UCLA Sustainability

Free Food from the Dining Halls
2023-10-17 22:00, 2023-10-18 22:00, 2023-10-19 22:00, 2023-10-25 22:00, 2023-10-26 22:00, 2023-10-31 22:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Conference Room 1 in the Student Activities Center Basement, 220 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
Get a plate of free hot dining hall food in the SAC basement. Please bring your own containers and utensils. We are operating Tuesdays, Wednesdays, AND Thursdays this quarter.

Seminar: The World in 2050: Transformation Toward a Sustainable Future for All
2023-10-18 14:00 - 15:00 | USC Ronald Tutor Campus Center (TCC) 227 – Rosen Family Screening Room, 3607 Trousdale Pkwy, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, United States
It is a great pleasure that the USC Center for Sustainability Solutions announces a special seminar with Professor Nebojsa Nakicenovic. Professor Nakicenovic is an internationally renowned scientist who has been a key participant in the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for many years. He is the lead author of the “Global Energy Assessment” and director of several reports on “The World in 2050.” His visionary work encompasses the development and analysis of scenarios for a sustainable future of our planet. Space is limited.
RVSP: email Jennifer Sosenko, sosenko@usc.edu.

USGBC-LA Thought Leadership Series: The Cost of Water
2023-10-19 16:00 - 18:00 | STUDIO-MLA, 251 South Mission Road, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, United States
The use of water costs us energy, and if it costs us energy that means carbon as well.
At this event, the host and presenters will:

Release the results of a study on the energy costs of moving water in and around the LA region.
Discuss the connections between energy, water, and carbon to better understand how we can be more efficient with our use of all three.
Unpack the policy and funding landscapes around the energy intensity of water use and how it relates to water reuse, water storage, and more.

In-person event will be livestreamed via Zoom.
REGISTER HERE

Blue Hour Art Exhibition
2023-10-20 12:00 - 2023-10-28 16:00 | AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles, 2451 Signal St, Los Angeles, CA, 90731, United States
Join a mesmerizing art exhibition at AltaSea, open to the public!
Admission is FREE, so gather your friends and family to experience the beauty of art in a breathtaking setting. Whether you’re an art enthusiast or simply looking for some inspiration, this exhibition is not to be missed!
Explore a diverse range of artworks, from stunning paintings to intricate sculptures, and let your imagination soar.
Don’t forget to bring your cameras! Capture your favorite moments and share them using the hashtag #ArtAtAltaSea. Your photos might even be featured on social media channels!

Beyond Climate: How Nature Loss Undermines Peace and Security
2023-10-23 07:00 - 08:00 | Online
The loss of nature is a profound threat to human, national, and global security around the world—and interconnected with the worsening effects of climate change. However, unlike climate change, its impacts are not considered in security strategies and international frameworks. Ecological degradation and biodiversity loss cause the decline of essential ecosystem services that humans depend on for food, health, and economic survival. Nature loss can have further destabilizing effects on human security and lead to fragility, migration, and conflict. While climate change can play a role in nature loss, human activities such as land-use change, overexploitation of resources, pollution, and the introduction and spread of invasive species are the most significant drivers of ecosystem destruction.
The Center for American Progress, WWF Germany, and IISD are hosting a virtual panel discussion focused on the critical role of nature and conservation in maintaining global peace and security, called the nature-security nexus. Representing perspectives from the environmental and security communities, this conversation will seek to provide attendees with a foundation of knowledge for incorporating the impacts of nature loss into modern security doctrines.
REGISTER HERE

Artificial Intelligence for Energy: AI & Energy Technology Discovery
2023-10-23 09:00 - 10:00 | Online
Please join the Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs for a series of discussions on how the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in the energy sector can advance the discovery of new technologies, aid in the prediction of successful energy-related systems, and optimize operations.
The first AI forum will feature a global expert leading the development of AI for scientific discovery, including for energy.
This webinar will be hosted via Zoom. Advance registration is required. Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email with access details. The event will be recorded and the video recording will be added to the CGEP website following the event.
REGISTER HERE

