Event Descriptions
January 27 - February 01, 2008
Check
out the details of all of the UVM Focus the Nation events. You
can scroll down or jump to a category. Click on the location for
directions on campus. All events are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
PICTURES and VIDEOS of events can be found in the Media Room.
Note: Unfortunately not all events have media.
PICTURES and VIDEOS of events can be found in the Media Room.
Note: Unfortunately not all events have media.
Lectures & Discussions:
Climate Change 101: A Primer led by Ken Bagstad
Sponsored by the GUND Institute for Ecological Economics
Sponsored by the GUND Institute for Ecological Economics
| 7pm Sunday Jan 27 Location: Billings North Lounge |
| A short primer on the science of Climate Change as a kick off to our Focus the Nation events. Immediately following Climate Change 101, the film Everything's Cool will be shown. Click here to read more about the Film Festival. |
Eco-Tablings
Sponsored by the Environmental Council
| 11:30am - 1:30pm Monday Jan 28 Location: Davis Center Atrium |
| Local
organizations and companies will be sharing information about how they
contribute to reducing their carbon footprints. Organizations
include: Chittenden County Metropolitan Planning Organization [CCMPO], Local
Motion, Seventh
Generation, UVM Continuing Education, Vermont Earth Institute [VEI].
Free items will be distributed! Please contact Valerie.Esposito@uvm.edu for more information. |
Carbon Farming
Sponsored by Carbon Farmers of America
| 2 - 3pm Monday Jan 28 Location: Davis Center - Sugar Maple Ballroom |
| Abe Collins is a dairy farmer and Co-Founder of Carbon Farmers of America. Abe will present the case that the soil carbon sink can be increased through aggressive grassfarming on a scale that can restore pre-industrial atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, and how Carbon Farmers of America is working to develop farmer capacity to achieve this outcome. |
Student Round Table
Sponsored by the Environmental Council
Sponsored by the Environmental Council
| 5-6pm Monday Jan 28 Location: Billings North Lounge |
|
What are UVM students doing about climate change? Come to the Student Roundtable to find
out. During this time, you’ll hear from
a spokesperson from the various student organizations and groups on campus that
are actively working for change in the areas of energy conservation, waste
reduction, and ecological living. Join us to hear about the good work that
students are doing and to hear how to get involved. Interested in speaking at the roundtable? Click here for the invitation to students. For more information, contact Christina.Erickson@uvm.edu. |
Ask the Expert
Sponsored by the Environmental Council
Sponsored by the Environmental Council
| 6-7pm Monday Jan 28 Location: Billings North Lounge |
|
Where does UVM’s recycling really go? Where does our electricity come from? What steps has the university made toward
reducing greenhouse gasses? Ask these
and all of your burning questions to a panel of UVM personnel, including:
Sal Chiarelli, Director of Physical Plant
Katherine "Deac" Deacarreau, Director of Transportation and Parking Services Michelle Smith Mullarkey, Erica Spiegel, Solid Waste and Recycling Manager Gioia Thompson, Environmental Coordinator Richard Wolbach, Energy Manager For more information, contact Christina.Erickson@uvm.edu. |
Climate Change & Waste: What's the Connection?
