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This is your chance to participate in climate change solutions. 

This is your opportunity to learn how energy innovation, land use polices, earth’s distant past and lifestyle changes connect to alter the course of climate change. You may even find yourself becoming part of the spirit of invention.

It's all part of the Northwestern University Climate Change Symposium, Thursday, Nov. 5. The event, a first for the university, is free and open to the public from 8:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. at the McCormick Tribune Center Forum, 1870 Campus Drive in Evanston.

“I think it is essential that Northwestern provide a platform to help build awareness, understanding, and engagement on this topic,” said Bridget E. Calendo, director of operations and outreach for the Initiative for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern.

Calendo added that the goal is to have this continuing conversation involve students, faculty and the community at large.

“There ought to be a long term plan to optimize the considerable strength of our university” for outreach events to the public, said Brad Sageman, department chair of the earth and planetary sciences department, symposium co-sponsor.

“There needs to be a more organized effort of educating our students about these issues and becoming a beacon in the community,” he said.

This symposium aims to do just that as it brings together leading scientists and policy experts to foster discussion, debate and communication about a variety of topics. Examples include how the earth’s past offer clues that can help us understand its climate future, how the carbon cycle impacts nearly every aspect of the planet and how greenhouse gases in our atmosphere are creating more extreme weather patterns. 

The second half of the event is all about how scientific evidence and policy need to come together for countries to plan for the future and solve the complicated problems connected with global warming.

Sageman said that the need for such conferences grew from the perception that there is actually a “debate” about the validity of claims that human activities are altering global climate. But for Sageman, we're past the point of debate.

“Now the focus has shifted from convincing people that climate change is real to informing them about the evidence, as well as the possible future scenarios - which vary in direct relation to our fossil fuel use and land use,” he said.

All of this comes at a time when the science behind climate change is strengthening the evidence of warming while, paradoxically, a new Pew poll indicates growing public skepticism.

Climate scientists and policy experts say they consider it essential to educate and engage the public regarding the realities of global warming through open forums such as Thursday’s symposium.

“I hope students and the public learn something new about climate change,” Calendo said.

“I hope people take away a sense of urgency, knowing that now is the time to try affect and/or reverse the harmful effects to the planet,” she said.