Early planning brings Focus the Nation spotlight to The Bluff
By Ame Phitwong
The spotlight shines on UP today as visitors from across the region travel to The Bluff to participate in "Focus the Nation: Live at the Chiles Center!" Students and lawmakers will unite to discuss global warming and possible solutions at the evening event, which will culminate Focus the Nation, the largest single-day teach-in in U.S. history, with more than 1,700 institutions participating nationwide.
"It's a really interesting way to get the government's attention," senior John Hirano said. Hirano is attending the event out of curiosity and is interested to find out what solutions are being proposed for the future.
"I want to see what can be done for the long haul rather than the short-term solutions we're currently using," he said.
One year ago, following a climate change event at Lewis & Clark College, economic professor Bill Barnes and biology professor Steve Kolmes, gave UP President the Rev. William Beauchamp, C.S.C., a slideshow presentation about hosting a large regional event in the Chiles Center dedicated to environmental concerns.
They said that UP would be recognized as a leader and that Focus the Nation's principles coincided with the Catholic mission of care of creation. Beauchamp approved, and preparations began for UP to host the regional event.
Senior Lacey Riddle, who currently interns on the Focus the Nation board, said UP's central location and Portland's commitment to sustainability made the Chiles Center an attractive location for the evening event. Moreover, UP's early commitment to Focus the Nation allowed for in-depth planning.
"We planned it out well enough and far enough in advance that it just evolved into something bigger than most of us expected," Riddle said.
ASUP President David Gregg has eagerly anticipated the event since planning began.
"I think UP is perfect (for the regional event) because the movement on campus is so strong. We have a tight community that allows people and students to be aware," Gregg said. "UP is in the prime position to become a model in the nation."
According to Gregg, ASUP is the primary funder of the event on campus, contributing more than $30,000.
Gov. Ted Kulongoski, U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Oregon Rep. Jackie Dingfelder (D-Portland), and Oregon Sen. Ben Westlund (D-Tumalo) will join student representatives from nine universities and colleges on a panel to discuss global warming solutions.
Earlier in the day, Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury will speak about the impact of climate change in Oregon at 11:20 a.m. in the Buckley Center Auditorium.
Barnes said the event is so big because planning started really early.
"It's a collaborative effort, and we wanted to share the event," he said. Early on, the UP committee informed other schools in the region that the evening regional event would be hosted at the Chiles Center, prompting Focus the Nation members from Portland State University, Portland Community College, Lewis & Clark and other institutions to collaboratively plan the Chiles Center event.
Focus the Nation was originally started by Eban Goodstein, an economics professor at Lewis & Clark.
Barnes, who is on UP's Focus the Nation committee, explained that Greenhouse Network is the organization behind the project. He is on the board of this non-profit organization whose mission is to create a movement to stop global warming.
Barnes, who uses Goodstein's textbook in his Environmental Economics class, attended a regional Focus the Nation organizing event in fall 2006 with other UP faculty, staff and students. He later invited Goodstein to talk on campus last spring. The positive response and interest on campus showed him that this was an important issue to explore.
According to Barnes, the idea behind Focus the Nation is to devote an entire day of nationwide education to climate change solutions.
"We believe the scientists; it's about solutions. Focus the Nation is an optimistic and hopeful day," Barnes said.
Barnes said that scientific evidence has already proven global warming is real.
"We all need to be honest about the science," Barnes said. "It doesn't matter if you're a Republican or Democrat, you have to try and understand the true science. Once you know the true cost of inaction, you can move forward with action."
He believes it is now time to take action and work on a plan to combat against it, rather than allowing it to worsen. He explains there is more that can be done than individual acts like recycling and turning off the lights.
"It's not just riding your bike to work; it's about having legislation," Barnes said. He said this is possible with the support of elective officials.
According to Barnes, environmental awareness and concerns are not limited to certain disciplines.
"This is the big picture - to understand the risks, we need the science, but we also need the social sciences to understand how to change behavior. And then we need the engineering to create clean technology," Barnes said.
Many professors across different disciplines are participating in the event and encouraging their students to educate themselves. Karen Cameron, a nursing professor, is encouraging her students to attend Focus the Nation.
"I think human beings in general are in the process of killing themselves because they're killing the planet. That is why it's a public health issue," she said.
Cameron said Focus the Nation will bring a higher level of awareness to young people.
"Especially for community and public health nurses, we have to help (people) recognize what they are doing is damaging to the environment," she said.
Riddle became passionate about environmental issues after taking Environmental Economics with Barnes.
"Since then, I couldn't shake it," she said. "I wanted to learn more about how to be a part of it. I want to define this as our generation's issue," Riddle said.
Through her effort, Riddle hopes people can put the issue into context and have a better grasp of "how big it truly is."