Sponsored by the UVM Recycling Program
Sponsored by the UVM Recycling Program
| 12 - 1:30pm Tuesday Jan 29 Location: Billings North Lounge |
| Waste activities account for
approximately 3% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. What is the
connection between climate change and solid waste generation? Learn how
material consumption and waste management is tied to the problem of
greenhouse gas emissions. Bring your brown-bag lunch, and come and
share your tips for reducing waste both at home and in your workplace. Presenters: Erica Spiegel & Corey Berman, UVM Recycling Program; Jessica Sankey, Chittenden Solid Waste District |
Lawrence Barnes Elementary School: Kids Eco-Club Presentations
| 5pm Tuesday Jan 29 Location: Davis Center - Sugar Maple Ballroom |
| Find out what the Barnes Elementary School is doing about sustainability through presentations made by the students themselves. |
Climatological Perspectives on Global Climate Change
with Prof Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux and Prof Shelly Rayback
Sponsored by UVM Department of Geography & VT State Climate Office
with Prof Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux and Prof Shelly Rayback
Sponsored by UVM Department of Geography & VT State Climate Office
| 12:05 - 1:05pm Wednesday Jan 30 Location: Lafayette 207 |
| Global climate change will impact us as individuals, communities, and nations. These impacts will be social, economic, and cultural. Just as it is critical that we understand the potential impacts of global climate change on humans, it is also important that we gain an understanding of the science upon which these predictions are made. Join the Department of Geography for a teach-in on the Climatological Perspective on Global Climate Change. Come, learn, and ask questions of the Vermont State Climatologist, Professor Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux and climate change researcher, Professor Shelly A. Rayback, about Vermont's chaning climate, how global climate change occus and why the past matters to our understanding of climate today and in the future. |
Does Permit Trading Minimize Costs Under an Expected
Pollution Target? - with Hongli Feng from Iowa State University
Sponsored by UVM Department of Economics
Pollution Target? - with Hongli Feng from Iowa State University
Sponsored by UVM Department of Economics
| 3:30 - 5pm Thursday Jan 31 Location: 221 Old Mill |
| The Economics Department is hosting a seminar with guest Hongli Feng of Iowa State University. You can read Hongli Feng's paper by clicking on the following link: "Does Permit Trading Minimize Costs Under an Expected Pollution Target". |
2% Solution Live Interactive Webcast: with David Orr,
Stephen Schneider, and Billy Parish
Sponsored by the Center for Teaching & Learning (CTL)
Stephen Schneider, and Billy Parish
Sponsored by the Center for Teaching & Learning (CTL)
| 8pm Wednesday Jan 30 Location: Davis Center - Livak Ballroom |
| Focus the Nation will stream a free, live, interactive webcast called THE 2% SOLUTION. 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. Come to one of the screenings throughout campus or watch on your own computer— tune in and change the course of history. |
Keynote Speaker: Judy Bonds
Sponsored by the Rubenstein School of Environment
and Natural Resources (RSENR)
Sponsored by the Rubenstein School of Environment
and Natural Resources (RSENR)
| 12:30pm Thursday Jan 31 Location: Billings North Lounge |
| Julia "Judy" Bonds, from the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia, USA, is
the director of "Coal River Mountain Watch". She was awarded the Goldman
Environmental Prize in 2003, for leading the fight against the mining
practice called mountaintop removal that is steadily ravaging the
Appalachian mountain range and forcing neighboring communities, some of whom
have lived in the region for generations, to abandon their homes. To Learn More About Judy's Efforts, Please Go To Her Organization's Website:
COAL RIVER MOUNTAIN WATCH |
Rubenstein School Town Hall Meeting
Sponsored by the Rubenstein School of Environment
and Natural Resources (RSENR)
Sponsored by the Rubenstein School of Environment
and Natural Resources (RSENR)
| 5pm - 7pm Thursday Jan 31 Location: Aiken Center |
| Join us for one of New England's oldest traditions — the town hall meeting. The Rubenstein School will be holding an informal discussion about climate change, carbon credits, and much more. You'll have a chace to voice your concerns, ideas, and opinions on this global issue with fellow classmates, professors, and staff. |
Panels:
Carbon Markets Panel
Sponsored by UVM Forest Guild
Sponsored by UVM Forest Guild
| 10am - 12pm Monday Jan 28 Location: Davis Center - Silver Maple Ballroom |
| A Carbon Markets Panel hosted by Prof. Bill Keeton that discusses global social, environmental, and economic impacts of carbon offsets and businesses. Participants include Bill Keeton, Joshua Farley, Cecelia Danks, Jen Jenkins, John Shane, George Crombie, and members of the Vermont Governor's Climate Change Commission (GCCC). |
Transportation and Climate Change Panel
Sponsored by the UVM Transportation Center
Sponsored by the UVM Transportation Center
| 12 - 1 pm Monday Jan 28 Location: Davis Center - Livak Ballroom |
| Discussion of solutions to transportation impacts on climate change: issue overview of tranportation issues around Vermont; carshare, bike and pedestrian infrastructure advocacy; transportation demand management. Presenters: Elaine Wang, Annie Bourdon (Car Share), Chapin Spencer (Local Motion), Meredith Schuft (CATMA) |
Ecological Economics Symposium: Led by Jon Erickson
Sponsored by the GUND Institute for Ecological Economics
Sponsored by the GUND Institute for Ecological Economics
|
10am - 3:30pm Tuesday Jan 29 Location: Davis Center - Sugar Maple Ballroom |
| A
full day of plenaries on ecological economics - a field which examines
the relationships between human economies and natural ecosystems. Panel Topics Agenda:
10:15 am - Business and Climate Change
