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Triad residents who want to shape climate change policy and action can participate in a national teach-in on Feb. 5.

The T. Gilbert Pearson Audubon Society plans to host a Greensboro teach-in and hopes to partner with other organizations to help sponsor the event.People interested in helping should contact Craig Lawrence at craig.carolina@gmail.com.

About 500 colleges, civic groups and faith organizations have signed up to participate in the event, which aims to engage Americans in solutions-driven dialogue about global warming during the first 100 days of President-elect Barack Obama's administration.

The teach-in Web site states: "The heart of your teach-in should be a round-table dialogue between students and key decision-makers: US Senators and congresspeople, governors, city councilors, mayors and state representatives. This kind of intergenerational dialogue has the power to break through the partisan framing of global warming, and resultant political gridlock, because for young people, this is not about left and right. It is your future at stake, and only you have the moral authority to speak for that future."

In addition, residents can hear about the potential impacts of global warming from one of the world's premier experts later that month.

Michael Mann, an associate professor at Penn State University, will speak at a public lecture at N.C. A&T on Feb. 23. The lecture will take place at 6 p.m. in the university's Stalling Ball Room.

Solomon Bililign, director of A&T's ISET Cooperative Science Center, said he hopes the free event will create more public awareness about climate change. The science center helps provide data needed to address specific climate and weather related concerns, such as hurricanes, droughts, tornadoes, global warming, and ecosystem degradation.

Mann was a lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Third Scientific Assessment Report, and has served as chair for the National Academy of Sciences "Frontiers of Science."

He has received the outstanding publication award from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, and in 2002 was selected as one of the 50 leading visionaries in science and technology by Scientific American. Mann wrote more than 100 peer-reviewed and edited publications and recently co-authored the book "Dire Predictions: Understanding Global Warming." He is also a co-founder and avid contributor to the award-winning science website RealClimate.org.

Visit Mann's Web site for more information, including electronic versions of publication and descriptions of current research projects.

Call 285‐2336 for more information about the event. Visit www.noaaiset.org for more information about the ISET Cooperative Science Center.