SEI Spring Semester Events
May 23:
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Event recording will be available here
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Last month SEI Celebrated Earth Day Month Our seminar topic was
Soils= Public Health
= Environmental Justice
Our APRIL 25TH seminar hosted Didi Pershouse who shared her insights into the link between soil health, agriculture and mental health. She works in regenerative agriculture. The far reaching implications of changing farm practices and care for the soil are seen in the promise it has for addressing the climate crisis and the global loss in biodiversity.
For a recording of the seminar and related materials that can be useful to faculty teaching about food issues and climate, see our webpage on teaching resources. Didi is encouraged by the interest in innovation and changes in agriculture but critical of the many ways in which mainstream media and corporate interests try to reframe the problem to their advantage.
“The aspect of environmental justice that I think is most relevant right now is the new wave of "green colonialism" and "fortress conservation" that is going on in the push to financialize nature's processes as "Ecosystem Services" and "Natural Capital" as well as the overall mess that the US industrial food system currently represents. It’s really much more about soil and plants' relationships to water, cooling through biological and hydrological cycles, and overall resilience.”
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SEI was super busy in April and May
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El Camino College Earth day: The SEI participated in a panel at the College's Earth Day on April 20th. Using the framework of Project Drawdown, this Earth Day Event focused on climate solutions in key sectors, including: energy, food, agriculture and land use, transportation, industry, the built environment, natural resources, education and environmental justice.
Mt SAC is strongly committed to integrating sustainability. They consider their campus a sanctuary for students. They argue that student's basic needs include fresh air, (no smoking and all electric equipment), fresh water - (bottle filling stations throughout campus), access to nature, wildlife, and green space as well as cooling and shade- (Wildlife Sanctuary, demonstration gardens and habitat restoration projects). Check out their website for excellent resources.
On May 2nd and 3rd, the SEI attended the Annual Forum Symposium—a two day remote event sponsored by ECCLPs (Environment and Climate Change Literacy Projects) which is a consortium of institutions of higher education, including UCs and CSUs committed to embedding climate literacy into the curriculum.
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Gold Creek Ecological Reserve |
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Gold Creek held it’s annual open house event on April 27th, The event was attended by nearly 40 Faculty, Staff, and family members. Guest speaker Emily Cobar spoke about “Nature in the City'' Connecting Students, Science, and Community. Ms Cobar is an adjunct professor at WLA College and Community Program Director at Nature Nexus Institute, a nonprofit organization that focuses on access to nature through education and habitat restoration.
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at WLAC
The CCCCE has a big role to play in BECAP, Blue Economy & Climate Action Pathways, launched at AltaSea. The BECAP initiative will address the Los Angeles area’s ocean-related careers and opportunities. Most of colleges in the district have received BECAP money directed through CTE programs. BECAP funding is meant to enhance career education training in ocean economy pathways including Regenerative Aquaculture, Ocean Renewable Energy & Clean Air, Blue Tech & Underwater Robotics, and Ecosystems Conservation and Restoration. Harbor College will be working on Hydrogen a green energy source, and they hosted a Hydrogen Advisory kick-off on Friday, May 17.
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The Goldman Environmental Prize: This year's prestigious prize went to Andrea Vidaurre. This credited her long fight to protect Southern California communities of color from the freight industry’s toxic emissions helped convince state regulators to improve air quality by adopting groundbreaking zero-emission rules for trucks and trains.
Climate Trends and fossil fuels: "The economic damage wrought by climate change is six times worse than previously thought” leads an article in the Guardian “A 1ºC increase in global temperature leads to a 12% decline in world gross domestic product (GDP), the researchers found". This is a far higher estimate than that of previous analyses.” The evidence is in the fast approach of "tipping points" understood as the moment when a climate induced process is irreversible. The possible failure of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in the North Atlantic/Arctic Sea has far reaching implications for the northern hemisphere. These trends have not inhibited large banks or development banks from continuing the financing of fossil fuel extraction at amounts previously hidden from the public.
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May 29-June 1, 2024 California Preservation Conference: Building Shelter, Sustainability, Community. More information here
June 1, 9:00am- 1:00pm Explore DeForest Wetlands with FOLAR and the Long Beach Utilities More Information here
June 7th 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm First Fridays at the Natural History Museum How We Multiply, Natural History Museum 900 Exposition Blvd, Los Angeles,
June 13, 6:00pm- 8:00pm Queer Ecology Walk! Join FOLAR at Lewis McAdams Park on the Los Angeles River. More information here
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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.
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SEI@LACCD.Edu,
abelsbh@LACCD.edu, leddygs@LACCD.Edu, behlenxl@laccd.edu
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