11:00 am - Mitigation and Adaptation in a Warming Climate 11:45 am - Local Food Systems 12:30 pm - Beyond the Natural Resources Curse in Extractive Industries 1:15 pm - Behavior Change, Sustainable Consumption, and Distribution 2:00 pm - Renewable Energy |
Biofuels in Vermont Panel
Sponsored by UVM Plant and Soil Science Department (PSS)
| 3:30 - 4:30pm Tuesday Jan 29 Location: Davis Center - Sugar Maple Ballroom |
| Discussion of the potential for biofuels in Vermont: crops, production for on-farm use, and commercial production. Presenters: Heather Darby, Sid Bosworth, Emily Stebbins. |
Green Economy Technologies Panel
Sponsored by the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies (VCET)
| 4pm - 5:30pm Wednesday Jan 30 Location: Billings North Lounge |
| Looking
for a career in the "Green Economy"? A number of Vermont-based
entrepreneurs and companies are being started and rapidly expanding in
an economic sector being described as the "green economy." The
backbone of this sector, informally defined as those businesses which
help communities reduce their impacts on the environment, are clean
technology and energy companies. The Vermont Center for Emerging
Technologies [VCET], with the help of VASE and GBIC, has assembled a
diverse cross-section of these companies to discuss opportunities and
challenges in clean energy and technology. Panelists: 1. Vermont Electric Cooperative -- Dave Hallquist, CEO
2. Kilawatt -- Paul Grover, Founder & President 3. Concepts NREC -- Daniel Hinch, Senior Vice President, Engineering and Products 4. Rising Stone, Inc. -- Jiggs Blackburn, President |
Global Challenge Panel
Sponsored by Global Challenge
| 11am-12pm Thursday Jan 31 Location: Billings North Lounge |
| In
the Global Challenge, teams of US high school students collaborate with
international counterparts from October to May to address global
climate change and compete for prizes and scholarship awards.
Established in 2005 by The Arno Group in partnership with the University of
Vermont College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, The Global
Challenge engages parents, teachers, students and the community in a high-impact
educational experience that teaches about complex systems and global
environmental challenges while enhancing K12 education and strengthening the
pipeline of students entering science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Recently awarded over $900,000. from the National Science Foundation, the program leverages
existing online resources and networks and works collaboratively with other
programs, such as UVM's Design TASC and the Engineering Summer Institute. We
hope you take some time to learn about the project and find a way to
participate, contribute, and help extend the goals of the Global Challenge. Our
primary motivation is to prepare young people for the challenges of the 21st
century by helping them build skills in disciplines necessary to succeed in a
more complex, technologically-advanced world. Craig DeLuca, Principal, Arno Group; Founder of Global Challenge Award, LCC
David Gibson, Research Assistant Professor, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Susan Grasso, Research Engineer, Global Challenge Award, LCC Domenico Grasso, Ph.D., P.E., DEE, Dean of the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences & Professor of Engineering |
Workshops:
Sustainable Burlington Design Workshop
Sponsored by CUPS & The Burlington Legacy Project
| 9am - 2pm Wednesday Jan 30 Location: Billings North Lounge |
| Sustainable Burlington Design Charrette moderated by Diane Gayer of Vermont Design Institute. This charrette will be a community lead envisioning of a new Burlington. Participants include Burlington Legacy Project, CEDO, Mayor Bob Kiss, 10% Challenge, Whole Systems Design, Burlington Electric Department, Localvore, CCMPO, VBSR, NEGEF, and more. |
Green Building Workshop
Sponsored by Reiss Building and Renovation
Sponsored by Reiss Building and Renovation
| 2:30-3:30pm Wednesday Jan 30 Location: Billings North Lounge |
| Reiss Building and Renovation is a company owned by Chuck Reiss that builds custom homes with a focus
on quality and craftsmanship. They are dedicated to educating thier customers
about "green" building or sustainable building practices. Several of the
company's employees have been actively involved in the development of the Vermont Built Green Program that is a state
wide voluntary program that certifies homes that have been built green, not
unlike the energy rated home program. They have experience in the construction of
energy efficient super insulated homes including both passive and active solar
as well as conventionally framed houses. Join us to learn more about Green Building from Chuck Reiss wednesday Jan 30, following the Sustainable Burlington Design Workshop. For more information on Chuck's company, check out his website: Reiss Building and Renovation. |
Tour of UVM Central Heating & Cooling Plant (CHCP)
Sponsored by UVM Physical Plant Department
| 3:00-3:45pm Wednesday Jan 30; 11:00-11:45am Thursday Jan 31 Location: CHCP (entrace behind Royal Tyler Theater) |
| Ever wonder how UVM heats all the buildings on campus? Join us for an inside look of the Central Heating & Cooling Plant and learn how huge boilers produce high temperature steam that is piped underground throughout campus. The facility recently added a central chilled water system to air condition several buildings. The entire plant runs 24 hours per day, 365 days per year using a state-of-the-art management system to ensure the efficient use of fuel and reduced emissions. Two tours are available, one on wednesday the other on thursday. Meet at the facility entrance on the back side of Royal Tyler Theater. |
Climate Change Advocacy Training & Outreach Workshop
Sponsored by UVM Focus the Nation
Sponsored by UVM Focus the Nation
| 1 - 2:30pm Friday Feb 01 Location: Davis Center - Silver Maple Ballroom |
|
*** CANCELLED ***
Have
you ever wanted to get involved in a cause but were never sure how?
