CLIMATE CHANGE IS EVERYBODY'S BUSINESS: A MULTIDISCIPLINARY EDUCATION AND OUTREACH INITIATIVE FROM COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY

I’d like to talk about my work with Changing Climates @ Colorado State University, a multidisciplinary climate change education and outreach initiative I founded and direct with John Calderazzo.

Since 2007, with the conviction and motto that “climate change is everybody’s business,” we have run some 120 talks for the campus and the community (to around 5500 listeners), given by some 115 different speakers drawn from all 8 CSU colleges, 28 departments (geology, art, ethics, political science, ecology, atmospheric science, economics, social work, construction management, and many more), and various other entities from the town, region, and farther away. We have built a website (now with linked Facebook and Twitter) through which we offer high-quality, current, accessible, and (as often as possible) lively materials to non-specialist adults (including college-age students, their teachers, and interested citizens), all briefly annotated, and on as many aspects of climate change as we can find—videos, fact sheets, books, articles, websites (and a few syllabi and other teaching materials)—most culled from elsewhere, but some created by (or with) us. Finally, as writers and professors of English who take a particular interest in the vexing communication issues of this topic, we have developed materials, talks, and workshops to help specialists who wish to speak more effectively with the public (and each other).

I will briefly describe the talks and communication work but will focus on the website. I will also mention some of the key things we have learned from this challenging but deeply satisfying project: about organizing events and coaching speakers; keeping a broadly multidisciplinary perspective; finding, choosing, and creating good materials; and more.