Thursday, September 19, 2019

Penn State Brandywine (Media, PA)

Penn State Brandywine hosted this full day of activities dedicated to educating anyone interested in learning more about climate science and how changes in our climate impact humans and the physical environment.

Events were held in the Tomezsko Classroom Building Lounge (1st floor). We provided links to explore directions to campus, and a campus map. We asked participants to register on Eventbrite (note there are two separate Eventbrite forms - one for the daytime sessions, one for the evening documentary screening). When parking on campus, visitors could park in any of the white-lined spots in the large lot along Middletown Road/Route 352 - no parking passes were necessary.

Register for the daytime Teach-In sessions (*no longer available)

Register for the evening screening of Decoding The Weather Machine (*no longer available)

Daytime events took place in the Tomezsko Classroom Building Lounge and outdoors

8:30AM to 9AM -- Opening remarks, discussion of weather versus climate, and climate stories in the news (including climate and Hurricane Dorian)

Climate sources highlighted from NOAA, Climate.gov, YouTube. Global warming information from #ShowYourStripes, Climate.gov and YouTube. Other sources include National Hurricane Center, Yale Climate Opinion Maps 2018, and Eunice Foote, hidden climate science pioneer. MS PowerPoint file from this session (CC BY-NC-ND with credit to Laura Guertin)

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9AM to 9:15AM -- TED Talk and discussion, The most important thing you can do to fight climate change: talk about it (Dr. Katharine Hayhoe)

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9:15AM to 10:15AM -- An introduction to citizen science and the NASA GLOBE Observer program, collecting measurements with the GLOBE Land Cover tool (*Note that this program requires that you have previously downloaded the GLOBE Observer app on your mobile device. This program begins indoors and will move outdoors for data collection, then conclude indoors.)

Session led by Dr. Rusty Low, Science Lead, NASA GLOBE Mission Mosquito Campaign, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies

By photographing and classifying the land cover over an area the size of a soccer field, you will be assisting those scientists working to enhance global maps of land cover use. Your observations will contribute to new maps with a finer spatial resolution than is possible using satellites alone. Land cover is critical to many different Earth processes, and is of interest to a wide variety of scientists and decision makers.

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10:15AM to 10:30AM -- Global Weirding video and discussion, Plants and animals can adapt to climate change, right? (Dr. Katharine Hayhoe)

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10:30AM to 10:45AM -- Climate change and the impact on sports, by Dr. Laura Guertin (Penn State Brandywine)

Sources highlighted include Sports Illustrated article (April 22, 2019), NHL Green, NSAA Climate Change, New York Times article on the Iditarod (March 1, 2019), TODAY Show segment on climate change and dog sledding (video, September 14, 2019), Boston Marathon (from Climate.gov), Climate Change and Sports (Climate Nexus), Warming Football Season (Climate Central)

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10:45AM to 11:45AM -- An introduction to citizen science and the NASA GLOBE Observer program, collecting measurements with the GLOBE Mosquito Habitat Mapper tool (*Note that this program requires that you have previously downloaded the GLOBE Observer app on your mobile device. This program begins indoors and will move outdoors for data collection, then conclude indoors.)

Session led by Dr. Rusty Low, Science Lead, NASA GLOBE Mission Mosquito Campaign, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies

By identifying potential breeding sites for mosquitoes, sampling and counting mosquito larvae, and by using optional equipment to examine, photograph and identify the genus of your specimens, you will be enabling scientists to verify predictive models of mosquito population dynamics. In addition, public health authorities can use your observations to inform where, when, and how to intervene in their communities to reduce disease risk. And why is this important to us in Pennsylvania? Dr. Low will explain!

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11:45AM to 12PM -- Break, food available in the Blue Apple Cafe (Student Union Building, located next door to Tomezsko Classroom Building)

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12PM to 12:15PM -- Announcement of Nature Narratives Writing Contest, climate impact haiku session (*post yours on Instagram with the hashtag #ClimateHaiku and tag @sustainpsubw!)

12:15PM to 1PM -- Exploration stations and activities with climate and art. Write postcards to our lawmakers to support science - . See our Penn State Library LibGuide on Postcard Advocacy.

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1PM to 1:30PM -- Climate change resources from the United Nations, by Dr. Margaret L. Signorella (Penn State Brandywine)

The United Nations has made climate action one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, and also emphasizes issues that relate to climate action through several annual UN Days. This session will provide a brief introduction to the many resources the United Nations shares that can support and enrich the study of climate and related challenges we face.

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1:30PM to 2:45PM -- Climate, the environment, and marketing, by Dr. Julie Stanton (Penn State Brandywine)

What are the kinds of changes that consumers REALLY need to make to collectively and dramatically move the needle on greenhouse gas emissions? Come learn and discuss!

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2:45PM to 3PM -- Break

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3PM to 4PM -- Climate change, pollinators, and invasive species, by Dr. Mark Boudreau (Penn State Brandywine)

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4PM to 4:30PM -- Pennsylvania climate and its energy sources, and reversing global warming in Pennsylvania - stories of Drawing Down and hope, by Dr. Laura Guertin (Penn State Brandywine)

Sources highlighted include the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) for Pennsylvania, NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance - Pennsylvania, StateImpact Pennsylvania, Saint Francis University Institute for Energy, Yale Climate Opinion Maps, Research to Action: The Science of Drawdown conference

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Break for dinner from 4:30PM to 6PM. Food available for purchase on campus in the Blue Apple Cafe.

Decoding The Weather Machine

6PM to 8:30PM, Tomezsko Classroom Building Room 103

Disastrous hurricanes. Widespread droughts and wildfires. Withering heat. Extreme rainfall. It is hard not to conclude that something’s up with the weather, and many scientists agree. It’s the result of the weather machine itself—our climate—changing, becoming hotter and more erratic. View a preview of the documentary below.

Register online at EventBrite (*registration now closed) to reserve your seat at this screening, followed by Q&A with Penn State Brandywine science faculty who will share additional information about local weather events and impacts.

Any questions? Please contact Dr. Laura Guertin, Professor of Earth Science, Penn State Brandywine. Email: guertin@psu.edu