April 2, 2020
University of Oklahoma to Host Climate Education Virtual Teach-In
NORMAN, OKLA. – The University of Oklahoma is participating in a nationwide virtual teach-in focused on significant actions that can be taken in Oklahoma to help solve climate change. The event on April 7 is open to members of the public and includes lesson plan guides for teachers.
Solve Climate By 2030 features simultaneous, university-led webinars in almost all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and 10 other countries. The OU-hosted webinar will bring together experts charged with identifying three ambitious-but-feasible ideas to locally address climate change.
Speakers for the Oklahoma webinar are Mike Stice, dean of the Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy; Berrien Moore III, dean of the OU College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences; James C. Collard, director of planning and economic development for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation; and Kylah McNabb, principal at Vesta Strategic Solutions, LLC.
“We hope that people will derive hope for ambitious-but-feasible solutions to address the climate crisis that will work for Oklahoma,” said organizer Lynn Soreghan, director of the OU School of Geosciences.
The Solve Climate project has produced guides to help middle school and high school teachers from all disciplines lead one-hour classes.
“Because of school closures due to COVID-19, we believe this is especially timely for communities throughout the state,” said Soreghan. “This will provide ready-made lessons for teachers and will be applicable to a wide range of subjects like environmental studies, history, science, psychology, journalism and the arts.”
It is the hope that teachers can assign the webinar either on April 7 or at a later date and utilize provided follow-up questions.
The project is being organized by the Center for Environmental Policy at Bard College in New York. According to the Center Director Eban Goodstein, solving the energy half of climate change by 2030 is looking more, not less likely, then it was four years ago.
To learn more and register for the Oklahoma climate solutions webinar, please visit bit.ly/OUClimate or www.solveclimateby2030.org.
