Icebergs float in a bay off Ammassalik Island, Greenland, on July 19. A record amount of Greenland's ice sheet melted last summer _ 19 billion tons more than the previous high mark _ U.S. scientists had reported, saying it was an ominous sign of global warming. (Associated Press/John McConnico)

Students and professors on more than 1,500 campuses across the country are conducting what's being called the nation's largest "teach-in" ever on Thursday. It will look at solutions to climate change, and here in the I.E., we've got a few universities and high schools taking part.

At the University of Redlands, the effort actually gets underway today when professors in the environmental studies department will brief other faculty on how they might incorporate talk of climate change into their business, English and other classes on Thursday.

"We'll give a briefing on climate change, the likely consequences and what the likely solutions are," said Monty Hempel, director of the Center of Environmental Studies at Redlands.

Other Inland campuses taking part can be found on this map. And you can see here some interesting lesson suggestions on what subjects can tackle what kind of climate-related topics.

Organizers of Focus the Nation are billing the event as the largest teach-in in the nation's history, noting that the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970 began with a teach-in.

Hempel said students hold the promise to reversing the warming trend and its catastrophic results predicted by many scientists.

As part of the festivities, Hempel and crew will visit with Redlands Mayor Jon Harrison tonight to talk about how the city and university can cooperate on climate action steps such as incorporating energy-efficiency into redevelopment projects, Hempel said.

"We think of this as the first of a long series of thing that will happen on campus," Hempel said.

As for Thursday's event, it will culminate in round-table discussions between students, elected leaders and some members of Congress. Participants then will vote on top solutions, and the top five results from the "Choose Your Future" vote will be announced on Feb. 13.

Stay tuned!

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