WISCONSIN RAPIDS - On January 30 and 31, Mid-State Technical College (MSTC) will join over 1,400 colleges, universities, K-12 schools, faith and civic organizations and businesses in a nationwide "teach-in" on global warming solutions called Focus the Nation. The public is invited and encouraged to attend this free event which will be hosted in the Auditorium at MSTC's Wisconsin Rapids campus, 500 32nd Street N.

The teach-in will kick off at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, January 30 with the airing of the 2% Solution webcast produced by the National Wildlife Federation. The webcast explores the question, "Can the United States cut carbon dioxide emissions 2% per year for the next ten years to meet the goal of an 80% decrease in emissions by 2050? If so, how?"

The webcast features Stanford climate scientist Stephen Schneider among others. Locally, interactive discussion of the webcast as well as sustainable community and renewable energy initiatives will be led by Dr. John Anderson, MSTC biological sciences and chemistry instructor, and Dr. Anna Haines, UW-Stevens Point (UWSP) associate professor and director of the Center for Land Use Education.

The teach-in at MSTC will be held Thursday, January 31 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. A re-broadcast of the 2% Solution will be held from 9:00-10:00 a.m. followed by discussions and presentations by MSTC instructors Dr. Deb Crunkilton, Urban Forestry Technician program; Curt Andres, Automotive Technician program; Dr. James Bond, Physics and Biological Sciences; Mark Ptak, Civil Engineering-Highway Technician program, and Eric Olsen, UWSP instructor and land use specialist.