Goshen College to participate in national teach-in focusing on solutions for global warming

GOSHEN, Ind. – Goshen College will join more than 1,000 other colleges and universities in all 50 states for “Focus the Nation: Global Warming Solutions for America,” an unprecedented teach-in on global warming solutions on Jan. 30-31.

From participating in a Web cast at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 30 to showing movies at 10 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 31, Goshen College students and the community will have many opportunities to engage in learning and conversation around this important issue. All of the events will take place in the college’s Newcomer Center, on the south end of campus.

Schedule of events:

Wednesday, Jan. 30

• 10 a.m. – FACE IT/ Reverberate Web cast with Architecture Class 2030 in Newcomer Center Room 19
• 3 p.m. – Guest speaker Jeff Riegel will present on “Earth’s New Reality” and will be showing Al Gore’s slide show in Newcomer Center Room 17

• 8 p.m. – FOCUS THE NATION 2% Web cast in Newcomer Center Room 17. Join Stanford University climate scientist, Stephen Schneider, sustainability expert Hunter Lovins and green jobs pioneer Van Jones and youth climate leaders, for a discussion of global warming solutions. Audiences can weigh in with cell phone voting.

Thursday, Jan. 31

• 
4 p.m. – Student proposals for “A Greener Goshen College.” Event will include discussion and carbon friendly refreshments from Maple City Market in Newcomer Center Room 19

• 10 p.m. – Movies: “Everything’s Cool” and “Transforming Energy” in Newcomer Center Room 19

 

For more information about these events, contact event organizer Paul Steury by calling (260) 799-5869 or e-mailing paulds@goshen.edu. More information about the national events can be found at the Focus the Nation Web site: www.focusthenation.org.

One example of what Goshen College students are doing to address the global warming problem is a biodiesel project. After making a proposal to the college’s Ecological Stewardship Committee, the four students refined it using economic modeling to improve their business plan. They are now building a small biodiesel manufacturing facility in the college’s heating plant, which will convert waste cooking oil from the college’s food service provider, Sodexho, into fuel that can be used in one of the college’s Physical Plant buses. Students involved in the project are senior Mitch Yoder (Oskaloosa, Iowa), senior Nate Herr (Lowville, N.Y.), junior Sae Chan Lee (Elkhart, Ind.) and senior Neil Detweiler (Goshen). Associate Professor of Economics Jerrell Richer, Associate Professor of Chemistry Doug Schirch and Utilities Manager Glenn Gilbert have worked with the students and the project grew out of an organic chemistry class lab experiment.

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.