The reason is global warming, according to Zobitz and other scientists studying the Earth’s climate. Changes in the overall temperature of the planet have affected the jet stream, thereby causing unusual weather. “Yes, the globe is warming in temperature, but that means some places are warm a lot more, and some places are sometimes colder,” Zobitz said. “We happen to be on the cold side of that right now, and no matter how you want to slice and dice it, that’s the reality.”

 about how changes in the Earth’s temperature influence weather patterns on the International Business Times website.

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For all of human history until about 200 years ago, our atmosphere contained 275 parts per million of carbon dioxide. Parts per million is simply a way of measuring the concentration of different gases, and means the ratio of the number of carbon dioxide molecules per million other molecules in the atmosphere. 275 ppm CO2 is a useful amount without some CO2 and other greenhouse gases that trap heat in our atmosphere, our planet would be too cold for humans to inhabit.

Today, according to 350.org the atmosphere contains nearly 390 ppm CO2. In order for the Earth’s people and systems to survive, we need to reduce the level to 350. That’s what this Saturday’s 350.org Day of Action is all about.

Inspired by McKibben’s convocation address in September, a group of students set out to organize Augsburg’s Day of Action to raise awareness for and promote the cause of clean energy, sustainability, and political action to affect real change.

Day student body president, Sam Smith, is part of the organizing group. He is hoping to create a sustainability fund at Augsburg that will aid the College in energy-saving projects to help further reduce CO2 emissions. “This day will be meaningful not just for Augsburg but for the entire community,” he says.

Throughout the day, student organizations will host a variety of activities to demonstrate a commitment to sustainability and support for legislation that will bring the nation’s carbon emissions to an appropriate level. The group will be joined by Minneapolis city councilman, Cam Gordon, on the bike ride to the Capitol. Gordon will also speak at the afternoon rally

9:30-10:45 Rally in Murphy Park

10:45 “The Most Important Number in the World” Bike Ride from Minneapolis to the State Capitol

Halftime of the Augsburg-Gustavus football game: 350.org picture

3:30 March to the River — gather in Murphy Park and march (or ride) to the river just below the Washington Avenue bridge

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Sometimes it is because a textbook is written by a fairly anonymous author or group of authors. Other times, the back-and-forth simply isn’t possible. After all, it isn’t like having Shakespeare visit a classroom is an option.

That is what makes Bill McKibben’s visit to Augsburg so interesting. McKibben, an environmentalist and author, will speak Monday at 7:30 p.m. in Foss Chapel for the Bernhard M. Christensen Symposium.

McKibben, who writes about global warming, alternative energy, and other environmental issues, will talk about “The Most Important Number on Earth: Climate Change and Moral Challenge.”

McKibben is also one of the people behind the website , a group with the goal of cutting carbon emissions by 80 percent by the year 2050. 350.org is also behind the upcoming International Day of Climate Change on Oct. 24.

The works of McKibben are currently being used in a number of classrooms this fall, including the Fate of the Earth Integrated Term for first-year students.

Why is McKibben important? Here are the words of some faculty members who are using or have used his books in their classes.

Nancy Fischer – Sociology

“When Lars Christiansen and I taught the study abroad course SOC295: Sustainable Cities in North America we used Bill McKibben’s Deep Economy as our text. We chose the book because McKibben makes it clear that promoting a healthy environment goes far beyond conserving green space or individual efforts to recycle or use the proper light bulbs. It’s about thinking about and acting on behalf of one’s local community—supporting the local businesses and farmers who are our neighbors. He makes a clear point in Deep Economy that Americans don’t need more consumer goods to satisfy their deepest needs—they need social ties with other people in their community. Helping the environment (through lessening one’s carbon footprint or reducing waste) is very much about helping people. That’s why I’ve chosen to use the book again for SOC111 Human Community and the Modern Metropolis. I’m hoping that along with Sustainability Awareness Month and Bill McKibben’s talk, it will be a great way to start my first-year students off thinking in terms of community.”

