Stories of Sustainability Research and Engagement from the Students and Scholars at UC Santa Cruz

Kristy Kroeker, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, isn't just interested in how climate change is impacting the world's oceans. She's also interested in sharing that research with the public and policy makers in order to enact solutions, as well as helping other scientists and researchers communicate their work.

Building from of a new graduate course,  Communicating Sustainability Science and Policy,  taught by Professors Kroeker and Mark Carr this summer, Professor Kroeker has started a blog to feature UCSC student and faculty research and engagement on issues of sustainability. The Coastal Sustainability blog provides a platform for students in the course to continue practicing their science communication, as well as to highlight UCSC's leadership in sustainability research more broadly and coastal sustainability more specifically. The Stories of Sustainability Research and Engagement from the Students and Scholars at UC Santa Cruz blog will be featured each month in our Sustainability Newsletter under "Research Stories."

The blog is available online here.

UC Carbon Neutrality Summit- Bending the Curve

Chrissy Thomure, the Climate Action Manager at the Sustainability Office shares her experience at the UC Carbon Neutrality Summit.

 
It's not often that UC President Napolitano, Governor Jerry Brown, 50+ faculty and researchers, Nobel laureates, and business leaders get together in one place to focus on a topic.  But on October 26 & 27, these movers and shakers got together at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography at UC San Diego to focus on one of the most critical issues facing society; climate change.

The latest science presented at the conference revealed that under the current “business as usual” practices, the planet is on target to exceed a 2 degrees Celsius increase relative to the pre-industrial average by 2050 and a 4 degrees Celsius increase by 2100, triggering serious large-scale problems including droughts, forest fires and sea level rise from 1.5–2 meters by the end of the century. Catastrophic climatic events are becoming more and more common, and are disproportionately affecting the world’s most vulnerable people.

Despite the stark facts that were presented, there was a sense of excitement and optimism in the air as we heard from the leaders of a committee of 50 academics and researchers from across UC’s 10 campuses who worked over the summer to develop a report recommending a set of actionable solutions for curbing climate change using existing technologies.  The report, called Bending the Curve, pulled together experts from a broad spectrum of fields ranging from climate science to ethics, economics, ecology, energy, environmental justice, political science and religion.  The Chair of the Committee, Veerabhadran "Ram" Ramanathan- who in 1975 discovered the greenhouse effect of chlorofluorocarbons in the Earth’s atmosphere- insists, “there is still time to mitigate the most disastrous of the predicted changes.”  Governor Brown iterated this point by saying, “The challenge for us is to imagine the likely extreme outcomes of climate change and take actions now to prevent it.”

Yes, this is a monumental challenge.  The encouraging thing is that it was apparent at this Summit that these leaders are not just “talking the talk” but are also “walking the walk.”  With the Carbon Neutrality Initiative announced by President Napolitano in 2013, the University of California pledged to become carbon neutral by 2025.  The state of California has its own ambitious climate targets: Reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels, shift California’s electricity production to at least 50 percent renewable sources, and increase building energy efficiency by 50 percent – all by 2030.  To learn more about UCSC’s commitment to climate action, click here. 

Cormorant Diet Technician, Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge

The non-profit Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge seeks two, half-time technicians (19hrs/week) to process Brandt’s Cormorant diet samples in a temporary position (approximately two months). The data collected from the seabird diet samples will be used in an ecosystem scale analysis to inform recommendations for fisheries in the California Current System. Work for this position will be conducted at the Marine Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center (MWVCRC), California Department of Fish and Wildlife office in Santa Cruz, California. Primary duties will include processing and sorting cormorant regurgitations (pellets) and removing prey hard parts for subsequent identification in a laboratory setting.

Requirements: attention to detail - this work requires thoroughness and sorting of very small objects; ability to follow scientific protocol and direction; ability to work independently and reliably in a laboratory setting once properly trained on sampling techniques.

Desired skills: Previous experience with detail-oriented lab work, prey sorting, or fish otolith identification; interest in marine science and conservation.

Compensation for this temporary position is $12/hour.

Position start date is no later than December 10, 2015. To apply, please email resume and cover letter to Erica Donnelly-Greenan at erica [at] oikonos [dot] org

Please use “Cormorant Diet Technician” as the subject line.

Join a regional green living magazine startup with ECO-SHIFT in conducting local market research

Internship Description:
Two Santa Cruz County-based environmental professionals are in the early startup phase of launching a regional green living magazine. Targeting a spring-summer 2016 issue, the launch is on an accelerated pace. The first phase requires marketing research to help (a) understand the appetite for this publication in the region and (b) inform the branding, naming, format and content development of the first issue. The yet to be named magazine startup requires 4 interns for 6 hours per week to conduct market research at community events. Community events are within a 40-mile radius of Santa Cruz, so at least 2 interns require a car (mileage will be reimbursed). Interns will also work with the data collected by compiling, organizing, and analyzing it. Interns will also learn to prepare data visualizations and narratives, incorporating them into the magazine’s foundational and supporting documents. The internships are currently unpaid but are available as 2-credits. They are interested in interns starting immediately but can wait until winter quarter for the right fit.

