TUESDAY, APRIL 7.  From 5-7 PM LOCAL Time on that date, The Center for Environmental Policy at Bard College is organizing a national event, Solve Climate By 2030, that seeks to engage more than 100,000 students across the country in dialog about state and local climate solutions. It will feature an hour-long webinar hosted by a university in each state with climate experts talking about three ambitious but feasible things that need to happen in your state soon if we are to get on track to solve climate by 2030. (See the list of university partners below)  Recommendations will vary from state to state.

This is not just an opportunity for environmental studies professors. Across the curriculum, faculty at colleges, universities and high schools should assign viewing of the webinars live or recorded as homework, and then spend the next class discussing climate solutions.  The challenges posed by solving climate change necessarily range across history, science, business, culture, economics, psychology, religion, government, media, journalism and the arts. The Solve Climate By 2030 website will offer disciplinary entry points for follow-up discussion to the state-level, solutions-focused webinars.

There are many disciplinary entry points across the curriculum:

• Philosophers and Religion Professors:  are we called to civic action in life, and around climate action at this moment?
• Economists:  how would you think about the proposals from a benefit-cost perspective?
• Political Scientists and Sociologists: what are the opportunities and challenges facing political change driven by citizen action?
• Business Professors:  is there a case for private sector leadership in the proposals?
• Art Professors: can art inspire activism around these proposals?
• Scientists:  dig into the chemistry, physics, biology or engineering of the proposals.
• Psychologists:  fear of climate change, denial and its relation to activism.
• Mathematicians:  innovation and technology diffusion curves.
• Literature and Communication Professors:  how do we think about the prevalence of apocalyptic vision in film and literature?
• Language Professors: what is happening internationally on climate solutions?
• Music Professors: why is there no good climate change song?

We will also provide professors with a template for an hour-long, interactive discussion for students as citizens about the three state-specific proposals to take place that evening or the next day or two in class.  Having heard these recommendations, do the students feel responsible to take action? If not, why not? If so, why, and what sort of action?  Engaging this discussion does not require any expertise on the part of professors regarding climate policy, science or solutions: rather, it can be a discussion focused on the nature of civic responsibility.

Time is short. The world’s top climate scientists told us a year ago that we have ten years—until 2020—to hold global warming to the low end. As educators, regardless of our field, we have an obligation now to have this conversation with our students.

The April 7th event, Solve Climate By 2030, will unfold as follows (Local Time)

5:00-6:00--  State-level webinars including three ambitious climate solutions for your cities, electric utilities or state
6:00-7:00--  Structured conversation: should students be involved in the solutions? If so, how?

Urls for the nationwide introduction and for the webinars in each state will be provided.

For now, please place the time and date as a homework assignment on your spring syllabus!

To learn more about the project, please visit Solve Climate By 2030.  You can sign up here to stay informed about the opportunity.