Climate Action Palooza
2023-10-24 - 2023-10-26 | West Los Angeles College, 9000 Overland Avenue, Culver City, CA, 90230, United States
This is a 3-day Climate Action Palooza to empower, inspire, and get everyone excited about the many ways in which we all can support climate action, the decarbonization of economies, and environmental justice.
Day 1: October 24 | International Climate Day of Action | 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
• Opening ceremony features land acknowledgment and a performance by native dancers.
• The Climate Village will feature a live DJ, games, and a vegan food truck.
• Wawa Gatheru, the featured keynote speaker, will be joined by local youth leaders.
• Community building activities, workshops, and booths.
Free admission. REGISTER HERE
Day 2: October 25 | Games for Climate Hackathon | 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
VIP tech judges Chacko Sonny, Gaming Division at Netflix, and award-winning YA author Dana Claire. Winning teams receive full funding for their game idea. Lunch will be provided. Free admission. REGISTER HERE
Day 3: October 26 | Climate Careers Conference | 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Keynote speaker Dr. Robert Fofrich, UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellow, UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, addresses: Why do we need green and blue jobs? Policy leaders across a wide spectrum of industries will forecast the future job market in emerging green and blue-collar industries. Lunch will be provided.
Free admission. REGISTER HERE

Decarbonizing the Built Environment, 3-Part Series
2023-10-24 08:30 - 2023-10-26 11:30 | Online
As the urgency to address climate change and halt greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) continues to grow, designers have a responsibility to make smart design decisions to minimize their buildings’ GHG emissions. The steps to designing a carbon-smart building are two-fold: minimize embodied carbon and bring operational carbon to zero.
This 3-part course will look at the holistic carbon profile of the built environment and the cutting-edge tools, processes, and case studies that design teams can use to design carbon out of their projects.
REGISTER HERE

Envisioning Affordable Housing and Climate Architectures Across the Pacific
2023-10-24 14:00 - 16:00 | Taper Hall (THH), 309K, 3501 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, United States
Kelema Lee Moses, Assistant Professor, Urban Studies and Planning, University of California, San Diego
Discussant:
Ginger Nolan, Assistant Professor of Architecture, USC
Second only to California, Hawai‘i has the most expensive housing market in the United States. Real-estate developers in both states point to aging infrastructure, the scarcity of available land, and complicated zoning and permitting restrictions as contributors to a full-scale housing crisis. That crisis is marked by high costs, low inventory, homelessness, and adverse environmental impacts ranging from sea-level rise and coastal erosion to increased susceptibility to wildfire. Since the 1980s, in continued attempts to mitigate the crisis, the Hawai‘i state government has codified a set of housing technologies among Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) and locals, developing model villages of tiny homes and ‘ohana dwellings (a typology specific to Hawai‘i). This lecture explores how community stakeholders work in, around, and through the islands’ housing histories to envision an urban future that accounts for Hawai‘i’s racial and ethnic diversity, aging population, and multigenerational families. Engaging novel spatial and temporal epistemologies, architects, community organizations, and Kānaka artists offer possibilities for abundant urban futures that promise to transform the practice of architecture and planning in Hawai‘i pae ‘āina and beyond.
Kelema Lee Moses is Assistant Professor of Urban Studies and Planning at the University of California, San Diego.

Free Food from the Dining Halls - *FREE JIN RAMEN @ BRUIN DINE / Much with Ottogi*
2023-10-24 21:30 - 23:00 | Conference Room 1 in the Student Activities Center Basement, 220 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
Get a plate of free hot dining hall food in the SAC basement. Please bring your own containers and utensils. We are operating Tuesdays, Wednesdays, AND Thursdays this quarter.
Bruin Dine will be giving away 300 portions of ramen and rice dishes at food recovery; microwave + kettle will be provided .
Line-up starts at 9:30pm and doors open at 10pm (regular food recovery will run as usual).

