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UA students organized the local "Focus the Nation" event, which will be held Jan. 31 at institutions across the United States.

By La Monica Everett-Haynes, University Communications
January 25, 2008

Now that global climate change has proven to be a reality with disastrous consequences, many are asking what can be done.

Practical solutions and proposed policy initiatives are at the core of a Jan. 31 "teach-in" at The University of Arizona.

“Focus the Nation: Global-Warming Solutions for America” is a major, nationwide inititiative focusing on the solutions to problems affecting the globe’s changing weather patterns.

“You’ve heard enough about the problem,” said Vince Pawlowski, a part-time UA student who worked to involve the University in the initiative, which has committments from more than 1,600 schools, colleges and universities, businesses, faith-based organizations and nonprofit organizations.

“We’ve got global warming now. It’s here. It’s not just knocking on the door. It’s in the room,” Pawlowski said. “We’re not debating whether it’s a problem or not. We’re trying to move the discussion to the solution.”

Pawlowski acknowledged that not everyone believes global climate change is happening and affecting the world’s populations and natural resources.

“But it’s not the deniers who are the problem. They are few and far between and are easily outmatched by anyone who has read the literature,” he said. “It’s every one of us who knows there’s a problem and don’t do enough – that’s going to be the biggest problem.”

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., is scheduled to give a 3:30 p.m. talk about proposed solutions. The talk will be held at the Student Union Memorial Center, where the majority of events will take place. most will be held in the Ventana or Tubac rooms.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., UA faculty and professions will offer up their ideas when it comes to water and oil, what homeowners can do and what the broader social and economic issues are. At the same time, an “Outdoor Sustainability Fair” will be held on the UA Mall featuring research presentations, demonstrations and artwork.

Also, M. Scott Johnson, Defenders of Wildlife’s Arizona senior outreach representative, will give the keynote address on “The Climate Crisis: From the Inconvenience to Engagement,” also at the Union.

Associated Students of the University of Arizona, the sustainability-focused ECOalition and the Arizona Blue Chip program, a co-curricular leadership and education program, are among the student groups participating in the event.

Guy McPherson, a UA professor of natural sciences who will participate in a panel discussion, plans to talk about the amount of carbon dioxide pumping into the atmosphere.

It’s a harsh reality, he said, but “I think the only way humans will stop burning fossil fuels, which are responsible for an inordinate amount of climate change, is if we are forced – and we are about to be forced.”

Also an adjunct professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, McPherson added, "Leaders of government and corporations are making the decisions that matter. It’s time to get serious about it. People need to know what’s coming.”

One solution is to “change the structure of urban society,” said Pawlowski, who moved from his energy-guzzling Catalina Foothills home to a small residence downtown, allowing him to bicycle to work. “I’m talking about clustering more homes, cutting down on sprawl, having more transportation,” said Pawlowski, a part-time UA student who is also in Prescott College’s sustainable community development program.

“It’s an interesting time,” he said. “The green revolution is really taking off.”