If you're hoping to attend the 2009 UC, CSU, CCC Sustainability Conference at UC Santa Barbara June 21-24, you might want to register by next Tuesday, May 26. That's the deadline for early-bird discount registration for the gathering of sustainability experts from California universities and community colleges, an event that is also open to the public.

The early-bird registration fee is $395. That will increase to $445 after Tuesday, and then go up to $495 after June 15. For high school and college students, the early-bird fee is $95, which increases to $145 after Tuesday and $195 after June 15.

The conference offers the general public as well as students, faculty, and staff of California's universities and community colleges the chance to learn about the latest sustainability practices on campuses all over the state.

The theme of this year's conference is Working Our Way to Zero. Conference organizers are calling it a zero waste and zero net emissions event. Topics will include energy, food systems, green building, new construction, social equity, transportation, water, and many others. The keynote speaker will be Dave Newport, director of the Environmental Center, University of Colorado at Boulder.

For more information on the conference and registration, as well as scholarship and volunteer opportunities, go to http://sustainability.ucsb.edu/conference.