SEI Update
April, 2023
LACCD Sustainable Environment Institute
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Join SEI and the Professional Development College for our
Earth Day Event, April 28, 9:00-12:00
Don't miss our speaker event our amazing Earth Day/Month speakers talking about consumption, sustainability and the future.
Viewed through the lens of fashion, food and film
- Ken Pucker on the Myth of Sustainable Fashion
- Frank Fitzpartick and Marce Evans - The Herd Foundation
- Hanna Barlow from Good Food International
- Melissa Larson and Maci Maier -Renegade Restoration
Links are on flyer below. Flex credit is available.
Please consider providing extra credit to students that attend.
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Also Join SEI and the Professional Development College for our
Earth Day Film Series, April 14-30
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Gold Creek
Open House May 6th!
The Annual Gold Creek Open House will be held this year on Saturday, May 6th, 8am-2pm
All LACCD employees and their families are welcome on Saturday, May 6th. Gates at the reserve will open at 8:00am with a bird walk scheduled first thing. Several hikes are planned throughout the day. In addition, participate in interactive events, displays and a potluck lunch. Watch for event announcements.
There is much flowering of the Coastal Sage Scrub community, as well as a continued explosion of invasive annual grasses. The grasses are still very green, but eventually they will constitute a fire hazard.
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WLAC's California Center Climate Change Education grand opening, April 22
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A well-attended event at West LA College marked the grand opening of the Climate Center and featured the new director for the Center, Jo Tovares. Speakers at event included Chancellor, Francisco Rodriguez, College President Dr. James Limbaugh, LACCD Trustee David Vela, as well as Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, and student leaders at WLAC. Here is s a link to the Center's website
The mission of the Center has six components. The Center will…
- “Serve as a resource for community colleges on climate change education with the understanding that at its core, climate change is a global issue of equity and social justice;
- “Build a clear climate change pathway that leads to appropriate certificates, degrees, and employment opportunities;
- “Enhance partnerships with nonprofit organizations that encourage the development of student internships and work-based learning opportunities;
- “Explore and expand internships, pre-apprenticeships, apprenticeships, and other work-based learning opportunities in the equity, environmental justice, and green jobs sectors;
- “Partner with local and regional entities to support the workforce training needed in the greening of the energy grid and other industries;
- “Develop and sustain an annual urban climate change and sustainability conference.”
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PANDO Days April 16 awards the LACCD |
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Dr. George Leddy, Bharat Patel and Dr. Rueben Smith received a commendation for their work on SEI teaching modules on water and energy conservation in campus buildings. The Facilities program for total electrification by 2040 was central to the energy module. Rita Kampalath, Chief Sustainability Officer for LA County, presented the awards at the event that took place at Cal Tech in Pasadena.
LATTC Architecture professor Marcela Oliva was also recognized in an additional award for her students' project at Watts Towers Nature Walk.
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"Librarian quietly makes her mark at Valley College: Xiaoyang Liu-Behlendorf demonstrates dedication to academic success for the student body.”
We are not surprised that SEI' s Special Projects Coordinator Xiao Behlendorf was spotlighted in the Valley Star News on April 13th . Xiao is a creative problem solver, master of resources and woman of action here at SEI as well.
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Earth Day Refresher Course on new California legislation on plastics, organics and energy.
California leads the way on environmental policies, there are a few new policies that are worth a look
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LA County Oil Well Ordinances
In 2022, the Los Angeles City Council adopted an ordinance to ban all oil drilling within City limits. The adopted Oil Ordinance requires the phase out of these oil drilling activities, which are known hazards to public health and safety, by immediately banning new oil and gas extraction and requiring the removal of existing operations after an amortization period.
Ordinance No. 187,709, effective on January 18, 2023. e deems all existing drill sites and oil/ gas wells as legally nonconforming use. In addition, it prohibits operators from drilling, redrilling, deepening, or performing any well maintenance, except if it is to prevent or respond to a threat to public health, safety, or the environment, as determined by the Zoning Administrator. This specific review process is known as the Health and Safety exception.
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LA Sanitation implements composting and collection |
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As of January 18, 2023, all single family residential properties, multifamily complexes and businesses are required to participate in an organics collection service and must separate into their green organics container ALL of their green waste, food scraps, and food-soiled paper (100% fiber based). Learn more here.
LA Sanitation & Environment (LASAN) green containers are for recycling yard trimmings and food scraps. The following are items that can be placed in the LASAN green bin:
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LASAN Green Bin:
- Yard trimmings
- Grass clippings:Leaves and branches,.
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Food scraps
- Food soiled paper products: including pizza boxes and coffee filters
- Natural wood
- 100% Natural bamboo: clean, untreated, not coated
- Natural corks
Not Allowed in Green Bins
- Painted/coated wood products
- Animal waste and pet litter
- Non-Organic material
- Household hazardous waste materials (HHW) -
- Products labeled "biodegradable" or "compostable"
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California reacts to single use plastics!
SB 54 requires all packaging in the state to be recyclable or compostable by 2032, cutting plastic packaging by 25 percent in 10 years and requiring 65 percent of all single-use plastic packaging to be recycled in the same timeframe.
At least 30 percent on and after January 1, 2028.
At least 40 percent on and after January 1, 2030.
At least 65 percent on and after January 1, 2032.
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News Briefs
link on bolded words to read more
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The Supreme Court rejected appeals from big oil on fighting government lawsuits over whether they can be held responsible for harms resulting from global warming.
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Organizations We are following this month: |
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Youth Vs. Apocalypse is a diverse group of young climate justice activists working together to lift the voices of youth, in particular youth of color and working class youth. Their collective action aims to fight for a livable climate and an equitable, sustainable, and just world.
Our job is to tell raw and unfiltered stories from the frontlines. We take a non-traditional approach to environmental storytelling and focus on race, culture, politics. We empower our audiences to listen first and consider specific community-driven solutions and calls to actions from impacted communities directly. Our ethos is simple: deliver trusted stories for our people.
The Othering & Belonging Institute at the University of California, Berkeley advances groundbreaking research, policy, and ideas that examine and remediate the processes of exclusion, marginalization, and structural inequality—what we call othering—in order to build a world based on inclusion, fairness, justice, and care for the earth—what we call belonging.
Our vision is a world where everyone understands and experiences the interrelatedness of people and place; where all students have access to high-quality environment-based education; and where all people have the knowledge, awareness, and ability to promote health and wellbeing for themselves, their communities, and the planet.
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from the editors…
As always we invite your submissions to this newsletter. Write about environmental issues that are important to you. Let us know what projects you or your students are working on. Tell us what is happening on your campus or in your community, Email the SEI staff with your proposed article or news brief, or calendar event. Contact SEI@laccd.edu.
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