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Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n University Among Those Supporting Paris Climate Agreement<\/strong><\/p>\n There\u2019s a familiar name among the 1,219 who signed the \u201cWe Are Still In\u201d document in support of the Paris Agreement and its efforts to combat climate change.<\/p>\n President Rock Jones, Ph.D., signed the document June 5, making Ohio Wesleyan one of 183 colleges and universities to endorse the proclamation. \u201cWe Are Still In\u201d also has been signed by representatives from 125 cities and nine states, and by 902 businesses and investors.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is imperative that the world know that in the U.S., the actors that will provide the leadership necessary to meet our Paris commitment are found in city halls, state capitals, colleges and universities, investors and businesses,\u201d the document states. \u201cTogether, we will remain actively engaged with the international community as part of the global effort to hold warming to well below 2\u2103 and to accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy that will benefit our security, prosperity, and health.\u201d<\/p>\n There are many reasons for Ohio Wesleyan to sign the document, Jones said. Perhaps most notable is the pioneering work of F. Sherwood Rowland, Ph.D., a 1948 OWU graduate.<\/p>\n A Delaware native, Rowland earned the 1995 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work studying chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). His research led to significant discoveries in the field, including that chemicals in aerosol sprays, air conditioners and foam insulation were damaging the oxygen layer surrounding the earth\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n At a White House climate change roundtable in 1997, Rowland spoke passionately on behalf of scientists concerned about global warming: \u201cIsn\u2019t it a responsibility of scientists, if you believe that you have found something that can affect the environment, isn\u2019t it your responsibility to do something about it, enough so that action actually takes place? If not us,\u201d Rowland said, \u201cwho? If not now, when?\u201d<\/p>\n Woodrow W. Clark II<\/a>, Ph.D., a 1967 Ohio Wesleyan alumnus, also made an impact through his efforts to protect the environment as one of 30 members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC was a co-recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, along with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, for the film \u201cAn Inconvenient Truth.\u201d<\/p>\n The spirit of \u201cWe Are Still In\u201d also connects well with Ohio Wesleyan\u2019s academic program and the April announcement that it was creating an Environment and Sustainability Program<\/a> with a new environmental science major<\/a> this fall, Jones said.<\/p>\n The Environment and Sustainability Program will include the collaboration of nearly 20 Ohio Wesleyan faculty members who specialize in the natural sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities. One of the program\u2019s highlights its innovative \u201cConversations: Toward a Sustainable Future\u201d course. Students will take the course twice \u2013 once as newly declared environmental science majors and once as seniors in the program \u2013 to provide both a cornerstone and capstone for their study of ecological issues.<\/p>\n