Here is your chace to learn! Todd Bailey of the Vermont
Alliance of Conservation Voters will be giving a "Democracy Workshop"
on the final day of UVM Focus the Nation. This workshop will
teach you how to lobby, how to get in touch with your local representatives, how a Bill becomes Law, and more! |
Climate Change Policy Workshop
Sponsored by UVM Focus the Nation
Sponsored by UVM Focus the Nation
| 2:30 - 3:30pm Friday Feb 01 Location: Davis Center - Silver Maple Ballroom |
| Learn about local, state, federal, and international policy initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address climate change. Professor Curt Ventriss and State Representative Rachel Weston will discuss how governments are handling these issues. Other potential speakers include U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss. A question and answer session will follow speaker presentations. |
Focus the Nation SPEAK OUT !
Sponsored by UVM Focus the Nation
Sponsored by UVM Focus the Nation
| 3:30pm Friday Feb 01 Location: Davis Center Atrium |
| The culminating event for the UVM Focus the Nation. We will look at the new direction UVM is taking with respect to climate change; specifically addressing the President's Climate Commitment. Invitations sent to UVM President Dan Fogel, Senator Bernie Sanders, Focus the Nation national coordinator Jon Isham, UVM Student Goverment President Kesha Ram, Eco-Reps Coordinator Christina Erickson, Sustainability Coordinator Gioa Thompson, Gregor Barnum from Seventh Generation, Bill McKibben, and more. |
Entertainment:
Climate Change Film Festival
Sponsored by the ALANA Student Center
Sponsored by the ALANA Student Center
|
8pm Sunday - Tues Jan 27-29 Location: Billings Lecture Hall (formerly CC Theater) |
| A series of films
on both diversity and environmental issues. Discussions to follow
films. To learn more about each of these films, click on the description
title to visit their official websites. Sunday 8pm -- Everything's Cool
(Immediately following Climate Change 101) Monday 8pm -- The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil Tuesday 8pm -- Black Diamonds: Mountantop Removal and the Fight for Coalfield Justice Everything's Cool (2007) "For the past two decades
researchers, activitsts, scientists, and progressive politicians have
struggled to rouse the public and the federal government to take action
on global warming. Concurrently, nay-sayers, industry funded
think-tanks and lobbyists have worked tirelessly to challenge,
convolute, and dismiss the issue as hysterical. Everything's Cool
tells the harrowing story of what it takes to talk about global warming
-- the art of duking it out with collective denial, the struggle to
communicate the urgency of the crisis to an indifferent public, and a
laggard United States government."
(Summary from Internet Movie Database)
The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil (2006) This documentary examines how
Cuba underwent their own peak oil crisis with the loss of over half of
its oil imports and survived, after the fall of the Soviet Union in
1990. the island and its people transitioned from large farms and
reliance on fossil-fuel-based pesticides and fertilizers, to small
organic farms and urban gardens. Cuba has become a living example
of how a country can successfully shift from a highly industrial
society to a sustainable one.
(Summary from Internet Movie Database)
Black Diamonds: Mountaintop Removal and the Fight for Coalfield Justice (2006) "Black Diamonds
charts the escalating drama in Appalachia over the alarming
increase in large mountaintop coal mines. These mammoth
operations have covered 1200 miles of headwater streams with mining
waste; demolished thousands of acres of hardwood forest; and flattened
hundreds of Appalachian mountain peaks. Citizen testimony and
visual documentation interwoven with the perspectives of government
officials, activists, and scientists create a riveting portrait of an
American region fighting for its life -- caught between the grinding
wheels of the national appetite for cheap energy and an enduring sense
of Appalachian culture, pride, and natural beauty."
