UCLA Sustainability

Young Professionals in Energy: Panel Discussion - Building Electrification
2023-11-15 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Wedbush Center, 1000 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 1100, Los Angeles, CA, 90017, United States
Join YPE for an exciting event on November 15 at the Wedbush Center in Los Angeles, CA, USA. A panel of experts will be discussing how we reduce carbon emissions from the building sector and the barriers and opportunities along the way.
Come connect with industry experts, network with like-minded individuals, and gain valuable insights. This in-person event promises to be informative and inspiring. Mark your calendars and come be part of the clean energy revolution!
REGISTER HERE

Second annual H.E.A.T Happy Hour
2023-11-15 18:00 - 20:00 | HiDef Brewing, 1203 S Olive St, Los Angeles, CA, 90015, United States
Enjoy an evening to connect with up-and-coming leaders from various fields (food and drink options available; no-host bar).
Take public transportation or bike share due to the closure of the 10 Freeway. HiDef Brewing is accessible via the Metro A and E lines at the Pico Station. A Metro bike share station is located on 12th and Hill Street. Paid lots and metered street parking are also available.
The featured speakers for the night will be Director of Resilience and Organizational Strategy, Natalie Hernandez, and Climate Planning and Resilience Coordinator, Lia Cohen. Natalie and Lia will be speaking on all things resilience and the latest projects they’ve been leading at Climate Resolve.
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Building Performance vs. People Performance
2023-11-15 18:30 - 20:00 | UCLA Perloff Hall, DeCafe, 365 Portola Plaza, Room 1302, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
A look at the evolution of goals, strategies, and methods for making buildings more sustainable across the portfolio of projects spanning the career of Lance Collins, AIA, NOMA (MArch II ’99), an architect, urban planner, and sustainability specialist.
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Free Food from the Dining Halls
2023-11-15 22:00, 2023-11-16 22:00, 2023-11-28 22:00, 2023-11-29 22:00, 2023-11-30 22:00 | 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. Bruin Dine is operating Tuesdays, Wednesdays, AND Thursdays this quarter.

Cities on the Frontline: Humans and Habitats
2023-11-16 06:00 - 07:00 | Online
To create a healthy urban habitat, natural systems can play a pivotal role in climate adaptation but requires seamless integration and respect for natural systems to mitigate environmental risks and ensure human well-being.
Leon Kapetas, Lead for Climate Resilience, Programs, R-Cities; Tina Marano, Future Communities Lead – Americas GHD; Sander Klaasen, Senior Landscape Architect, City of Rotterdam, Netherlands; & Shilesh Hariharan, Madras Terrace, Chennai, India will explore the challenges and opportunities, perspective in past experiences, lessons learned, and what best practices that integrate natural systems into urban ecosystems can do for cities and communities.
REGISTER HERE

E2 1 Hotels Fellowship: 2023 Fellow Showcase
2023-11-16 10:00 - 11:00 | Online
Please join this webinar to meet E2’s 2023 1 Hotels Fellows and learn about their innovative projects to advance sustainability, environmental justice and a clean economy for all.
The E2 1Hotels Fellowship supports emerging leaders in developing and implementing projects that amplify the business and economic case for smart policies to address pressing environmental issues.
On this webinar, you’ll hear directly from our fellows and be able to ask questions about their projects that address a diverse set of issues ranging from access to clean energy careers, to electrification and agriculture.
REGISTER HERE

Electrifying LA’s Cargo Handling: Progress & Opportunities
2023-11-16 13:00 - 14:00 | Online
The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are well on their way toward electrification, but the road to zero emission is a long one.
Join us for a panel discussion webinar on Thursday, Nov. 16 at 1pm featuring expert panelists from the Port of Los Angeles, Southern California Edison, and Earthjustice. The panelists will share updates on the progress being made to transition to zero-emission cargo handling equipment at ports in L.A. County, as well as their recommendations for solutions that would accelerate deployment.
This conversation marks the publication of a new report by the UCLA Emmett Institute and UC Berkeley’s Center for Law Energy & the Environment. The report, tilted “A Heavy Lift: Policy Solutions to Accelerate Deployment of Zero-Emission Cargo Handling Equipment at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles and Beyond,” will be published in advance of the webinar on Tuesday, November 14.
Panelists:
Brian Bustamante, Senior Advisor, Government & Institutions · Southern California Edison
Jacob Goldberg, Environmental Specialist · Port of Los Angeles
Regina Hsu, Senior Attorney, California Regional Office, Earthjustice
Moderated by Emmett/Frankel Fellow Beth Kent
REGISTER HERE

