make this information public.”
Students in the class will also present community projects developed as part of the course. Student project groups developed research on the local impact of global warming, negotiated with University administrators to allow students living in residence halls to purchase windpower and built a climate change curriculum that was taught to local 5th graders.
Walker said he developed the idea of an applied teach-in to replace a final exam or paper for his students.
“They’re taking about what they’re learning in the classroom and turning it into projects,” he said. That information deserves to be shared, he added.
University professors Pat Bartlein, Greg Bothun and Mary Wood will give lectures on climate science, alternative energy and climate policy. Additionally, University President Dave Frohnmayer and Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy will both be on hand to discuss their respective initiatives to help curb global warming.