2008 Woodie Awards
Climate conference heats up global issue
Katie Flagg
Issue date: 2/10/05 Section: News
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Students, professors and leaders in the environmental movement gathered at Middlebury College at the end of January to discuss strategies for renewing public interest in the global warming crisis. With recent February temperatures hitting an unusual near-record high of 50 degrees, climate change seems an appropriate topic of conversation on campus.
But during the Jan. 25-27 conference, at least, students bundled up in heavy coats to brave sub-zero temperatures as they hurried to lectures and presentations. The conference, titled "What Works? New Strategies for a Melting Planet," strove to identify methods for renewing public concern regarding climate change. The conference, which gained national attention, was designed and organized by Jonathan Isham, assistant professor of Economics at the College, along with help from the 25 students in Isham's Winter Term "Building the Climate Movement" class.
The class and conference have been in the works for about a year, according to Isham, though the inspiration for the class came from a previous Winter Term course Isham conducted. Two years ago he worked with a group of students to look at the College campus's carbon footprint. This year, Isham decided to turn his focus away from the College community and instead work with larger social movements.
Students in Isham's seminar spent the first few weeks of January reading books and articles on climate change and social movements. Students then engaged in six service-learning projects, projects that ranged from building statewide climate campaigns and drumming up political support for federal action to critiquing climate tactics and publicizing the urgency of the climate crisis. Students were also responsible for helping with various logistics of the conference.
"I just want to emphasis that this was an incredible collective achievement," said Isham. "The students worked amazingly hard. They were up night and day - they deserve a lot of kudos."
The conference swung into gear on the evening of Jan. 25 when environmental economist Eban Goodstein of Lewis and Clark College presented a keynote speech on the disastrous effects of global warming.
But during the Jan. 25-27 conference, at least, students bundled up in heavy coats to brave sub-zero temperatures as they hurried to lectures and presentations. The conference, titled "What Works? New Strategies for a Melting Planet," strove to identify methods for renewing public concern regarding climate change. The conference, which gained national attention, was designed and organized by Jonathan Isham, assistant professor of Economics at the College, along with help from the 25 students in Isham's Winter Term "Building the Climate Movement" class.
The class and conference have been in the works for about a year, according to Isham, though the inspiration for the class came from a previous Winter Term course Isham conducted. Two years ago he worked with a group of students to look at the College campus's carbon footprint. This year, Isham decided to turn his focus away from the College community and instead work with larger social movements.
Students in Isham's seminar spent the first few weeks of January reading books and articles on climate change and social movements. Students then engaged in six service-learning projects, projects that ranged from building statewide climate campaigns and drumming up political support for federal action to critiquing climate tactics and publicizing the urgency of the climate crisis. Students were also responsible for helping with various logistics of the conference.
"I just want to emphasis that this was an incredible collective achievement," said Isham. "The students worked amazingly hard. They were up night and day - they deserve a lot of kudos."
The conference swung into gear on the evening of Jan. 25 when environmental economist Eban Goodstein of Lewis and Clark College presented a keynote speech on the disastrous effects of global warming.