Each month, our newsletter features a person or group on campus that is working towards a more sustainable world. This month, we had the privilege to interview Kevin Bell, a Professor at the University Of California Santa Cruz. He has done research in urbanizing watershed management, outcomes of the Pacific Northwest Power Planning Act of 1980, and the Sustainable Water Resource Policy. He has worked in various locations in which he was Principal, Convergence Research 1992-current. Policy Director, Northwest Energy Coalition, 1990-1992. Field Hydrologist, King County Surface Water Utility, 1989-1990. During the interview, we asked how Professor Bell promotes sustainability.
What does sustainability mean to you?
"Sustainability means to give everyone, 10 Billion people, a life where they have enough food, shelter, healthcare, safety, and clean water. Even though we are experiencing planet crisis, we have to go through the inevitable social classes; to have people give the earth a chance to recover in order to have the modern life we desire."
What sustainable practice do you live by in your daily life?
"I live in a tiny house where I try to grow my own food and do extreme recycling, like in Seattle where the recycling is much better than it is here. I buy products that will last and keep my carbon footprint as small as possible. I practice this because it is more of a religious ritual because it doesn't change many things unless everyone were to do it. I do things personally because I believe in it but I also know it won't make a difference unless we do something about it."How did sustainability become your passion?
"I was in college in Washington, where I am from. In the late 1970's and early 1980's, the Pacific Northwest was in the middle of the most ambitious nuclear power construction program ever. I was taking a class in energy engineering. Two things were happening: the first thing the research on how passive and active solar energy could go to a point where we could design a system that would work to build a system to make it from basic materials. The Pacific Northwest did not have enough money to build this idea. It costs more money at the end of the year than it did when we started to build the system. I was part of a group of 1000 plus people to create a product that produces less damage and uses sustainable energy. All of this got me into doing research and I have been doing this ever since... . The second thing was when I was working on a hydroelectric project and made various surveys in Washington, which led me to work for many agencies in the future."What does your program do?
" IDEASS is a program which was created to give students the skills and opportunities to solve problems they haven't seen before and have them think of new ways and various solutions to their objective. To have them obtain critical skills in their research. To show students how to grow food on their own with minimal amount of work and cost. To have students understand that grades are not worth much if you haven't learn any skills for your future"A lot of people involved in sustainability have brought up the question of how to have challenging conversations with friends, family members, and roommates that may not be as aware or interested in sustainability. How do you deal with those challenging conversations?
" Usually, I begin by telling them to think of their life in 50 years. What I have noticed is more people think its technology that will discover the answer to a sustainable life. One of my pet peeve is people believe technology will save us from our own destruction. It won't happen because physical actions will do more than us hoping technology will help us all. A lot of big corporations believe this is the solution."What is your long-term vision for sustainability at UCSC?
" Get serious, talk less and do more!"
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