CU Boulder will host the regional version of a national effort to 鈥渕ake climate a class.鈥澨�
Associate Professors Max Boykoff (Environmental Studies) and Phaedra Pezzullo (Communication) along with undergraduate student Andrew Benham (Engineering) are hosting the webinar ""鈥攎ainly targeted to college and high school educators鈥攐n Tuesday, April 7. The aim is to听foster discussions focused on decarbonization, energy and climate change in Colorado over the next decade.听
The event in Boulder is taking place simultaneously with similar online events in every U.S. state and also in Puerto Rico, as well as in Washington, D.C.听
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis will first offer his comments on these issues in a prerecorded message specific for the event. Then,听Boykoff will moderate a听panel called 鈥淎 Just Transition in Colorado and Beyond.鈥澨�
Panelists include: former Gov. Bill Ritter, founder of the Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State University and author of听Powering Forward鈥�What Everyone Should Know About America鈥檚 Energy Revolution;听Phaedra Pezzullo, founding co-director of the Just Transition Collaborative and co-director of Inside the Greenhouse; and Jorge Figueroa, a Water Education Colorado board member who runs El Laboratorio to promote agricultural and food security in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.听
Teachers of all disciplines are encouraged to use this webinar to "make climate a class,鈥� and help refocus the nation and the world on the challenge that still lies beyond COVID-19: climate change. The recorded webinar, plus听听will be available through May.听
鈥淭he success of these efforts in Colorado over the coming decade will depend on each of us recognizing that our individual perspectives and expertise have great value when confronting a set of collective-action challenges like energy, decarbonization and climate change,鈥� said Boykoff.
This Colorado discussion is part of a national effort of听55 university-hosted webinars,听led by Eban Goodstein from Bard College in New York, with support from David Blockstein from the Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences. For more information, visit听.听
鈥淲e are living through a unique moment in the history of this country where the role of states in safeguarding the wellbeing of its peoples is highlighted like never before,鈥� Boykoff said. 鈥淲e are seeing in real time the criticality of cooperation, civic-mindedness and trust across our communities and institutions. Going forward, we must continue to invest in these values for the benefit of Colorado.鈥�
This event is co-sponsored by the Colorado Energy Office, the Conference on World Affairs, the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research, the Boulder Faculty Climate Science & Education Committee, the Media and Climate Change Observatory,听and Inside the Greenhouse at CU Boulder.
.听Those who RSVP will be emailed the log-on information just before the event to participate.听
