Bemidji State University to participate in National Teach-In on Global Warming

BEMIDJI, Minn. — On Thursday, Feb. 5, Bemidji State University will join hundreds of college campuses, faith and civic organizations and businesses participating in the National Teach-In on Global Warming, a grassroots support effort to discuss concrete policy options to address the problem of global warming.

The National Teach-In supports an emerging, intergenerational movement of students and citizens demanding clean energy solutions to global warming. Organizers of the teach-in are planning a one-day launch to engage the nation in critical discussion during the first 100 days of President Obama’s administration, guiding students and citizens toward actions they can take to support the pursuit of a solution to global warming.

Teach-in activities at Bemidji State, all of which will be held in Hagg-Sauer 100 and are free to the public, begin at 2 p.m. with a Web cast entitled “The First 100 Days.” This half-hour Web cast will focus on four key recommendations made by the Presidential Climate Action Project, including a 40-percent carbon reduction by 2020 and a pursuit of carbon-neutral power for the country.

Following the Web cast, Richard Lehmann, mayor of Bemidji; Dr. Jon E. Quistgaard, president of Bemidji State University; Mitch Davidson, Bemidji State’s chief information officer; and Jason Edens, exective director of the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance, will speak.

At 7 p.m., the documentary “The 11th Hour” will be screened in Hagg-Sauer 100. The film, narrated  by Leonardo DiCaprio, explores the current state of our planet and the means by which we can change its course.

For more information on the teach-in, contact Erika Bailey-Johnson, Bemidji State University sustainability coordinator, at (218) 755-2560.

EDITORS NOTE
Feb. 5 speaking schedule; Hagg-Sauer 100, BSU campus

2:45 p.m. – Richard Lehmann, mayor of  Bemidji
3 p.m. – Dr. Jon E. Quistgaard, president, Bemidji State University
3:15 p.m. – Mitch Davidson, chief information officer, Bemidji State University
4 p.m. – Jason Edens, executive director, Rural Renewable Energy Alliance

About the National Teach-In on Global Warming
On Thursday, Feb. 5, at the beginning of the first 100 days of the new presidential administration, the National Teach-In on Global Warming will engage over a million Americans in solutions-driven dialogue. As educators, students and citizens, we owe our nation a focused conversation about the critical decisions that will determine if our descendants will inherit a prosperous or an impoverished planet.

For more information, please visit http://www.nationalteachin.org.