Oral Histories of Environmental Illness Symposium, "Canary Knowledge: Chronic Fatigue, Chemical Sensitivities and the Limits of Medicine"
2023-11-17 09:30 - 2023-11-18 13:00 | HYBRID: Hershey Hall Salon (158) and Online, 612 Charles E. Young Drive East, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
With the surge in numbers of “unrecovered” from the Co-V2 pandemic, the public’s interest has turned to disability and caregiver activism, ongoing remissions protocols, and patient-led research networks established by those living with chronic fatigue, multiple chemical sensitivity, tick-borne illnesses, and autoimmune conditions (e.g. HIV, lupus, Crohn’s). This conference bridges the immediate before and after of Co-V2’s effects on this growing population of the chronically ill, and often medically abandoned, to ask how they—like the proverbial canaries in the coal mine—have defined and laid the groundwork for disability justice, art, and activism.
This event is part of a three-year multi-campus research grant at the University of California focusing on “Abolition Medicine and Disability Justice: Mapping Inequity and Renewing the Social Project.”
Hybrid event. The event will be in-person and live-streamed on CSW|Streisand Center’s YouTube channel @UCLACSW.
In-person Waitlist Only. Virtual Spots Available.
REGISTER HERE

Open House: Women in the Hydrogen Revolution
2023-11-18 10:00 - 12:30 | AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles, 2451 Signal St, Los Angeles, CA, 90731, United States
The scientific properties of hydrogen enable clean energy production and storage, businesses involved in the hydrogen sector drive economic growth and diversification, and the social value of hydrogen lies in its ability to reduce environmental impact, provide energy access, and contribute significantly to mitigating climate change. Embracing hydrogen technologies thus represents a powerful convergence of scientific innovation, economic opportunity, and social progress.
This event aims to explore the pivotal role women play in shaping the future of clean energy and fostering positive change in our society. Agenda: Keynote Addresses by Industry Leaders: Alison Hawkins, General Manager, Hydrogen for Mobility, Air Products and Katrina Regan, Engineering & Technology Development Manager, Angeles Link, SoCalGas
About the Speakers: Alison Hawkins: With extensive experience in the hydrogen industry, Alison Hawkins, General Manager for the Hydrogen for Mobility business of Air Products, will share her expertise in driving sustainable growth and innovation within the sector.
Katrina Regan: As the Engineering & Technology Development Manager for Angeles Link, Katrina brings a wealth of knowledge in clean energy innovations and safety protocols. Her insights into renewable hydrogen pipeline systems are invaluable in our pursuit of a cleaner future.
Join for an enlightening evening to delve into the future of clean energy, the role of women in this revolution, and the intersection of equity, environmental impact, and economic growth.

Whole-System Gardens: Nature's Intelligence Guiding the Future of Design
2023-11-18 11:00 - 12:30 | UCLA Mildred E Mathias Botanical Garden, La Kretz Garden Pavilion, 707 Tiverton Dr, Los Angeles, CA, 90095
As part of a public learning series, discover how whole-system gardens are a potent approach to the challenges of a changing climate.
Join the UCLA Mathias Botanical Garden and Shawn Maestretti, the founder and principal landscape architect of Studio Petrichor, as he invites us to rethink our connection with the land by tapping into Nature’s wisdom.
Through captivating visual storytelling, Shawn will guide us on a journey that explores our relationship with planet Earth. He will unearth potent tools to transform urban landscapes impacted by human activity into water-conscious, biodiverse, and vibrant environments that redefine our perception of beauty.
Throughout his presentation, Shawn will delve into key concepts such as rainfall integration, soil optimization, embracing the Carbon Culture, cultivating a passion for native plants, and harnessing the power of community as a catalyst for change. With his deep-rooted passion, extensive experience, and unwavering optimism, Shawn inspires his audiences to take action.