Specific objectives of the projects assigned to the intern

1. Assist co-founders in developing market research survey instruments and coordinate survey locations.
2. Complete market research assignments, conducting surveys and developing an audience profile through data analytics.
3. Serve as an internal advisory member to the co-founders.
4. If interested, prepare content for magazine based on market research findings.
5. There is the potential to continue the internship quarter to quarter through the 2015-2016 academic year and summer.

Prerequisites:
No coursework required although demonstration of writing skills developing and use of Microsoft Excel in coursework is a certain plus.

Preferred skills/background:
Previous work with the public is preferred as is a positive attitude and willingness to learn as part of a team. They are a very team-oriented duo who strive to work efficiently, creatively and collaboratively. They highly value these characteristics in applicants. Since the magazine is a written product, they also prefer applicants who demonstrate competent writing skills. With the team's deep expertise in complementary areas of environmental consulting, policy and technology, interns will learn a wide range of best practices, the magazine launch process and organization, and participate in a fast-paced, start-up environment.

Required skills/background:
They require experience in Microsoft Excel, with an understanding of formulas, equations, functions and data manipulation. Most important for this project is that applicant can demonstrate that he/she is a quick learner, detail oriented, dedicated and is enthusiastic to work with us in a startup environment.

If you are interested, please submit a cover letter or introductory email including the following to Agnes Topp at amartelet [at] hotmail [dot] com
Thank you, they look forward to hearing from you!

Relevant coursework

• A resume or CV highlighting skills or work experience relevant to this internship
• Your availability for work this quarter and when you can start
• Whether you have a car
• Why you are interested in working with them
• The environmental issue you are passionate about
• We hope to have our interns selected to start immediately or in winter quarter by early to mid-November!

About The Company:
Two Santa Cruz County-based environmental professionals are launching a regional green living magazine that is yet to be named. The magazine will be the California Central Coast’s source for practical tips and authoritative information for the environmentally conscious consumer. This magazine will be rich with locally relevant content and photography to creatively inspire and enable the reader to gain a deeper understanding of issues, actions, and products and lead a sustainable lifestyle.

The company is seeking to fill a niche for their target audience of mature, eco-conscious consumers. Those consumers are more likely to support local businesses and are willing to spend more for sustainably-sourced and produced goods. Studies show that eco-conscious consumers are more likely to turn to written media in magazines and on the web for information than the television or radio.

According to the BBMG Conscious Consumer Report, nearly 9 in 10 Americans say the words “conscious consumer” describe them well and are more likely to buy from companies that manufacture energy efficient products (90%), promote health and safety benefits (88%), and commit to environmentally-friendly practices (87%). This is especially true in California, where conscious consumers are shaping State policies and political leadership.

Leading Conservationists Make Efforts To Resolve Reasons to Conserve Nature

A new petition, launched early November, by 240 leading conservationists, including UC Santa Cruz faculty, makes the point that conservational efforts are being grossly hindered by the field's lack of inclusiveness. The petition hopes to move past a personal debate which has invaded the field lately, which pits two camps against each other. 

The two camps argue for nature's instrumental value (we must protect nature to help ourselves) and intrinsic value (whereas, nature should be protected for its own sake). Two notable Banana Slug voices in this debate are Heather Tallis (M.S. in Chemical Oceanography at UC Santa Cruz) and M. Sanjayan (Ph.D in Biology). You can now add your name to the petition and learn more about the next steps toward brining diversity and information to conservation values. 

Innovative Approaches to Sustainability at Other Campuses

Here are a few selections of the innovative approaches to sustainability taking place on other college campuses. Each of these examples was chosen because they represent ideas that UCSC could potentially implement in some form, or in some cases, already has begun to. If you see something here that you want to make a reality at UCSC, contact the Sustainability Office susted@ucsc.edu and we will help you direct your ideas toward fruition!

New Compost Program, Targets Pizza Boxes

North Carolina State U Begins Pizza Box Composting. The university's Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling implemented the Pizza Box Composting Project, which seeks to decrease compostable waste on campus and encourage students to pay more attention to the importance of composting. These boxes, plus additional boxes from other campus organizations and personal purchases, will be turned into nutrient-rich soil through composting. So many students here on our campus order tons of pizza and it would be great if we had a pizza box composting system at UCSC too.

Stanford Farm Implements Water Conservation Techniques in Face of Drought

The Stanford Community Farm, a one-acre field located on the outskirts of campus, has implemented moisture-trapping gardening techniques in order to mitigate water usage, in response to the ongoing shortage of rainfall throughout California. They set up drip-watering systems that he estimated as being 80- to 90-percent more efficient due to plants having more time to absorb a more limited amount of water. The farm has also incorporated the use of three kinds of cover crops—oats, rye and bell beans—that have unique root systems conducive to allowing air and water to seep deeply into the soil. Without the cover crops, the soil would become compressed, which would eventually lead to erosion and a loss of valuable nutrients to wind and rain. If our CASFS isn't already using similar techniques, the farm should try this to conserve water.

U New Mexico Establishes Student Food Pantry

Imagine being a student who doesn't have enough money to buy healthy food. This is not as uncommon as many may think. If students don't eat properly, they cannot concentrate and do well in school. Recognizing that, the UNM Dean of Students Office, the Division of Student Affairs and a Food Bank are partnering to bring a mobile food bank to UNM students once a month. What would it take to have this at UCSC? This would be beneficial to students here.