Baylor teacher to give climate change lectures
Baylor teacher to give climate change lecturesBy Kelly Proctor Staff Writer
An environmental sciences teacher at the Baylor School attended a climate change training program led by former Vice President Al Gore.
Now the teacher, Dr. Dawn Richards, will give global warming lectures to local groups to show how everyone can help curb climate change.
"Some of the largest misconceptions (include), ‘It’s such a big problem we can’t fix it,’" Dr. Richards said. Preventing global warming "fosters good habits and saves money."
In a presentation Monday to Baylor students, Dr. Richards shared climate change data that reiterated many international scientists’ warnings : Global warming will melt polar ice caps even further and cause other ecological damage if people do not cut their consumption and population levels.
The movement to address climate change garnered further optimism when President Bush vowed to cut oil dependence by 20 percent over 10 years in last week’s State of the Union address.
However, the idea that global warming is dangerous or man-made is opposed by some, including scientists L.F. Khilyuk and G.V. Chilingar from the University of Southern California whose May article in Environmental Geology journal said, "Human-induced climatic changes are negligible," or small enough to be unimportant.
Dr. Richards, who holds a Ph.D. in oceanography, acknowledged her audience also might hold global warming skeptics. "There are (temperature) variations all the time, and they are natural," Dr. Richards said to any would-be doubters.
But what is not natural, she said, is that estimates show that over the next several decades, carbon dioxide levels may be higher than what the earth has seen in the past 600,000 years and therefore would increase temperatures.
"We have been continually increasing the trend in (carbon dioxide) since the Industrial Revolution," which began around 1700, Dr. Richards said.
Other pictures in her slideshow gave audience members a look at the melting snows of Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro, as well as slumping grave markers and a collapsing building that are anchored in Alaska’s melting permafrost.
"What are we doing for our future generations?" she said.
Evan Sharber and Whitney Ewing, two Baylor seniors, said they take Dr. Richards’ class.
"We learn about what causes (global warming) and what the government can do," Mr. Sharber said.
The students said they study fuel-efficient cars and how using fluorescent instead of incandescent light bulbs saves money and energy. Baylor science department chairman Scott Dering said some area organizations already have asked Dr. Richards to speak at meetings.
"She’s not just going to give this message to Baylor students," Dr. Dering said. "She’s a real community resource for Chattanooga."
E-mail Kelly Proctor at kproctor@timesfreepress.com
http://www.tfponline.com/QuickHeadlines.asp?sec=l&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fepaper%2Etfponline%2Ecom%2FWebChannel%2FShowStory%2Easp%3FPath%3DChatTFPress%2F2007%2F01%2F30%26ID%3DAr00900
An environmental sciences teacher at the Baylor School attended a climate change training program led by former Vice President Al Gore.
Now the teacher, Dr. Dawn Richards, will give global warming lectures to local groups to show how everyone can help curb climate change.
"Some of the largest misconceptions (include), ‘It’s such a big problem we can’t fix it,’" Dr. Richards said. Preventing global warming "fosters good habits and saves money."
In a presentation Monday to Baylor students, Dr. Richards shared climate change data that reiterated many international scientists’ warnings : Global warming will melt polar ice caps even further and cause other ecological damage if people do not cut their consumption and population levels.
The movement to address climate change garnered further optimism when President Bush vowed to cut oil dependence by 20 percent over 10 years in last week’s State of the Union address.
However, the idea that global warming is dangerous or man-made is opposed by some, including scientists L.F. Khilyuk and G.V. Chilingar from the University of Southern California whose May article in Environmental Geology journal said, "Human-induced climatic changes are negligible," or small enough to be unimportant.
Dr. Richards, who holds a Ph.D. in oceanography, acknowledged her audience also might hold global warming skeptics. "There are (temperature) variations all the time, and they are natural," Dr. Richards said to any would-be doubters.
But what is not natural, she said, is that estimates show that over the next several decades, carbon dioxide levels may be higher than what the earth has seen in the past 600,000 years and therefore would increase temperatures.
"We have been continually increasing the trend in (carbon dioxide) since the Industrial Revolution," which began around 1700, Dr. Richards said.
Other pictures in her slideshow gave audience members a look at the melting snows of Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro, as well as slumping grave markers and a collapsing building that are anchored in Alaska’s melting permafrost.
"What are we doing for our future generations?" she said.
Evan Sharber and Whitney Ewing, two Baylor seniors, said they take Dr. Richards’ class.
"We learn about what causes (global warming) and what the government can do," Mr. Sharber said.
The students said they study fuel-efficient cars and how using fluorescent instead of incandescent light bulbs saves money and energy. Baylor science department chairman Scott Dering said some area organizations already have asked Dr. Richards to speak at meetings.
"She’s not just going to give this message to Baylor students," Dr. Dering said. "She’s a real community resource for Chattanooga."
E-mail Kelly Proctor at kproctor@timesfreepress.com
http://www.tfponline.com/QuickHeadlines.asp?sec=l&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fepaper%2Etfponline%2Ecom%2FWebChannel%2FShowStory%2Easp%3FPath%3DChatTFPress%2F2007%2F01%2F30%26ID%3DAr00900
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