A group of experts will talk about the causes and effects of climate change at a panel discussion on Tuesday, Nov. 15. The campus community is invited to the event, which will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Ursa Major Suite of the Bronco Student Center.

Panelists include Charles Kolstad, environmental economics professor at UC Santa Barbara; James Miller, assistant professor of geography at Cal State Fullerton; and Dean Freudenberger, a food policy expert who previously worked at Lutheran Theological seminary.

The event, titled ¿Climate Change ¿ Not that Simple,¿ complements the First Year Experience (FYE) classes, in which all first-year students this year are required to read ¿Eaarth¿ by Bill McKibben. The author argues that global warming has caused massive and unavoidable changes on the planet and he offers some possible solutions for coping with the results.

¿This panel will provide an opportunity to sort through some of the very complex issues surrounding the reality of climate change,¿ says Victoria Bhavsar, program coordinator of the Faculty Center and FYE committee member.

The First Year Experience program aims to give students an academic foundation and better connect them with the campus community. One of the goals is introducing the method of intellectual inquiry, which involves challenging discussions, academic study, critical thinking, communication and problem solving.

First-year students in the 2010-11 academic year read ¿The Story of Stuff¿ by Annie Leonard, which dealt with consumption, waste, limited resources and sustainability.

For more information, contact FYE committee chair Claudia Pinter-Lucke at clpinterluck@cpp.edu.