The national teach-in is a free program seeking to engage students, faculty and others in combating global warming. Through Webcasts, panel discussions and workshops, the grassroots event aims to bring a wider audience to the discussion of climate change.
All UC campuses throughout the state will hold workshops, provide demonstrations of clean energy solutions and conduct roundtable discussions on sustainability efforts. UC chancellors, California Assembly members and environmental experts will host talks and participate in a number of events across the campuses.
UC President Robert C. Dynes will be at UC Davis to speak about the impact climate change and UC's work in helping to provide solutions.
"The University of California embraces this opportunity to raise awareness about the urgent need for climate solutions," said Dynes. "UC has had a long history of leadership in the environmental sciences, and at the urging of our students, we have been practicing what we teach through institutional sustainability practices. Our Focus the Nation dialogue will help us chart a road map for the future of our fragile planet."
Campus highlights include an address by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez, a panel discussion on "Air Pollution, Biomonitoring and Environmental Health Tracking," a green business fair, and a booth set up for students, faculty and others to send a video message to the U.S. Congress on climate change.
From green energy to energy efficiency, the University of California has been a leader in its sustainability practices and environmental research programs. Over the last few years, UC campuses, researchers and students have received national recognition for their cutting-edge policies, programs and efforts. In October, the Sierra Club's magazine named UC one of America's Top 10 "coolest" schools for its efforts to stop global warming.
Focus the Nation UC campus highlights
UC campuses are conducting scores of workshops, demonstrations and teach-ins for Focus the Nation. Most events will be held on Thursday, Jan. 31. Below are a few highlights for each campus.
Berkeley
Contact: Fahmida Ahmed, (510) 642-0074, fahmida@berkeley.edu
http://bie.berkeley.edu/ftn
• Speakers include California Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez and former Assemblywoman Fran Pavley -- the sponsors of California's landmark Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32); LBNL Director and Nobel Prize winner Steven Chu; and UC Berkeley faculty from various disciplines.
• Activities include panel discussion led by UC Berkeley faculty and students.
Davis
Contact: Camille Kirk, (530) 752-7954, cmkirk@ucdavis.edu
http://sustainability.ucdavis.edu/focus/program.html
• Speakers include Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef, UC President Robert C. Dynes and UC Davis faculty from various disciplines.
• Events include a teach-in featuring talks on solutions for everything from energy efficiency to business and law, to home and spiritual life.
• "Car-Free Campus" will collect and publish names of community members who pledge to walk, cycle, carpool, bus or use other car-free modes of travel to campus on Jan. 31.
Irvine
Contact: Cathy Lawhon, (949) 824-1151, clawhon@uci.edu
http://www.sustainability.uci.edu/focus.html
• Panel discussions will feature UC Irvine faculty on a wide range of topics, including the effects of climate change on Southern California's water supply, environmental law and regulation of the emerging carbon market, climate change research in the biological sciences, and green building.
• UC Irvine will feature a community tree-planting activity and an art exhibition of children's art work that answers the question: "What is one thing I can do today to turn the tide of climate change?"
Los Angeles
Contact: Phil Hampton, (310) 206-1460, phampton@support.ucla.edu
http://www.sustain.ucla.edu/FtN_sched_Jan3.pdf
• Speakers and panel participants include: Lt. Gov. John Garamendi; Mary Nichols, director of the California Air Resources Board (the Air Resources Board is the lead implementer of California's Global Warming Solutions Act); Chancellor Gene Block; and UCLA faculty from various disciplines.
• Events include a green business vendor fair, as well as panel discussions on the science, economics, politics and environmental justice implications of global climate change.
• An art display focusing on environmental consciousness.
Merced
Contact: Ana Nelson Shaw, (209) 228-4406, ashaw@ucmerced.edu
• Speakers include: David Graber, chief scientist for the Pacific West Region of the National Park Service; Mike Beasley, assistant fire chief at Yosemite National Park; and Deidre Kelsey, Merced County supervisor.
• Panel discussions will highlight the regional effects of climate change as well as potential policy solutions.
• A "You tell ‘em" booth will be set up outside the teach-in area. Students, faculty, staff and community members can visit the booth to record and send a video message to the U.S. Congress asking for action on global climate change.
Riverside
Contact: Kris Lovekin, (951) 827-2495, kris.lovekin@ucr.edu
• Sign a petition for high-speed rail at the Campus Climate Challenge, sponsored by the CalPIRG student group, bell tower mall. Information: (951) 255-1121.
• A screening of the Al Gore documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth." Follow the signs to the screening room. The event is sponsored by the CalPIRG student group.
San Diego
Contact: Christine Clark, (858) 534-7618, ceclark@ucsd.edu
http://focusthenation.ucsd.edu/index.html
• Speakers include Chancellor Marye Anne Fox and faculty from various disciplines.
• Events include a sustainable art exhibition, green car show, green-powered concert, green career panel, and a group mural painting activity.
• A panel discussion featuring UC San Diego faculty including Richard Somerville, a professor at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography and one of the nation's top experts on climate change, and California Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña, and a mock trial by debate team.
San Francisco
Contact: Lisa Cisneros, (415) 476-3256, lcisneros@pubaff.ucsf.edu
http://pub.ucsf.edu/today/cache/news/200801041.html
• Activities include a screening of "2% Solution" and a live Webcast on Jan. 30 featuring Stanford University climate scientist Stephen Schneider, PhD; sustainability expert Hunter Lovins; and green jobs pioneer Van Jones and actor Edward Norton.
• Panel discussion will include topics such as "Environmental Health Risks Associated with the Health Sector and the Ecological Footprint of the Health Care Industry" and "Air Pollution, Biomonitoring and Environmental Health Tracking."
• A screening of the "The 11th Hour."
Santa Barbara
Contact Katie Maynard, (805) 893-2003, kmaynard@geog.ucsb.edu
• Speakers include Marty Blum, Santa Barbara's mayor; Adam Green, director of Santa Barbara City College's Center for Sustainability; and Donna Carpenter, UC Santa Barbara's vice chancellor for administrative services.
• A panel on environmental justice and climate change with black studies, Asian-American studies and environmental studies professors.
• A debate and panel discussion with UC Santa Barbara economics professors, and Janelle Kearsley, director of corporate strategy/sustainability for Wal-Mart.
Santa Cruz
Contact: Guy Lasnier, (831) 459-2955, Lasnier@ucsc.edu
http://sustainability.ucsc.edu
• Speakers include: Santa Cruz County Treasurer Fred Keeley, Chancellor
George Blumenthal; UC Office of the President Sustainability Manager Matt St. Clair; and UC
Santa Cruz faculty from various disciplines.
• Attendees will be trained on how to reduce their carbon footprint both in their personal and professional life.
• UC Santa Cruz students, faculty and staff will discuss how to plan
for carbon mitigation, increase waste diversion rates, encourage
sustainable transit options and environmentally preferable purchasing.
For more information on UC sustainability and clean energy efforts:
www.ucop.edu/facil/sustain
For more information about UC environmental research and programs:
www.universityofcalifornia.edu/environment
For more information about the University of California:
www.universityofcalifornia.edu
For more information about Focus the Nation:
www.focusthenation.org