Class News
Tony Lee ’64 joint venture with Elders Climate Action Massachusetts
April 5, 2022
Many classmates know that Tony Lee ’64 created a webinar series two years ago called “Can We Stop Climate Change?” Over thirty classmates have participated and some have become facilitators. Read this article about the website that Lee and John More ’64 created last year.
Recently, Tony established a joint venture with Elders Climate Action Massachusetts to conduct a six-session pilot program called “Let’s Talk … about Climate Change.” Tony will be leading the second session on April 21, titled “The Arctic is Melting — Why It Matters.” If you’re interested, read the following and join any or all of the sessions.
Let's Talk about Climate Change
The ECA Massachusetts Education Team, in cooperation with Can We Stop Climate Change (CWSCC), is launching a six-session pilot program over three months, “Let’s Talk … about Climate Change.”
The program is designed for ECA members, CWSCC "graduates," and other concerned friends who want an opportunity for lively, interactive discussion about a variety of topics related to climate, without minimal presumptions about one’s level of scientific knowledge.
The basic format, as the name “Let’s Talk…” implies, will be conversational, rather than a lecture followed by questions and answers. Most of the discussions will be kicked off by a very short introduction and/or video about the topic. (At times, we will suggest a video to be viewed ahead of time.) Active participation will be solicited from all attendees.
The series is designed for people to “drop in” for a session, with no expectation that they will participate in any of the other sessions. Topics have been chosen that are of great interest, so we hope many folks will want to attend most of our sessions. All are one-hour sessions on Thursdays starting at 4:00pm EDT.
The dates and topics for the first six sessions are:
- April 7: The Importance of Starting Conversations
- April 21: The Arctic is Melting — Why It Matters
- May 5: I Live in the Eastern U.S. — Does Climate Change Matter to Me?
- May 19: Take a Second Look: Climate Science in Pictures
- June 9: The Future of Fossil Fuels
- June 23: Visions of the Future
The first session is on Thursday, April 7 at 4:00pm EDT:
- Join Zoom meeting with this link
- Meeting ID: 367 938 5589
- Passcode: Talk
Addendum
April 21, 2022
The session on April 21 titled “The Arctic is Melting — Why It Matters” was attended by seven members of the Class of 1964: Tony Lee (with Margie Lee), Tony Lavely, Blaine Krickl, Jerry Flannelly, Bill Woodfin, Edward Massey, and Neil Hoffmann (by phone). The total attendance was 20 participants.
The core of the conversation went as follows. The reflectivity of snow and ice at the poles, known as the albedo effect, is one of Earth’s most important cooling mechanisms. But global warming has reduced this reflectivity drastically, setting off a dangerous warming loop. As more Arctic ice and snow melt, the albedo effect decreases, warming the Arctic further, and melting more ice and snow. The volume of Arctic ice has already shrunk 75% In the past 40 years, and scientists predict that the Arctic Ocean will be completely ice-free during the summer months by the end of the century.
