You may have seen that last week I unveiled the Line 5 Syllabus— a resource for anyone who wants to understand the matter in its most complex and historical dimensions. Thanks to everyone who took a look.
I mention this because you can bet that Line 5 will be a topic of conversation one month from today when people from around the state convene for the annual Michigan Climate Action Network’s Climate Summit. I’m especially excited that this year’s summit will be hosted by my very own Oakland University. I can tell you with certainty it’s going to be fun and exciting– much more that dry policy discussions.
The theme for this year’s Summit “Climate S.O.S”.: an opportunity for “Sharing Our Stories” amid Michigan’s moment for the movement. So in addition to the science and policy panels, the summit promises more intimate interactions, featuring the arts, culture, and healing. The idea is to build camaraderie and catalyze the emotional engagement needed to spark social action toward solutions to today’s crisis.
In fact, here’s a little sneak preview: if you attend this year’s summit, along with lots of other arts, you can see the sixteen-foot whale my students made in our “Literature and Environment” course this semester. His name is Ishwhale and he is currently on display in the Kresge Library. But he’ll migrate over to the Oakland Center for the summit.
And if that’s not enough, to kick things off we’re holding a cool storytelling event the night before at the Crowfoot Ballroom in Pontiac. It should be fun as well!
I hope you’ll join us; I’d love to meet some new folks in person. You can register here. Please do!