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Elected leaders to discuss green solutions

'Focus the Nation' teach-in coming to Dole

Community, state and academic leaders will gather Jan. 30 and 31 on KU's Lawrence campus to discuss solutions to and engage youth in combatting the global warming crisis.

The signature event will be a roundtable discussion at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 31, at the Dole Institute of Politics featuring Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson; Sen. Marci Francisco, D-Lawrence; Rep. Barbara Ballard, D-Lawrence; Rep. Paul Davis, D-Lawrence; Rep. Tom Holland, D-Baldwin City; Lawrence Mayor Sue Hack; Lawrence City Commissioner Boog Highberger; and Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Richard Lariviere. The panelists will discuss what can be done at the local and state levels to combat global warming. The event is free and open to the public.

"Today's college students are truly the greatest generation," said Eban Goodstein, professor of economics at Lewis and Clark College, author and project director for Focus the Nation. "No other generation has ever had to face this kind of challenge. And we as educators would be failing if we did not prepare them with the tools to meet this challenge."

The roundtable discussion is part of Focus the Nation, a teach-in on global warming solutions. A collaboration among thousands of college campuses across the world, Focus the Nation has created a teach-in model centered on three pillars for today's youth to embrace regarding climate change: education, civic engagement and leadership. The Center for Sustainability and Hillel are sponsors for events at KU.

"KU Hillel got involved with Focus the Nation as one component of Hillel International's broader sustainability campaign, in which campuses are encouraged to promote environmental sustainability within Hillel as well as across campus," said Matt Lehrman, program director at KU Hillel. Known on campus for its green efforts, Hillel recently received a sustainability award from the university.

Hillel and the Center for Sustainability are encouraging faculty to spend a few minutes addressing global climate change in the classroom on Jan. 30 and 31. Classes in a wide array of disciplines will participate in activities such as discussing climate change as it relates to the course material or taking part in more general exercises.

Jeff Severin, director of the Center for Sustainability, said he is impressed with the diversity of courses that are already available for the teach-in.

"It truly demonstrates that global climate change is an issue that affects us all," Severin said. "No matter what discipline we come from, we all have a role to play in addressing environmental challenges, so it is important to involve as many people as possible in this discussion." For more information about Focus the Nation activities at KU, visit Focus the Nation at KU, or call 864-5804.

RESEARCH MATTERS

Cynthia Teel, associate professor at the KU School of Nursing, is conducting a survey to find the best ways for caregivers of stroke sufferers to take care of their own health. She is evaluating a program called "Self-Care Talk" - where family caregivers spend 30 minutes per week discussing issues such as diet and exercise with a nurse. Teel says participants in the program have had positive results, many realizing that taking care of themselves is vital to being able to provide good care. For more, or to listen to the original broadcast, visit www.researchmatters.ku.edu.