Freshmen to engage with author about global warming

Elizabeth Kolbert, author of the second-annual UW common book, Field Notes from a Catastrophe, joins the freshmen class in a discussion on global climate change and her book tomorrow.

The Common Book project, initiated in 2006, is meant to "introduce and engage ... students in the University's intellectual community."

All incoming freshmen were expected to read the book before the beginning of fall quarter.

Last year, students were able to interact with Mountains Beyond Mountains author Tracy Kidder and central figure Paul Farmer in a large forum, but this fall, Kolbert will attend a more intimate setting.

Students will be able to personally inquire of her experiences, relate to her findings or even critique her, if so desired. Undergraduate Academic Affairs and the UW Alumni Association will also be sponsoring a larger discussion in the Hec Edmundson Pavilion later that day.

Kolbert, a writer for The New Yorker and previously a reporter for The New York Times, tackles the big public issue of global warming.

Whereas some would continue to defend its absence or lack of scientific evidence, Kolbert pushes this issue with a variety of field research and statistics in Field Notes.

She also interviews some of the top climatologists and geophysicists of the day including Vladimir Romanovsky and Jay Zwally.

Freshmen have had mixed reactions to her book.

"Global warming is a hot issue," said freshman Kevin Louie, a pre-engineering student. "But they could have chosen a better book."

Some students have not read the book, while others interact with professors in class discussions, another goal of the UW Common Book program.

"Most people have seen An Inconvenient Truth; so they don't need to really read it," Louie said.

With Al Gore as the co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize this past weekend, debate and discussion of global climate change has re-ignited.

However, the hype for Gore and the issue of climate change does not seem to affect classroom dynamics for freshmen.

"So far it's not pertinent," freshman Carter Butaud said.

But the UW Common Book program does aim to establish the book as a central asset for new students.

"This project is a catalyst for new undergraduates to make discovery, innovation, scholarship and community engagement," according to the Common Book project Web site.

[Reach contributing writer Spenser Smith at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]