Workshop I, 12:30-1:30

POWER CYCLING: Building a Bike-Powered Generator, Student Lounge; Led by David Murr, Physics

MAKING FOOD MEANINGFUL: Local Food and Farmers’ Markets, Marshall Room; Led by Brian Noy, Campus Kitchens

Workshop II, 1:45-2:45

TURNING WASTE INTO FUEL: The ACTC Biodiesel Initiative, Century Room; Led by Joe Underhill, Political Science and Environmental Studies, with Clayton McNeff ’90 of Ever Cat Fuels

NATURE AND JUSTICE: Increasing Diversity in the Environmental Movement, Marshall Room; Led by Lars Christiansen and Nancy Fischer, Sociology

Panel Discussion, Hoversten Chapel, 3-4:30

Opening by Chris Szaj, Vice President of Augsburg College

Yvonne Prettner Solon, Minnesota Lieutenant Governor

Steve Mudd, manager of Xcel’s Windsource program

Greg Palmer, Energy Innovation Corridor

Clayton McNeff, Ever Cat Fuels

Michael Lansing, Augsburg history professor and member of Augsburg’s” Green by 2019″ task force

Dennis Stuckey, Augsburg College maintenance manager

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The teach-in schedule lines up with the daily class schedule, so that professors can take their classes to the presentations. Faculty, staff, and students from more than 20 departments will engage their audiences in a myriad of issues and perspectives. A panel of alumni, “Auggie alums and the Environment,” will also network with the campus community during lunch. All sessions are open to the public.

At 11:20 a.m. in Hoversten Chapel, Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, Professor of Peace Studies at St. Thomas University, will speak in the chapel service. From 5-6 p.m. in Hoversten Chapel, an Action Forum will feature local elected officials and environmental advocates.

For information on the Focus the Nation national program, go to www.focusthenation.org.

To kick off the next day’s many events, there will be a Focus the Nation webcast at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 30, in the Minneapolis Room of the Christensen Center. It’s entitled, “The 2% Solution,” and it will be moderated by Professor Michael Lansing (History).

The Focus the Nation schedule at Augsburg on Thursday, Jan. 31 is:

The post Focus the Nation on Jan. 31 appeared first on News and Media.

Focus the Nation is a national organization that is pushing for global warming solutions in the United States. As their web site says, “In the next few years, we as a nation will make, or fail to make, critical decisions regarding global warming pollution and clean technology investments. These decisions will have far-reaching and irreversible impacts on the lives of today’s students and the lives of their children. At this moment in time, we owe our young people at least a day of focused discussion about global warming solutions for America.

All presentations at the Focus the Nation Teach-In will be open to the public, though members of the Augsburg community are the target audience. Alex Hoselton, vice president of Augsburg’s student government, thinks that Focus the Nation’s message will be well received on campus. He points toward an ancient Native American proverb: “Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents; it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children. We are more than the sum of our knowledge, we are the products of our imagination.”

Hoselton says, “What Focus the Nation is doing is realizing that. We have had tremendous support from faculty, staff, and President Pribbenow. We want this to be a success and are making it a success by contributing. That’s what everyone needs to do to prevent global climate change. Ultimately, what we would like to see happen is to build momentum for action that permanently contributes to an ecologically conscious future.

All members of the Augsburg community, including alumni, students, faculty, and staff are able to give presentations at the Jan. 31 event. If you are interested in being a presenter, e-mail Hailen Bower with your name, and identify yourself as a professor, staff, alum, or student. Also, indicate what time you would like to present and your presentation’s subject title.

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