Climate Policy and the Inflation Reduction Act
2023-11-20 12:00 - 13:30 | HYBRID: Online and at Hanson Bridget LLP, 425 Market St, 26th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105
Join a special lunch & learn to delve into the trajectory of climate policy after the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). What effects has the IRA had and what do we expect down the road? How is it affecting regulatory initiatives by EPA and the states? Don’t miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights into the IRA’s ongoing implementation, broader impacts of the largest climate spending legislation in U.S. history, and what it means for our future.
On Zoom and In-Person
REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR HERE
Speaker:
Professor Daniel Farber is the Sho Sato Professor of Law and the Faculty Director of the Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment at the University of California, Berkeley. A leading authority on environmental and constitutional law, his publications have been influential in addressing the legal and policy challenges posed by climate change.

LA Climate Reality Movers and Shakers Series
2023-11-26 19:00 - 20:00 | Online
Join the Los Angeles Climate Reality Project for our monthly chapter meeting, with guest Ed Begley, Jr.
Ed Begley, Jr. has moved easily between feature, television, and theater projects. Among many feature films, Ed has been seen in Amsterdam and a number of Christopher Guest films, such as Best In Show. He has also had recurring roles on Six Feet Under, Arrested Development, and Portlandia.
Turning up at Hollywood events on his bicycle, Ed has been considered an environmental leader in the Hollywood community for many years. He serves on the boards of The Coalition For Clean Air and The Thoreau Institute, and has won awards for his environmental work from the California League of Conservation Voters, NRDC, and Heal the Bay.
REGISTER HERE

Breaking Down Barriers to Buying Carbon Removal
2023-11-28 09:00 - 10:00 | Online
Join an exciting online discussion with Erik Hansen (Workday), Rafael Broze (Microsoft), Hannah Bebbington (Frontier & Stripe), and Elizabeth Troein, PhD (Carbontech Consulting) about how more companies of all sizes can purchase durable and scalable carbon removal solutions. Learn how leaders approach carbon removal purchasing, how to gain internal support for removals, and where carbon-neutrality or net-zero strategies play a role.
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Let's Talk Trash: Senator Allen Virtual Webinar on Composting and Recycling
2023-11-28 16:00 - 17:00 | Online
In recent years, the California Legislature has created several new laws that change how we dispose of packaging and food waste. Recycling and composting are important components of long-term sustainability goals. For those of us who are eager to do our part, it can be confusing to determine what goes in which bin – or even how to get the right bins in the first place.
Join Senator Ben Allen and Athens Services Director of Sustainability and Zero Waste Programs Jessica Aldridge to learn about California’s new composting and recycling requirements, as well as best practices for residents and businesses in Los Angeles County.
REGISTER HERE

Oxy Live! Presents: A Conversation with Rebecca Solnit
2023-11-28 18:00 - 20:00 | Choi Auditorium (Johnson Hall 200), Occidental College, 1600 Campus Road, Los Angeles, CA, 90041, United States
Occidental College and OXY ARTS are pleased to present Oxy Live!, a conversation series highlighting a diverse lineup of cultural luminaries at the forefront of their fields. Hosted by acclaimed interviewer and cultural interlocutor Paul Holdengräber.
Writer, historian and activist Rebecca Solnit is the author of twenty-five books on feminism, environmental and urban history, popular power, social change and insurrection, wandering and walking, hope and catastrophe.
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Air Quality Management in Cities, and Implications for Climate Mitigation
2023-11-29 08:00 - 09:00 | Online
Join Terra.do for this special keynote address from Dr. Sarath Guttikunda on climate change’s effect on air quality on both the urban, regional, and global scales. Dr. Sarath will explore how local data from monitoring and modeling studies were a key factor in climate policy efforts in India and beyond.
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Electrifying Transportation: A Policy Leadership Series Event with Cathy Zoi
2023-11-29 11:00 - 12:00 | HYBRID: Online and Resources and Conservation Center, 1400 16th Street Northwest Washington, DC 20036
As the recently retired CEO of EVgo, Cathy Zoi has an incredible set of insights about U.S. efforts to electrify our transportation sector. EVgo is among the nation’s largest fast-charging network for electric vehicles serving 140 million Americans living within 10 miles of an EVgo charger. Prior to her time at EVgo, Zoi created several clean energy companies and served as an Assistant Secretary and Acting Under Secretary at the Department of Energy during the Obama Administration.
Resources for the Future President and CEO Richard Newell will sit down with Zoi to share her reflections over the course of her impressive career in clean energy and public policy, her hopes and expectations for the future, and lessons learned for environmental and energy leaders on what is needed to get to a net-zero reality.
REGISTER HERE