Third annual "Climate Solutions Now" Conference
2023-10-25 08:00 - 2023-10-27 17:00 | Online
Learn about climate solutions being implemented in real time and the near future to get inspired, become educated, and find opportunities to get involved in this all-virtual 3-day event.
Talks run from 8-5 pm PT each day. There will be 6 plenary sessions from 8-9 and 1-2 pm PT each day, and the rest of the conference will feature talks from 11 tracks:
– Agriculture and Food Systems
– The Built Environment
– Business Sustainability
– Campus Sustainability
– Climate Communications
– Energy
– Environmental Justice
– Forest Carbon and Earth Observation
– Science and Education
– Transportation and Planning
– Water
The conference is open to everyone everywhere!
REGISTER HERE

How Medicine Becomes Trash: Healthcare Waste as Environmental Crisis
2023-10-25 12:00 - 13:30 | Student Union (STU), 101, 3601 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, United States
Jeremy Greene, MD, PhD, William H. Welch Professor of Medicine and History of Medicine; Director, Institute of the History of Medicine; Director, Center for Medical Humanities & Social Medicine, John Hopkins University
The modern medical enterprise is distinctively wasteful. This may seem to result inevitably from the hazardous nature of medical substances, whose infection risk, chemical toxicity, or radioactivity and accordingly requires more extensive techniques of waste handling. Yet only 15% of global healthcare wastes fit this specialized profile. The remaining 85% are simply materials that have been built to be disposable rather than reusable: a staggering volume of single-use items that emit toxins and carbon dioxide when incinerated, give off methane and other greenhouse gases while decomposing in landfills, or, if they escape these two fates, float on the surface of the oceans.
It was not always this way. In a relatively short period of time, we have naturalized the use of single-use masks, single-use surgical drapes, single-use plastic syringes, single-use surgical tools, and single-use diagnostic tests, all wrapped in multiple layers of single-use plastics—and then forgotten there was ever any alternative. In this lecture, Jeremy Greene traces the links between environmental history, the history of technology, and the outsized role that the global healthcare sector now plays in contributing to climate change and plastic waste. Greene uses the recent crisis of COVID-waste as a window into the broader infrastructure of engineered wastefulness in modern medicine and its differential effects across rich and poor nations on a global scale, and rich and poor neighborhoods on more local scales. Only through historical analysis, he argues, can we work to unseat medical waste as a natural category and reconsider it as the outcome of a set of value decisions we have made in the past, and can change in the future.
REGISTER HERE

HBCU Lunch & Learn Series - Biomimicry
2023-10-25 12:30 - 13:30 | Online
Join Laura McAlister from LA Sanitation and Environment for an enlightening presentation on “Thinking Biomimicry.” Explore the fascinating world of biomimicry, discover how nature’s solutions can shape a sustainable future, and learn practical tips for incorporating biomimicry into everyday life. Don’t miss this opportunity to reconnect with nature and unlock its potential for a greener, more sustainable world.
Discover how you can make a difference in the environment through the work that you do. This series is specifically designed for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) students, but all are welcome to attend.
Learn about sustainable practices, innovative technology, environmental initiatives, and nature-based solutions in a fun and interactive way. Connect with professionals in the field and gain valuable insights.
Don’t miss this opportunity to expand your knowledge and network. Grab your lunch and join us online!
REGISTER HERE

Charting Progress: Regulator Actions on Climate Financial Risks
2023-10-26 08:00 - 09:00 | Online
Climate change poses a significant and growing threat to the stability of financial institutions and markets of all sizes. Ceres’ annual Climate Risk Scorecard assesses the actions that U.S. federal financial regulators have taken within their existing authority to address the systemic impacts of climate-related financial risk. How have these 10 agencies already integrated climate risk into their regulatory activities? And what could they be doing to better protect the U.S. financial system from the impacts of the climate crisis?
In this webinar participants will:
– Interpret the assessments in the 2023 Climate Risk Scorecard
– Identify the actions financial regulators have taken in the past 18 months to manage climate risk
– Define what else is needed from regulators to keep the U.S. competitive, in step with global peers, and our financial institutions safe and sound
REGISTER HERE

Lunch with the Pritzker Award Finalists
2023-10-26 11:30 - 13:30 | La Kretz Garden Pavilion, 707 Tiverton Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
Find out why the Pritzker award community thinks the world should know these emerging change-makers.
All under the age of 40, the finalists are building strong relationships between human communities and the natural world on three continents.
Food will be provided.
REGISTER HERE
Agenda:
-11:30am PT: guests arrive and grab lunch
-12:00pm PT: panel discussion with the finalists
-12:45pm PT: Q & A with the audience

