February 2017 Sustainability Profile: Jeremy West

Name: Jeremy West

What is your title on campus? 
Assistant Professor of Economics

Where are you from? 
Austin, Texas, though I’ve lived in states at all four edges of the U.S.: California, Texas, Minnesota, and Massachusetts. 

What is your educational background? 
I have BSc and PhD degrees in Economics from Texas A&M. I did my post-doc at MIT before joining the faculty of UCSC in 2016.

What does “sustainability” mean to you? 
To me, sustainability means ensuring that future inhabitants of the Earth have at least as good opportunities and environment as inhabitants today, in every way possible.

How does sustainability relate to your role at UCSC? 
I practice (and preach) sustainability at UCSC in my research, teaching, and service. My work focuses on public policy and its role in society’s management of our scarce environmental resources. I apply scientific and statistical methods to study human behavior and facilitate smarter environmental policies with minimal undesirable side-effects. In addition to research in these areas, I teach environmental economics and public policy at undergraduate and graduate levels (for interested students: I’ll be teaching both during the spring 2017 quarter). I am also collaborating with faculty from disciplines across UCSC to design and teach a novel graduate program in Coastal Science and Policy.

What are your research interests?
I empirically study economics related to public policy, consumer behavior, resource conservation, energy, and the environment.

How do you practice sustainability in your own life? 
People readily think of the “big” ways to practice sustainability -- buying an electric car, for example. While these actions clearly matter, there are plenty of smaller ways to regularly practice sustainable behavior. Personally, I practice such “micro-sustainability” through choices such as commuting by bicycle to my UCSC office, minimizing my use of non-reusable household products, and supporting our country’s amazing parks and greenspace as often as possible!

Each month, our newsletter features a person or group on campus that is working toward a more sustainable world. If you know of a person or group on campus that you think we should profile, or if you would like to be profiled, please send us an email.

Fight Climate Change with a Thought

Article by Tan Ha, Climate Action CUIP

I struggle with the idea of greenhouse gas emissions. It is not like I do not understand how much damage it causes to the environment. As the UCSC Sustainability Office’s Climate Action Intern, I can tell you about state-wide reduction goals and exactly how many metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2e) emissions our campus needs to reduce. However, what does it really mean when I tell you that we are trying to reduce 27,000 MTCO2e by year 2020?

I reflect on this as I calculate emission factors for the next Climate Action Plan. I realize that fighting against the trends of global warming will take more than measuring GHG inventories or drafting plans for administers and planners alike. But official planning documents do not inspire the larger demographic such as students and community members to live a carbon neutral lifestyle.

Even with prior knowledge of the lofty goal of reducing 27,000 MTCO2e, I need to remind myself that it is equivalent to stopping 3 million gallons of gasoline from burning annually after 2020. I imagine the scorching gasoline near where I live. I smell the viscous fumes robbing the fresh air released from the vibrant Santa Cruz trees. Then I remember that I am privileged to not see this in front of me. I recognize that this “fire” caused by the UCSC community is unbounded and threatens the global environment. However, developing countries are in the heat of the fire. They are at greater risk as they have fewer resources to protect themselves from these increased “natural disasters.” Every person, institution, region, nation, and global entity is a stakeholder of the problems and solutions associated with climate change. I want to take this opportunity not to ramble about how bad it is but invite my readers to look into this problem as an opportunity. It is our chance as young, curious individuals to ask how my lifestyle can affect the world. I like to entertain the idea that although the problem may be beyond one person’s work, it should be within the means of our collective effort. So let us take baby steps in our life. Before we know it, we may easily put out a fire of 3 million gallons of gasoline. It is our ambition, concerns, and belief systems that drive us to consciously shape the world so that future generations can know how passionately we fought for life on earth. What does it mean to turn off the lights, ride your bike, or shop locally? I don’t fully understand but I challenge you to find this answer with me.

Image courtesy of  scotthaefner.com

May 2012: Classes, Training & Community

Live at PICA Next Year!

Interested in living in the PICA community? If you enjoy living sustainably, gardening, sharing home-cooked meals, and living in a friendly educational community, PICA (Program in Community and Agroecology) might just be the place for you! Details on how to sign up for the Village's amazing themed housing can be found here. If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Bethany Hecht.

Summer Writing Workshops
This summer, UCSC Environmental Studies lecturer and research associate Sarah Rabkin will be offering a five-day writing retreat in the northern Sierra Nevada and two workshops at Sitka Center for Art & Ecology, on the Oregon coast. For more information, please click here.

AASHE Rio +20 Webinar - Increasing Collaboration to Build a Sustainable Future: May 10
Co-produced by AASHE, this webinar is the first in the Security and Sustainability Forum's "Run up to Rio +20" webinar series. AASHE's Executive Director Paul Rowland will host a panel of academic and industry thought leaders in a discussion about existing sustainability initiatives and collaborative efforts, and how they can be augmented to help meet the goals being established at the United Nations Rio +20 Summit. The webinar will take place 1:15 p.m. Eastern, May 10.

CURC Recycling Webinar - Campus and Community Outreach: May 10
Recycling Education and Awareness: Tools, Tips and Ideas for Campus and Community Outreach," hosted by the College & University Recycling Coalition (CURC) and co-sponsored by AASHE, will cover tools and communications strategies specific to college campuses. Participants will learn how to increase program visibility through national events including Recyclemania; maximize reach through collaborations with campus-based and community organizations; and effectively utilize social media and other free communications tools. This webinar will take place 1:00 p.m. Eastern, May 10.

Workshop for Integrating Sustainability into Education: Registration Deadline May 15
This three-day workshop, to be held June 4-6, in San Diego, CA, and allows academic faculty to explore how they can meaningfully integrate sustainability, which is broadly defined, into their classrooms. Presentations on sustainable agriculture, sustainable communities, and biomimicry; a visit to the San Diego Zoo; a presentation on sustainability initiatives at Balboa Park; a Kumeyaay exhibit and presentation at the Museum of Man; and an optional excursion to the Mission Bay Aquatic Center, with tour and canoeing/kayaking afterwards. Limited to 40 participants, register now!

IDEASS Now Accepting Applications: Deadline May 25

Are you an innovative, entrepreneurial, and self-motivated student seeking opportunities to put ideas about sustainable design, social change and environmental stewardship to the test? A new interdisciplinary program: Impact Designs, Engineering and Sustainability through Student Service (IDEASS) is now accepting applications for class enrollment for the 2012-2013 academic year. Juniors and Seniors from all majors are encouraged to apply. Click here for details!

Summer Institute on Sustainability and Energy: Apply by June 1
Graduate and senior-level undergraduate students are invited to apply for this University of Illinois at Chicago interdisciplinary program that explores a broad spectrum of sustainability and energy related topics including policy, economics, health, science, engineering, environment, urban planning, business and entrepreneurship. Themed "Election 2012: Energy, Economics and Environment," the August 2012 institute will use the presidential election as the point of departure for a critical analysis of national energy and sustainability issues. For fullest consideration, applications should be submitted by June 1.

Webinar: Creating a Bike-Friendly Campus Culture: June 6
Best for those institutions that are still in the foundational stages of developing a campus-wide alternative transportation strategy, this Academic Impressions webinar will take a step-by-step approach to creating a bike-friendly culture on any campus using Duke University (NC) as an example. Supported by AASHE, this event will start with basic initiatives including bike racks, bike storage rooms and bike maps, and move into deeper investments like developing effective town/gown relationships. It will take place at 4 PM online. Click here for more information and to register.