In Celebration of the United Nation’s 76th Anniversary
Spotlight On: Urgency & Agency in the Battle to Avert a Climate Crisis
Saturday – October 23, 2021, from 10:00 AM – 11: 30 AM
The goal of the UN is “...to save future generations from the scourge of war.” ~United Nations Charter (1945)
Dr. Michael E. Mann is Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science and Director of the Earth System Science Center at Penn State University.
His research focuses on climate science and climate change. He has received numerous awards including the National Conservation Achievement Award of the National Wildlife Foundation, the Friend of the Planet Award from the NCSE, the Award for Public Engagement with Science from the AAAS, the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, and election to the National Academy of Sciences in 2020. He made Bloomberg News' list of fifty most influential people in 2013. He has authored more than 200 publications, and five books including Dire Predictions, The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars, The Madhouse Effect, The Tantrum that Saved the World, and The New Climate War.
Human-caused climate change is arguably the greatest threat we face as a civilization. Efforts to attack and deny the scientific evidence have constituted a major impediment to action over the past two decades. At a time when we appear to be moving past outright denial of the problem, another obstacle has emerged on the scene: Doomist framing that exaggerates the threat in such a way as to make catastrophic changes seem unavoidable. Such framing can lead us down the very same path of inaction as outright denial of the problem. It is important to recognize while there is great urgency in acting, there is also agency.
There is still time for us to avert the worst impacts of climate change if we act now and we act boldly. There is importance in emphasizing both urgency AND agency in the climate battle. I will discuss where we stand with this challenge in the wake of the most recent report of the U.N. Climate Assessment and in the lead-up to the all-important U.N. Climate Summit later this year in Glasgow.
Distinguished guests
Pam Routhier, Coordinator of the Whitefish Bay High School Model UN
Shaan Joshi & Savannah Rostad (Co-Pres.), Anavi Prakash & Sofia Englund (Co-VP), Model UN Officers
Boy Scout Troop 400 Color Guard
To Join Via Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/99161597391?pwd=M3cxTWtucjNDWVdlWmVTZmRLWXpuQT09
Meeting ID: 991 6159 7391; Passcode: 5420Wfb!
To Join Via Phone: 312-626-6799; Meeting ID: 991 6159 7391; Passcode: 44330316
In-person attendance is available for a small audience at the Whitefish Bay Public Library
5420 N. Marlborough Drive – Whitefish Bay, WI
Registration is REQUIRED for in-person attendance at: www.wfblibrary.org/our_events/?eid=1115
For more information, contact Annette Robertson, Education Chair of the UNA-GM, at 414.332.3303 or annettejoanrobertson@gmail.com / UNA-GM website: https://www.unamilwaukee.org/