Beginning on Wednesday, Jan. 30, Lee University will be participating in Focus the Nation, a nationwide educational initiative seeking to promote knowledge and understanding about global warming and potential solutions to the crisis.

The event includes over 1000 schools, universities, churches, civic organizations and businesses that have all chosen to set two days aside to lend attention to this global issue.

The event kicks off with a showing of the web cast, “2% Solution” in the Rose Lecture Hall and the Paul Conn Student Union at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday night. The presentation will be streamed live and will include experts in the field of climate and sustainability, as well as youth leaders who will all be participating in a discussion regarding solutions to global warming.

The web cast will be immediately followed by discussions on the second floor of the PCSU for anyone who would like to participate.

There is also a teach-in portion of the Focus the Nation event scheduled on Thursday, Jan. 31, beginning with the 9:10 a.m. classes and continuing through the end of the 2:35 p.m. classes. Many teachers in each department will be setting aside time to discuss global warming topics from angles specific to their subject matter.

In addition to this widespread classroom effort, several other important things will be happening throughout the day as well.

Thursday morning’s chapel service will host an environmentally-friendly message. There will also be a “Sustainability Fair” held in the Centenary Room from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m., where student organizations and representatives from businesses will set up booths with information concerning environmental initiatives and technology. At 5:45 p.m. there will be a reception in the lobby of the Devos College of Education.

The final event will be a Green Democracy Round Table at 7 p.m. on Thursday evening in the Rose Lecture Hall. Students and local elected leaders from across political parties will have the opportunity to discuss solutions and policies pertaining to global warming. In addition to the local leaders who will be joining us that night, Zach Wamp, a seventh-term Republican congressman from Tennessee’s Third District currently serving in the House of Representatives, will also be in attendance.

Focus the Nation events occur simultaneously all across the country. It gives students the opportunity to participate in a discussion of one of the most highly debated topics of our generation from a non-partisan and unbiased perspective. The goal of this initiative is not to provide answers to all of the problems that are facing the country, but instead to start a discussion on an issue that is oftentimes overlooked in hopes of awakening a generation to the tasks that lie before them.