GRID Talks | Charging Latinx Communities
2023-10-26 12:30 - 13:30 | Online
In this month’s GRID Talk, we close out Latinx Heritage Month by discussing what people-first solutions are needed to ensure a clean energy future that is equitable and sustainable for Latinx families and individuals.
With last year’s passing of the Inflation Reduction Act, $500 billion in new spending and tax breaks aim to boost clean energy projects and incentives across the US. GRID Talks will host a panel of Latinx leaders working in environmental justice to discuss how Latinx communities can benefit from this historical bill and what steps and actions are needed to execute community-first solutions.
Why do Hispanic/Latinx populations install rooftop solar at a 30% lower rate than other minority groups? And why do they also pay 20 percent higher energy bills than the median family in the United States? Join us, and let’s find solutions toward a clean energy future that includes everyone.
REGISTER HERE

Livestream: UCLA Innovation Showcase
2023-10-26 16:00 - 18:30 | Online
The UCLA Innovation Showcase livestream features pitches from cross-campus UCLA founders and an expert panel on the impact of AI across industries. Winning startups will receive up to $100,000 in investment capital from the Draper family, UCLA alumni in venture, and $350,000 in Google service credits for their product portfolio.
Startup Pitches: 4:00-5:30p
Panel: 5:30-6:15p
Awards: 6:15-6:30p
WATCH HERE

Environmental Students Networking Reception
2023-10-26 17:00 - 19:00 | Luskin School of Public Affairs, Third Floor Commons and Patio
All UCLA graduate students interested in environmental justice, sustainability, and resilience are invited to a free, cross-campus networking reception. Learn about environmental organizations, student funding opportunities, jobs, internships, and other resources across campus while mingling with fellow students who share your passion for the environment.
With food and drinks provided, this reception will provide a relaxed and informal atmosphere, fostering meaningful conversations and potential collaborations. You’ll have the chance to meet professionals and experts in the field who can offer valuable insights and advice. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to make connections that could help shape your future in the environmental sector.
Mark your calendar and get ready to network, learn, and have a great time at the Environmental Students Reception!
REGISTER HERE
UCLA Collaborators:

C-Solutions
Emmett Institute
Graduate Student Water Resources Group
Impact@Anderson
IoES, Leaders in Sustainability Graduate Certificate Program
Sustainable Grand LA Challenge
UCLA Sustainability

Occidental Presents: Responsibility & Reciprocal Relationships with the Land
2023-10-26 18:00 - 19:30 | OXY ARTS, 4757 York Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, 90042, United States
O﻿ccidental’s Community Book Program Presents: Responsibility and Reciprocal Relationships with the Land: Indigenous Knowledge, Conservation, and Land Return.
Join Oxy Professor of Biology Gretchen North, Celestina Castillo, Executive Director of the Center for Community Based Learning, artist and scientist Samantha Morales Johnson, Tina Calderon, Tongva Language Committee member, Bryce Lewis-Smith, Research Assistant at UW’s Center for American Indian & Indigenous Studies, and Jesus Alvarez, president of the Tataviam Land Conservancy for a dynamic conversation around indigenous knowledge, conservation and land return. This panel was curated by Celestina Castillo and Professor Gretchen North.
REGISTER HERE

Trails & Treats: Plant Sale and Giveaway
2023-10-27 09:00 - 16:00 | UCLA Mildred E Mathias Botanical Garden, La Kretz Garden Pavilion, 707 Tiverton Dr, Los Angeles, CA, 90095
Head to the UCLA Botanical Garden for its annual plant sale and giveaway!
Trick-or-Treat along Garden paths with delightful Garden Guides. Stop by the pavilion to grab a photo in front of our autumnal photo wall. Don’t forget to visit the plant shop to take home some Garden merch and maybe even a new plant friend.
Are you a Garden Member? Get early access to the plant sale starting at 9 a.m. Your first plant is on us! Additional plants available for purchase. Not a Garden member? Sign up here.
9﻿am to 10am: Members Only Hour – Members get a free plant and are entered to win a water bottle and tote bag!
1﻿0am to 4pm: Open to the public – Join us for candy, photo ops, merch, music, our plant sale, and themed trails.
REGISTER HERE