Children, the Constitution, and the Climate Crisis
2023-11-29 12:00 - 13:00 | Online
This year, Held v. Montana—the only constitutional climate litigation to go on trial in the United States—was brought by Our Children’s Trust on behalf of children. The Held case was tried in state judicial district court in Helena, Montana, in June 2023. On August 14, the judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in this landmark decision, deciding that the Montana Environmental Policy Act was unconstitutional and that Montana’s constitutional right to a healthful environment includes climate.
Our Children’s Trust also represents the 21 youth plaintiffs in the landmark federal constitutional climate lawsuit Juliana v. United States, as well as youth in climate litigation and legal actions in multiple other states and countries. It is the world’s only nonprofit public interest law firm exclusively dedicated to representing young people securing their legal right to a safe climate.
Please join the Center for American Progress and Our Children’s Trust for an online event discussing the climate crisis and the constitutional rights of youth. The webinar will highlight the constitutional climate cases filed by Our Children’s Trust.
REGISTER HERE

Grid Modernization: Global Insights & Local Solutions
2023-11-29 15:00 - 16:30 | Online
Hosted in conjunction with the Local Government Sustainable Energy Coalition (LGSEC), this one-and-a-half hour event will showcase an array of speakers from around the globe discussing common challenges and potential solutions as governments worldwide seek to decarbonize their electric grids. Featured topics will include the complex dynamics of grid transformation, challenges with grid capacity, the role of microgrids, and the potential of public-private partnerships to facilitate the energy transition.
This event is open to the public and free of charge.
REGISTER HERE

Botany of the Holidays
2023-11-30 16:00 - 18:00 | UCLA Mildred E Mathias Botanical Garden, La Kretz Garden Pavilion, 707 Tiverton Dr, Los Angeles, CA, 90095
Celebrate the season, and see the UCLA Botanical Garden all decked out! Learn about the histories of toyon, marigolds, and kumquats in holiday traditions around the world. De-stress in nature with snacks and a holiday hangout. Looking for a gift for your friends and family? There will be a pop-up plant sale and Garden merchandise.

Converting Natural Resources: Representations, Performances, Narratives
2023-12-01 09:00 - 2023-12-02 13:00 | William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, 2520 Cimarron Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90018, United States
This conference considers visual, textual, material, and performative engagement with processes of commodification in the early modern world. It explores how images, objects, and practices converted environments into resources, natural resources into lucrative items with commercial and tax-yielding significance, and destructive forces and forced labor into idealized landscapes and aestheticized bodies. The conference shifts the focus from the collection and display of phenomena in cabinets of curiosities, to the mechanisms and processes through which raw materials were converted into commodities.
The conference is free to attend with advance registration, and will be held in-person at the Clark Library. Registration will close on Monday, November 27 at 5:00 p.m. Seating is limited at the Clark Library; walk-in registrants are welcome as space permits.
REGISTER HERE

Community Engaged Research for Just Energy Services Transitions
2023-12-01 10:30 - 11:50 | Online
People do not need kilowatts; instead, they need the multitude of services provided by access to energy, including thermal comfort, refrigeration of food and medicine, cooking, lighting, communication, and transportation. As socio-technological systems experience rapid transitions associated with addressing climate change, inequity in access, aging infrastructures, and the negative socio-environmental consequences of current energy systems, addressing justice is paramount. Taking an energy services approach changes how we approach energy systems research and pursuit of energy justice, and community engagement is an essential tool for promoting just processes and outcomes. In this talk, Dr. Schelly presents some of her research collaborative research using community engagement research methods to promote just energy services access through energy systems transitions. Key takeaways from this work include the importance of collaboration across institutional domains, the complex implications of pursuing of energy sovereignty, and the role of ontological pluralism in supporting meaningful engagement that can support energy justice and a transition to a decarbonized energy system.
Join via Zoom (passcode=[REDACTED]

Botanical Garden Public Tour
2023-12-02 10:00 - 11:00 | La Kretz Garden Pavilion, 707 Tiverton Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
Explore UCLA’s living museum featuring collections of plants from around the globe! Join a Garden Guide for a free tour of the Botanical Garden.
You’ll hear the stories of selected plants in the Garden and their relevance to human society. All ages are welcome. Tours meet at the La Kretz Garden Pavilion at the northern end of the Garden and are given a grace period of 5 minutes.
RSVPs are not required.

