From Andrew Bauer at the Fort Hays State University Leader (sorry, no online version):
It's very nice to see this many people come out and hear about science, especially on a weeknight" - FHSU geosciences professor John Heinrichs
The door count was 61 and included students, faculty, and Hays-area residents who worked this event into their busy schedules. Heinrichs led off with a presentation entitled "What's the Deal with our Polar Ice Caps?"
The crowd (and yes, it was crowded) showed a lot of interest in the topic as they asked John & each other questions about the polar regions, climate change, energy, and the best way to handle some of our current and upcoming energy challenges.
In typical scientist fashion, Heinrichs admitted that "we don't even know how the polar regions work yet. We're still discovering things." On the other hand, Heinrichs noted that last year marked the worst coverage of the poles ever since that information has been recorded.
Last year in September was the first time in all of recorded history that the northwest passage was completely open. You could literally take a sailboat from the Atlantic to the Pacific by going north." - Heinrichs
Last October, Chris Mooney warned an audience of 170+ in Hays that since most of the world's population is concentrated near coastlines, higher sea levels would cause millions of people to settle elsewhere. Heinrichs reiterated that sentiment, noting that low-lying Asia is the most populous part of the world and that re-settlement would be accompanied by political and social unrest.
The message of personal responsibility came through loud and clear. Heinrichs concluded by pointing out that it doesn't matter who is elected president this fall, because no government policies would take effect for a few years yet. Instead, he emphasized that each person should practice green living and convince their friends and family to do likewise.
Then came the really fun part . . .
The floor was opened up for discussion and questions, and it got lively and heated! As Bauer noted in the Leader,
"I was surprised by the energy displayed by people during the discussion, which I thought was my favorite part this evening." - Steve Trout, Hays resident
We had Hippie Lady in the back who didn't need the PA system to be heard, and was probably the most vocal participant. We had Retired Man 1 and Retired Man 2, who argued - er, discussed - why the US should bother with cap and trade when China's CO2 output continues to rise. There was the Man With A Slavic Accent who noted that European citizens enjoy the same or better standard of living as those in the US, yet Europeans drive vehicles that get more than 35 mpg while we remain addicted to our SUVs. A Brave Blonde student asked, "what can we do about this?" There was applause for Hippie Lady's response - "This is how it starts. You're here, you care. Spread the word!"
The evening was brought to a close with a trivia contest; winners received science t-shirts and Planet Earth stress balls.
The post-session surveys indicated that the best part of the evening was the discussion, the fact that is was offered, and that the topic was time-sensitive. An area needing improvement was acoustics. Topic suggestions for future cafe's included energy, science's influence on health care policy, HAARP, black-footed ferrets, and bioethics. Most felt they had the chance to contribute and discuss, except for one respondent who thought the Hippie Lady dominated. (She did, some.)
The FHSU Science and Mathematics Institute was the main sponsor for this event. Director Paul Adams noted that
"This is open to the community at-large whether they are on campus or off-campus. It's a great place for the campus community to interact with the greater Hays-area community."
Thanks also to Cafe Semolino's for the space, and to Kansas Citizens for Science for their moral support!
posted by Cheryl Shepherd-Adams