58th Annual UCLA Art History Graduate Symposium, "In/On/Across Bodies of Water"
2023-10-27 09:30 - 16:30 | Hammer Museum
The 58th Annual UCLA Art History Graduate Symposium, In/On/Across Bodies of Water, will explore bodies of water as media of expression, spaces of connection, frameworks of thoughts, and systems of cultural exchanges in art history. Examples of topics include The Indian Ocean World; Atlantic Ocean; Pacific Ocean; The Mediterranean Sea; Inland seas; Piracy; Transatlantic/oceanic/pacific crossing; Maritime Silk Routes; Shipwrecks; Chinese treasure ships; Slave ship; Age of Exploration.
In/On/Across Bodies of Water will be an in-person symposium.
REGISTER HERE

Victor Seow - "Fossil-Fueled Developmentalism: Carbon Technocracy in Modern East Asia"
2023-10-27 16:00 - 17:30 | Social Sciences Building (SOS), 250, 3502 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, United States
How might we make sense of the origins of the fossil fuel turn, and how might our understanding of this past inform our present, as we confront the ongoing crisis of climate change? In this talk, Victor Seow will draw upon his recently published Carbon Technocracy: Energy Regimes in Modern East Asia (University of Chicago Press, 2022) to discuss how modern states of different stripes, from imperial Japan to communist China, came to embrace strikingly similar forms of science-driven, coal-fired developmentalism amid an international order that was being reshaped by the carbon energy transition. What is revealed in this connected and comparative account is the extent to which interstate competition and statist preoccupations around economic growth, national security, and resource autarky have driven the intensification of fossil fuel production and use across political modalities, at great human and environmental cost.
REGISTER HERE

Sustain-O-Ween at the Backyard Farm
2023-10-28 18:00 - 21:00 | SOW Collective Backyard Farm, 13625 Sunburst Street, Los Angeles, CA, 91331, United States
Get ready for a spooktacular evening at the Backyard Farm! Embrace the spirit of sustainability while celebrating Halloween in style.
At Sustain-O-Ween, we believe in having a frightfully good time while being mindful of our planet. This unique event brings together eco-conscious individuals like yourself to enjoy a night of fun and sustainability.
Don’t miss the costume contest where you can showcase your most creative and fashion foward upcycled attire. Prizes await the winners!
Indulge in delicious organic treats andsip on refreshing beverages. Immerse yourself in the festive atmosphere, surrounded by like-minded people who care about our planet.
Whether you’re a sustainability enthusiast, a Halloween lover, or simply looking for a unique experience, Sustain-O-Ween at the Backyard Farm is the place to be. Mark your calendar and join us for an evening of spooky sustainability!
Ticket Includes
Entrance into Costume Contest
Free Drink & Snacks
Ways to Purchase Your Ticket

Purchase ticket via Eventbrite, please consider paying fee as Eventbrite keeps a percentage of all ticket sales
Purchase ticket via Zelle by sending at stephanie@sowcollective.org

All Ticket Purchases are a Donation and are Tax Deductible You Will Receive a Receipt with our EIN Number
REGISTER HERE

Film Screening: "Stepping Softly on the Earth"
2023-10-30 15:00 - 17:00 | UCLA Glorya Kaufman Dance Theater, Kaufman Hall 200, 120 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
Filmed on location in Peru, Colombia and Brazil, the documentary Stepping Softly on the Earth (2022) provides a vision for a possible future for humanity, with an alternative to destruction that is based on the ancestral life of native populations. The film focuses its narrative on three Indigenous leaders who are survivors of the capitalist war in the Amazon and struggle to keep their ways of being alive and coexisting in the world without destroying it.
The film will be followed by a Q&A moderated by Susanna Hecht (Center for Brazilian Studies) and Alexander Ungprateeb Flynn (Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance).
Free and Open to the Public

A Guide for Businesses: California's New Climate Disclosure Legislation
2023-10-31 12:00 - 13:00 | Online
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed two landmark climate disclosure bills into law, SB 253 and SB 261. These bills will require thousands of public and private companies that do business in the state to report all greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related financial risks. Join California state Senators Scott Weiner (SB 253) and Henry Stern (SB 261), and our Ceres experts for a robust discussion on what comes next in California and what these new laws mean for your company.
Attendees will:
– Discuss the new disclosure legislation with Senators Wiener and Stern
– Review the implementation timeline and reporting requirements
– Outline the technical requirements of both bills
– Identify the next steps in California and need for continued supportive corporate support
REGISTER HERE
