INFORMAL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE
Come join us for Let’s Talk Climate, a series of informal conversations about climate change. Facilitators will start each session by sharing some ideas and information about the day’s topic to set the stage, and then engage the group in an open discussion. We’ll have some discussion questions in mind to help guide the conversations, but we’ll let the conversations go where you and other participants want to take them. This series is sponsored by the Center for Sustainability Education.
All are welcome to this free event series – students, staff, faculty, and community members. Bring friends and colleagues.
All sessions are at Dickinson College
Rooms vary by session and are noted
FEBRUARY 17, 2023 (FRIDAY), 11:30 AM - 12:20 PM
The Climate Crisis and the Concept of "One Health"
Stern Great Room
We will discuss the impacts of the accelerating climate crisis on human health and how this is intimately related to the health of organisms, ecosystems and the planet. Topics will include climate change and the emergence of new diseases, the spread of existing disease vectors, and the potential development of uninhabitable regions. Possible adaptation and mitigation approaches will also be considered.
- Facilitator: Professor John Henson
MARCH 2, 2023 (THURSDAY), 12:00 - 1:00 PM
Engaging Students in Climate Action
Althouse 08
Students are a vital force for climate action on Dickinson’s campus, in Carlisle and beyond. However, it can be difficult for students to be active, engaged and effective for a myriad of reasons. In this Let’s Talk Climate, participants will learn about past student-led climate activism groups and sustainability-related clubs/organizations on campus and the state of engagement today. We will engage in a discussion centered around the hopes, challenges and opportunities for engagement in student-led sustainability and climate activism at Dickinson.
- Facilitator: Noah Salsich '25 and Organizer: Olive Stern '25
MARCH 23, 2023 (THURSDAY), 12:00 - 1:00 PM
What Can We Learn About the Energy Transition from Germany?
Althouse 08
Germany has often been seen as a pioneer in the implementation of sustainable energy use. This so-called “Energiewende” (energy transition) has had to confront all kinds of challenges (most recently the Ukraine crisis) that caused complications and setbacks. This session will present some of the German experiences and start a discussion about lessons we can learn from them here in the US.
- Facilitators: Students from German Environments Mosaic Course & Professor Antje Pfannkuchen
APRIL 11, 2023 (TUESDAY), 6:00 - 7:30 PM
Climate Resilience Open Meeting
Social Hall West
Come join us to learn about Dickinson’s commitment to enhance resilience to climate change on campus, in Carlisle, and in nearby communities and find out how you can participate. We are launching a 3-year effort to engage students, faculty, staff, and community members from Carlisle and other communities in learning together about the climate risks that we face, how those risks are changing, the ways in which we are both vulnerable to and resilient to the risks, and strategies to adapt and build resilience. The knowledge that is gained will be applied to develop and implement a plan of action.
- Facilitators: Neil Leary, Associate Provost & Director Center for Sustainability Education and Ken Shultes, Associate Vice President for Sustainability and Facilities Planning
APRIL 14, 2023 (FRIDAY), 11:30 AM - 12:20 PM
Artistic Activism and the Climate Crisis
Althouse 08
The Caribbean is often associated with notions of “paradise” and treated as a vacation destination. The tourist industry has an outsize impact on environmental disasters, adversely affecting the day-to-day lives of local people who are frequently overlooked. Puerto Rico and its indeterminate relationship with the United States leave it particularly open to exploitation. In the face of these challenges, performance art, theater, and public art have provided creative responses. What is the role of artistic activism and the humanities in raising awareness and helping to heal communities confronting climate change crises?
- Facilitators: Professor Mariana Past and Charlotte Goodman ‘23
APRIL 28, 2023 (FRIDAY), 11:30 AM - 12:20 PM
Equity and Sustainability
Stern Great Room
Climate change might seem like a universal problem, but it is now clear that its impact is not equally distributed. Even some strategies for mitigating environmental damage have the potential to reinforce existing inequities. In this session, we’ll look at examples and ask how a framework of equity and inclusion might be important when responding to our changing climate.
- Facilitator: Katie Schweighofer, Director, Women’s and Gender Resource Center