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Workshops
Workshops offer tips on sustainable living. These workshops are available at no charge to interested groups in the local area. Simply fill out the Sign-up Form below to schedule a workshop for your group or organization:
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Phil Coleman: a research analyst and program manager at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, he designs and deploys large energy conservation programs for the federal government.
Sean O’Donnell: professor in the Department of Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Sciences at Drexel University.
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1. Dramatically Cut your Energy Bills (??? min)
Phil Coleman, President aFewSteps It's a classic problem. You want to cut your energy bills and help the environment, but you don't know where to start - and most of the ideas you hear about involve dropping thousands of dollars (new HVAC, new windows, solar on the roof, etc.). Well aFewSteps' co-founder Phil Coleman has good news: behavior's more important than infrastructure. And he backs it up with data from his own 1980 home, which despite late 1990s HVAC equipment (with efficiencies so low they'd be illegal for sale now) and typical insulation, etc., costs him about $2,000 less to heat, cool, and light than a typical 2,400 square foot house of the same energy configuration (electric AC, gas heat). Take a look at Phil's standard presentation on the house; he'd be happy to come give it to your community or church group. 2. The Science of Climate Change (50 min) Sean O’Donnell, Drexel University This presentation summarizes what we know about the factors that influence temperatures at the Earth's surface. These factors largely determine climate in the living world. Using non-technical language, we will survey basic principles of planetary heat balance. We will examine evidence for and against several possible causes of climate change. The goal is to understand why scientists agree, without controversy, that our climate is warming and that human actions (greenhouse gas emissions) are causing this change. A shorter presentation version is also available. 3. Climate Change and the Biosphere (50 min) Sean O’Donnell, Drexel University Conditions in the living zone at the Earth's surface are changing. What effects are rising temperatures having on our ecology? This presentation explores some of the ways our living planet has shifted in recent decades, in response to global warming. We will explore both physical changes (altered seasons, melting ice) and biological responses (timing of animal behavior, geographic distributions). We will assess how these changes are impacting humans socially and economically. 4. 7 Easy Steps Workshop (90-120 min) 7 Easy Steps To Sustainable Living is the latest in a series of workshops produced by our aFewSteps team. It aims to neatly summarize the most effective individual and family actions we can take to reduce our overall impact on the planet, in an engaging and entertaining format, and can be presented before audiences ranging from as few as 15 to 50 or more, depending on space available. This workshop begins with an exercise designed to get the audience involved and gauge their level of knowledge so that we can tailor the presentation to their needs. Each of the seven actions is discussed in terms of its environmental costs and potential savings. The idea is to offer a choice of actions that people can take, as suits their lifestyle – it’s not an all-or-nothing proposition. Afterwards, we answer any questions and encourage open-ended discussion. We generally schedule about 1-1/2 to two hours for a full workshop, which will depend mostly on the amount of follow-up discussion, and can be flexible. A shorter presentation-only version is also available. |
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