Climate change community book read and public discussion set for March 31
College of Arts and Sciences staff writer
Western Michigan University students and faculty will hold a community discussion that will explore the social causes and responses to climate change on Thursday, March 31 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in the Van Deusen Room at the downtown Kalamazoo Public Library.
Most people recognize that climate change is real, and yet they do nothing to try to stop it. What are the social, psychological, and political habits of American life that prevent citizens from understanding and acting on the changes happening to the world?
The public is welcome to join a community discussion in an attempt to address these questions by drawing on key themes from one of the most influential books on climate change: Don't Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired To Ignore Climate Change by George Marshall.
Marshall wrote his book based on interviews with Nobel Prize-winning psychologists, activists of the Texas Tea Party, climate change scientists and deniers, liberal environmentalists and conservative evangelicals.
Local Kalamazoo climate change leaders will provide opportunities for participants to learn about and connect with various Kalamazoo initiatives.
The event is free of charge and light refreshments will be served.
For participants unable to buy Marshall’s book, copies are available for short-term checkout at the Kalamazoo Public Library as well as the Office of Sustainability front desk, located at the corner of Howard and W. Michigan Ave.
Co-sponsors for the community discussion include WMU Interdisciplinary Humanities Group for the Study of Climate Change, University Center for the Humanities, College of Arts and Sciences, environmental and sustainability studies program, Office for Sustainability and the Kalamazoo Public Library.