Profs heat up global debate

Across the country, 1,100 schools are heating up for Focus the Nation, a teach-in about global warming solutions.

The Fox Leadership Program and the student group Campus Progress and the Penn Environmental Group are making an effort to join the discussion with an all-day conference today in Houston Hall.

The conference is "part of an effort to raise awareness about environmental issues and sustainability," said former Daily Pennsylvanian reporter and College senior Christine Hurtubise, who is responsible for bringing the conference to campus.

"It's an important part of Penn education to have teach-ins on the most salient issues of our time," said University president Amy Gutmann. "This is a timely conference, and it's one that I hope will produce even more activity among our students."

Earth and Environmental Science professor Robert Giegengack, a panelist, said global warming "is widely-hailed as the problem of our age," adding that it has a "rapidly escalating impact on virtually every aspect of our environment."

Giegengack will discuss long-term climate change from a geologist's perspective at the conference.

Hurtubise said she has been interested in becoming more involved in sustainability efforts on campus for some time now, and this teach-in seemed like a valuable opportunity.

"It seemed more powerful if it was part of a national movement and a national day," she said. "We want to spark . an intelligent discussion on the issues."

"Hopefully what this conference will do is raise awareness," said Design School Dean Gary Hack. He added that he wants students to learn about the political impact they can make.

He emphasized that "this is an issue for everybody," adding that "we don't have real answers for it."

Hurtubise said that the conference will focus on the sustainability efforts occurring at Penn.

A number of Penn professors will be speaking, including associate professor of Architecture William Braham and 1986 Engingeering alumnus Christopher McQuale, who founded the Environmental Studies major while at Penn.

Design School professor Ali Malkawi, founder of the TC Chan Center for Building Simulation and Energy Studies, will be at the conference to discuss the impact construction has on climate change.

"Building is consuming 40 percent of society's energy," Malkawi said.

Hack said he will discuss how cities will have to change to decrease carbon emissions at the conference. "This is one of those issues in our society today that everybody has to deal with.

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