Michael Lansing – History

“Bill McKibben’s Deep Economy offers readers interested in the current state of economies, ecologies, and community a brilliant take on the intertwined futures of each. Timely, accessible, and accurate, the book suggests that our society’s basic assumptions about economic growth and consumption—that growth is good and more is better—ironically creates despair in otherwise abundant lives. Over consumption and the fetishization of growth also lead to environmental degradation that undermines both over the long-term. Calling for a new, more durable future for humanity rooted in local as well as global interactions, McKibben draws on existing alternatives to show how global warming, industrial food systems, and energy crises might be battled even as we reclaim everyday happiness. Deep Economy’s real strength lies in connecting these seemingly disparate subjects, showing how the future of one determines the future of them all. It is essential reading.”

John Harkness – English

“During my first year as a professor, my colleague and mentor mentioned an author that had just completed a riveting series of pieces in The New Yorker and turned them into a book called The End of Nature. Its main message—that we have so deeply affected the very climate of the planet that the meaning of ‘nature’ itself is now forever changed—struck me like a ton of coal. I have used this seminal work, one that established Bill McKibben as the author most responsible for first bringing the issue of global warming to the public’s attention, and many of his other excellent books in a range of classes. A few years later, I heard him speak and found that he was as engaging, personable, profound and insightful a speaker as he is a writer. McKibben’s recent book, Deep Economy, points out that in the face of diminishing resources and a threatened planet, our economy of high consumption is not only unsustainable, but it is also failing making to bring us joy. In other words we have everything to lose and not much to gain by continuing business as usual. To quote Wendell Berry, the author McKibben dedicates his book to: ‘We thought we were getting something for nothing, but we were getting nothing for everything.'”

Christensen Symposium Teach-in

Students behind Sustainability Awareness Month (SAM) events have organized a series of teach-in events for the College community:

11 a.m.-12 p.m. Students from the Integrated Term, “Fate of the Earth 101,” will lead discussions of chapters 4 and 5 of McKibben’s Deep Economy. Hoversten Chapel, Foss Center

1:20- 2:20 p.m. The Pedalers for Progress will make their first presentation to the College community about their bike trip from Minneapolis to Portland, Oregon and the many opportunities this trip provided for them to learn from local transportation policy-makers, advocates, and organizers. Minneapolis Room, Christensen Center

2:30- 3:30 p.m. Students who participated in the New Zealand study abroad program will share what they learned about environmental politics in New Zealand. Minneapolis Room, Christensen Center

3:30 – 4:30 p.m. SAM students will hold a Pledge and Forum in the Quad

7:30 – 9:00 p.m. Christensen Symposium Lecture by Bill McKibben. Hoversten Chapel, Foss Center

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The number of people in the world is increasing, and they will undoubtedly demand higher standards of living that likely will be fueled by cheap, available energy sources such as coal for electricity generation and petroleum for gas-consuming large automobile sources which emit large amounts of greenhouse gases.

Local, regional, and international actions to put in place both adaptation and mitigation policies are already beginning and much more could be done if there were political will to substantially reduce the magnitude of the risks. There are many actions that individuals, groups, businesses, cities, states, and countries can do to reduce global warming, while at the same time providing sustainable jobs and reduced dangers from importing oil from unreliable foreign sources. These actions help to motivate needed international cooperation.

Schneider is the Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies, professor of biological sciences, and a senior fellow in the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University. Founder and editor of Climatic Change, he has authored or co-authored more than 500 books, scientific papers, proceedings, legislative testimonies, reviews, and editorials. He is actively engaged in improving public understanding of science and the environment through extensive media communication and public outreach.

Global Warming: Is the Science Settled Enough for Politics?

Monday, April 13, 7:30 p.m.

Hoversten Chapel, Foss Center

What Can Individuals do to Deal with Global Climate Change When They Aren’t Authorized to Negotiate with the Chinese?

Tuesday, April 14, 11 a.m.

Hoversten Chapel, Foss Center

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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:

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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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