Montana State students and faculty organize second annual Climate Week
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By MSU News Service
BOZEMAN – Montana State University students and faculty will hold the second annual Climate Week from Oct. 30 through Nov. 3 with events promoting learning, networking and engagement related to climate change impacts and solutions.
Events will be held on the MSU campus and will include panel discussions, seminars, films and musical performances. All Climate Week events are free and open to the public.
Climate Week is organized by the Climate Solutions Group at MSU, whose members include faculty, staff, students and citizens who learn about and engage in research on climate solutions. The group encourages university policies and strategies to decarbonize campus activities and operations.
“As the risks of the climate crisis become increasingly clear, our campus community is responding with an opportunity for learning in an inclusive and open way,” said Paul Lachapelle, one of the faculty organizers and a professor in the Department of Political Science. “We want to have conversations about the local and regional dangers of climate disruption and then explore solutions we can put in place. We want to use our campus as a living lab.”
Lachapelle said the organizers hope to build on the Montana Climate Assessments released in 2017 and 2021; student and faculty senate resolutions declaring a “climate emergency;” and the MSU Sustainability Framework.
“The climate crisis is the defining issue of our time. It is the most important thing we can combat because climate change impacts everything that is important to us,” said Hayden Moran, an environmental studies major and one of the student organizers of Climate Week. “This is an opportunity for us as students to get to work.”
The week’s events will include the following:
Monday, Oct. 30
1.5 Minute Climate Talks, noon to 1 p.m., Malone Centennial Mall — Open mic-style 1.5-minute climate talks or speeches open to students, staff, faculty and members of the public. Snacks provided.
Local Recycling Panel, 3-4 p.m., Wilson Hall, Room 1-131 — A panel featuring EJ Hook, director of MSU Facility Services; Patty Howard, recycling/outreach director of the Gallatin Solid Waste Management District; and Ryan Green, owner of Happy Trash Can.
“Our Children’s Trust Panel: Held vs. State of Montana,” 4:30 p.m. master class, 6:30 p.m. panel, Norm Asbjornson Hall, Room 165 and streamed online — A master class and panel on the Held v. State of Montana case with Jim Nelson, former Montana Supreme Court associate justice; Melissa Hornbein, senior attorney of the Western Environmental Law Center; and plaintiff Taleah Hernandez.
Wednesday, Nov. 1
“Voices of the Eco-Right,” noon to 1 p.m., Reid Hall, Room 103 and online — Conservatives will share their vision for climate solutions. Panelists include Hattie Hobart, regional director of the American Conservation Coalition; Max Scheder-Bischen, entrepreneur and Citizens’ Climate Lobby volunteer; and Lindsay Garcia, communications director for Young Evangelicals for Climate Action.
“Climate Change and Demography: What Does the Data Tell Us?” 3:30-4:30 p.m., Romney Hall, Room 415 and online —Cascade Tuholske, assistant professor of human-environment geography in the MSU Department of Earth Sciences, will discuss the relationship between climate change and demographic change, both in Montana and around the world.
“Careers in Climate: Insights from Passionate Conservationists,” 6:30-7:30 p.m., Norm Asbjornson Hall, Room 165 and online — A seminar focusing on job prospects and career opportunities in addressing climate change will present a group of Bozeman locals including Karin Kirk, environmental journalist and geologist; John Meyer, attorney with Cottonwood Environmental Law Center; and KT Miller, director of field programs for Polar Bears International.
Thursday, Nov. 2
“Fossil Free Research and Beyond: Exposing and Dismantling ties between Higher Education, the Fossil Fuel Industry and Climate Disinformation Groups,” noon to 1 p.m., Asbjornson Hall, Room 337 and online — Speakers from Brown University will review their research about the influence of fossil fuel funding at U.S. universities. Speakers include William Kattrup and Isaac Slevin, researchers at Brown University’s Climate and Development Lab; and Timmons Roberts, Ittleson Professor of Environmental Studies and Sociology at Brown University and executive director of the Climate Social Science Network.
Film: “Time is Now to Save the Pow!” and “Common Ground,” 6 p.m. in the Byker Auditorium — View the premier screening of two films about climate change. “Time is Now to Save the Pow!” is a film by MSU student Kaelyn Kroeger. “Common Ground” examines the “dark web of money, power and politics behind our broken food system.” The films will be followed by a facilitated discussion.
Friday, Nov. 3
Climate-themed Concert, 4 p.m. in Reynolds Recital Hall — Climate Week wraps up with a climate-themed musical performance. Celebrate the week with a moving and emotive set of environmentally focused musical pieces.
For a full schedule of Climate Week events, additional details and links to online streams visitmontana.edu/communitydevelopment/climateweek.html. For more information contact Paul Lachapelle atpaul.lachapelle@montana.edu.
