ARIZONA SCHOOLS PARTICIPATE IN NATIONWIDE CLIMATE CHANGE TEACH-IN
With BC-CNS-Climate-Colleges-Box
Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 (thumbnails, captions below)
By NORA AVERY-PAGE
Cronkite News Service
There’s some complex chemistry at work, but the lesson from the
Students here and around
As they looked at a hydrogen-powered car and displays about endangered wildlife, public transportation and other topics Wednesday, students and administrators at
“We can make changes to help us have a better future,” said Alexa Yantas, a member of Phi Theta Kappa, an honor society that is working on green projects around the state.
“We are all part of this world, all of us together,” Yantas said. “It’s not just students, not just manufacturers. If we all come together, this could get better.”
The GCC chapter of Phi Theta Kappa is planning to plant trees and other vegetation around campus as well as raise $14,000 with other chapters around
GCC’s Green Efforts committee put on the school’s Focus the Nation event, which started on Jan. 22 and will continue until Feb. 1.
“Part of our awareness with this group is realizing that there is a lot more we can do,” said Robert Reavis, a biology teacher and unofficial chair of the committee.
The school has been sending daily “green tips” on subjects including recycling, energy conservation and reducing automobile use.
The University of Arizona, Arizona State University, five other community colleges and a high school also were participating in Focus the Nation.
Vincent Pawlowski, a student leading events at the
“No matter how much effort an individual makes, if we don’t come together as a nation, we just won’t make it,” Pawlowski said. “But I’m really optimistic that if we all pitch in we can make a difference.”
UA’s events included a teach-in on Thursday, tables on the campus mall and a Green Democracy forum including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz.
Events nationwide featured a Wednesday night webcast called “The 2% Solution,” featuring a celebrities and discussing ways people can live in a more sustainable way.
“I personally believe that it starts with one,” Ganem said. “The more understanding you can attain, the more we will be able to make smart and innovative choices about the environment.”
Joe Costion, an alternative energy and sustainability teacher at Coconino Community College in Flagstaff, said just a few small changes in one’s daily routine can make a difference.
“My goal for this is to have people be able to start asking the right questions,” Costion said. “It starts with, ‘What are we doing?’ and, ‘What can I do?’”
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Web Link:
_ Focus the Nation: www.focusthenation.org
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PHOTOS: Click thumbnails to see full-resolution images and download
CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-CLIMATE-COLLEGES: Amanda Clement, a student at Glendale Community College, takes part in an experiment Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2008, as part of “Focus the Nation,” a nationwide teach-in on climate change. The experiment demonstrates how carbon dioxide in the breath turns water containing lime into carbonic acid. It simulates how excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere alters sea water, harming coral reefs and other marine life. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Nora Avery-Page)
CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-CLIMATE-COLLEGES: Michelle Myers, education director for Southwest Wildlife, a rehabilitation and educational foundation helping endangered and injured animals, mans a booth Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2008, at Glendale Community College as part of “Focus the Nation,” a nationwide teach-in on climate change. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Nora Avery-Page)
CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-CLIMATE-COLLEGES: Students look at a Ford Escape hybrid displayed Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2008, at Glendale Community College as part of “Focus the Nation,” a nationwide teach-in on climate change. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Nora Avery-Page)