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I also liked the open nature of the panel discussion and invitation to the audience. I think the format made it unlikely that during the evening any of us would be able to say, oh, my mind has been changed. What panelists and audience members alike expressed, however, could be seen as opinions derived from lifetimes of doubting and following curiosity to new findings. That doesn't mean our doubts have ended, nor that we might not change opinions as a result of what we heard that night. To ask for it all to take place in 90 minutes is a lot.

Seeing the play after the first panel discussion, I found the scene striking in which people refused to look through Galileo's telescope to see what he had found. It was symbolic to me of what has happened in the last decades as we Americans have refused to see and act on facts of environment and global warming. This is a case of politics, not religion, preventing appropriate action; our societal failure to face facts and take action.

Even as awareness has risen and states have taken leadership, how many people are really thinking about what fundamental changes should take place? Perhaps people should give up second houses (and big houses), travel to distant places, children's travel sports teams? How many are thinking about sacrifices beyond buying a hybrid car (if they have moved that far in their thinking)?