Molly Hunker & Kyle Miller present new book, "Building Practice"
2023-12-04 18:30 - 20:00 | UCLA Perloff Hall, DeCafe, 365 Portola Plaza, Room 1302, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
Molly Hunker (MArch ’10) and Kyle Miller (MArch ’08) present their new book, Building Practice, which features interviews with architects, designers, educators, curators, fabricators, strategists, critics, and activists who are advancing speculative design through the culture and politics of building, capturing critical and formative moments associated with building a practice. Each interview in the book reveals strategies for linking practical and theoretical forms of knowledge and evidences the active creation of unique approaches to contributing positively to both architectural culture and the built environment. Hunker and Miller articulate how architects today claim conceptual territory regarding form, space, order, materiality, and aesthetics, and push for design to have meaning and value in relation to cultural, environmental, political, and social concerns. The individuals and practices profiled in the book and featured in this event, including UCLA Architecture and Urban Design faculty Kutan Ayata and Benjamin Freyinger, and alumni Ellie Abrons, Paul Andersen, Kelly Bair, Kristy Balliet, Brennan Buck, David Freeland, Adam Fure, Jia Gu, Andrew Holder, Justin Rice, and Kagan Taylor, collectively partition themselves from previous generations of experimentally motivated practices while individually exemplifying their own inimitable affinities, techniques, and sensibilities. Building Practice shares the first acts of an emerging generation of practices and identifies the peripheral yet pivotal aspects of building a practice today.
REGISTER HERE

Designing for Decarbonization
2023-12-05 09:00 - 13:00 | Online
Verdical Group is partnering with Southern California Edison (SCE) to present Designing for Decarbonization, a FREE, half-day, virtual workshop that will demonstrate what it means to achieve “decarbonization” for your building projects.

Understand the definitions of decarbonization, zero net energy (ZNE), and zero net carbon (ZNC) buildings
Learn from case studies of completed projects
Understand the design and construction process necessary to achieve high-performance buildings

You will learn about important market trends around energy efficiency, green building code requirements, proven and emerging technologies, operational best practices, and real-world case studies in the built environment, as well as be given resources and tools to set building owners, operators, and end users up for success. The workshop will provide tangible next steps for how we can all contribute and shift toward a decarbonized future.
REGISTER HERE

A Discussion with Critical Ecology Lab’s Suzanne Pierre & Em Whalen
2023-12-05 12:30 - 13:30 | UCLA Geology Building, Room 4667, 595 Charles E. Young Drive East, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
Join a discussion, with lunch provided to attendees. This is an in-person event and spaces are limited, so an RSVP is required.
Dr. Suzanne Pierre (Founder & Director, Critical Ecology Lab) and Dr. Em Whalen (Postdoctoral Researcher, CEL) will discuss their work as part of the Critical Ecology Lab, and the organization’s mission more broadly. After finishing their PhDs in ecology and environmental science, they both sought alternative pathways outside of academia to continue their research and education work– in a context that recognized the pressing (& intertwined) social and environmental crises we face today.
The Critical Ecology Lab (CEL) is an independent, not-for-profit, transdisciplinary research and education organization that aims to uncover the social, political and economic systems that give rise to coupled social injustice and ecological crisis. During this lunch, we will discuss the following themes, leaving ample time for Q&A based on the group’s interests:

Pathways for environmental science research outside academia and industry
Connections between social theory, environmental justice and quantitative science
Reframing the origins of our present environmental crises in order to rethink solutions

If you have the time and interest, we invite you to read the following short articles and excerpts in advance of our discussion, to provide context and ground the conversation:

Michelle Nijhuis, The Miracle of the Commons
Farhana Sultana, Excerpts from Whose Growth in Whose Planetary Boundaries? (read abstract & introduction; read section “Systems Change Needed” p. 5-6)
Oxfam, Excerpts from Climate Equality: A planet for the 99% (read beginning of introduction, e.g. p. 7-13; read p. 20-27 section on actions)

Space is limited due to room size (capacity = 20). You must RSVP to reserve your spot!
REGISTER HERE