The film includes testimony from Judy Bonds, a West Virginia citizen turned activist, who when from working in a convenience store to winning the largest individual environmental activist award in North America, the Goldman Prize. We are pleased to say that Bonds will be the keynote speaker of our UVM Focus the Nation events! You can hear her lecture Thursday Jan 31 at 12:30pm in Billings North Lounge. (Summary from Black Diamonds Official Website)
|
Junk Music with the Junkman - Performance followed by "Junk Jam"
Sponsored by Student Life
Sponsored by Student Life
|
6pm Tuesday Jan 29 Location: Davis Center - Sugar Maple Ballroom |
| Come see conservatory-trained percussionist and
composer Donald Knaack jam out on his "instrument": junk and recycled
materials! Knaack has been featured on Late Night with Conan
O'Brien and CBS Sunday Morning for his talent and dedication to
ecofriendly music, and has played in numerous Jazz and film festivals
across the country. He has collaborated with the likes of Ice T,
Eminem, Blink 182, and others, as well as being nominated for a Grammy
in 1999 for his CD Junk Music. His performance will be followed by a "junk jam" in which the audience is invited to bring their own "junk" and jam along! |
"The Boycott" - Performance by Kathryn Blume
Sponsored by Student Life
Sponsored by Student Life
| 8pm Thursday Jan 31 Location: Ira Allen Chapel |
|
"The Boycott "
Written and Performed by Kathryn Blume Directed by Jason Jacobs Packed to the rafters with moxie and magic,"The Boycott" tells the story of the First Lady of the United States launching a nationwide sex strike to fight global warming and save the world. Come for a raucous tour of Oval Office affairs, psychadelic absinthe trips, enchanted frogs, movie star cameos - and land in a heap of unabashed hope. "It's hard to find humour in global warming but Kathryn Blume manages to do it in "The Boycott." She engages, in an entertaining way, that tough question of "how can what I do make a difference to a global problem?" And critically, she makes us come out of our denial and confront this planet's climate crisis with a snese of optimism and hope." - Peter Lehner, Executive Director, NRDC
THIS EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! * Check out THE BOYCOTT official website * REDUCED CARBON ARRIVALS In an effort to cut down on our carbon footprint, we are encouraging all attendees of "The Boycott" to arrive by means of alternative transportation -- such as walking, riding a bike, or taking the bus. |
Recycled Prom
Sponsored by the Black Student Union (BSU)
Sponsored by the Black Student Union (BSU)
| 9pm Fri Feb 01 Location: Davis Center - Livak Ballroom |
| Dancing plus activity tables with creative and educational info regarding climate change and recycling. |
Image Events:
Messages
to Earth community art installation and slide show from ENSV
Environmental Art Class spring 2007 action for Step it Up.org
| Sat Jan 26 - Fri Feb 1 Location: Davis Center Atrium |
| UVM's Environmental Program Cami Davis' Environmental Art class created the art installation "Messages to Earth" as part of the StepItUp.org global climate action initiated by Bill McKibben during Earth Week 2007. The installation was made up of thousands of fabric streamers tied to trees throughout the UVM green filled with handwritten messages in response to global climate change. The installation has continued, reconfigured, to a NH climate action, an exhibit in Stowe, VT, the Governor's Institute at Goddard and will now be on display at the Davis Center where viewers are invited to write their own "Message to Earth," giving us a visual reminder of our solidarity to action on behalf of stemming climate change. |
Green Materials at the UVM Bookstore
| Fri Jan 25 - Fri Feb 1 Location: Henderson's Cafe entrance at the Bookstore |
| Check out the green materials of the UVM Bookstore on display at the Henderson's Cafe entrance on the third floor. Books on ecology and climate change; suppies such as recycled paper, sketchbooks, and energy saving compact fluorescent light bulbs; mugs made of recycled materials; and a new UVM t-shirt made of 100% organic cotton. Henderson's Cafe is also featuring it's green ecotainers cups, both hot and cold, made of compostable corn. The Cafe composts these materials as well as all coffee grounds, containing everything in a compostable bag also made from corn. |
FOCUS THE NATION SILK SCREENING
Sponsored by UVM Focus the Nation
Sponsored by UVM Focus the Nation
| 11:30am-1:30pm Mon Jan 28 - Thurs Jan 31 Davis Center Atrium | |
|
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