Earth Month 2020 on the U of I Campus
Each year, students at the University of Illinois show their commitment to sustainability by celebrating Earth Month in April. With the help of Students for Environmental Concerns (SECS) — a student organization that has promoted environmental action for 50 years (that’s right: a half a century of Earth Days!) — we coordinate educational and fun events for students and community members alike during Earth Week. In addition to Earth Week, organizations across campus and the Champaign-Urbana community arrange lectures, seminars, workshops, volunteer opportunities, and more throughout April to acknowledge our planet. In this year of social distancing, unfortunately most events have been canceled. Here’s a look at the remaining “online events” in 2020:
Daily Schedule
Thursday, April 16
- ARBOR DAY CELEBRATION with CCNet on ZOOM, noon-1 p.m.: Join Facilities & Services and the Champaign County Sustainability Network (CCNet) for this virtual celebration of the U of I’s Tree Campus USA designation. Join us on Zoom! >>> (Meeting ID: 298 808 344; Password: 556074)
Friday, April 17
- ILO GOES HOME: As we cannot kick off Earth Week by switching off thousands of bulbs to save energy, emissions, and money on campus, we ask that ALL Illinois community members do their part for the Earth by shutting off unused lights and electronics. Thank you for participating in a new kind of Illini Lights Out event!
Saturday, April 18
- BONEYARD CREEK COMMUNITY DAY CANCELED.
Monday, April 20
- KEELING LECTURE, 4 p.m., online: Join Atmospheric Sciences and iSEE for this “zero carbon” talk by Katharine Hayhoe titled “Climate Science in a Fact-Free World” (more details to the right of this page). Join us on ZOOM >>> (Meeting ID: 722 887 599; Password: Keeling)
Tuesday, April 21
- OGURA LECTURE CANCELED.
Wednesday, April 22: EARTH DAY!!
- EARTHRISE: EARTH DAY GOES DIGITAL, Earth Day Network, All Day Event: Join the Earth Day Network for a global digital mobilization that drives actions big and small, gives diverse voices a platform and demands bold action for people and the planet. Click here for More Details
- C-U ON EARTH DAY, 12-12:15 p.m.: Join the Champaign-Urbana community to appreciate nature by venturing outside your home for 15 minutes. Remember to practice social distancing! Click here for more details
- SOLAR FARM 2.0 CEREMONY CANCELED: The unveiling of the Solar Farm 2.0 will now take place during the Fall 2020 semester. Stay tuned for details!
Thursday, April 23
iCAP CELEBRATION AND FORUM, 12:30-2 p.m.: Join iSEE and other campus stakeholders for a sustainability celebration and discussion of the Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) as we prepare to publish iCAP 2020. View this live on our Facebook event page! >>>- THE EXCITING FUTURE OF PEROVSKITE CELLS, 5:30 p.m.: Join the Solar Decathlon for a virtual lecture from Professor Tao Xu about the advances in solar technologies. Click here for the link to the Zoom Lecture >>>
- ENERGY FARM OPEN HOUSE CANCELED.
Friday, April 24
- iSEE EARTH WEEK LECTURE CANCELED.
Featured Events
Charles David Keeling Lecture
Join us on ZOOM >>>
Meeting ID: 722 887 599
Password: Keeling
When: 4 p.m. Monday, April 20
Where: Online
Particulars: Join iSEE and the Departments of Atmospheric Sciences as former U of I graduate student Katharine Hayhoe delivers this year’s “zero-carbon” lecture. Hayhoe is a climate scientist, a Political Science Professor, Director of the Climate Center, and an associate in the Public Health program of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Texas Tech University. She is also a principal investigator for the Department of Interior’s South-Central Climate Adaptation Science Center. Her research currently focuses on establishing a scientific basis for assessing the regional to local-scale impacts of climate change on human systems and the natural environment.
Title: “Climate Science in a Fact-Free World”
Abstract: “Gravity doesn’t care what we believe; if we step off a cliff, we’re going down. And a thermometer doesn’t give us a different answer, depending on how we vote. Yet today, the best predictor of whether we agree that climate is changing and humans are responsible isn’t our level of education or our degree of scientific literacy: It’s simply where we fall on the political spectrum. How can good science inform sound decision-making in a world permeated by the false notion, as Isaac Asimov said, that ‘democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge’? The answer lies not in the physical sciences, but in the social science of how we as humans interact with information. By understanding the true roots of denial, it can be possible to constructively engage with deliberate attempts to politicize the science and even identify unexpected areas of common ground on which to build bridges rather than deepen existing trenches.”
More: A bio of Hayhoe, links to past Keeling Lectures, and a profile of Charles David Keeling here >>>