SEI Update

September, 2024

Welcome to the Fall Speaker Series

WE LIVE HERE

The focus is on our understanding, awareness and responsibilities to the region where we live, work and play

Our first speaker in our Series is Emily Cobar, Community Educator with Nature Nexus, instructor and cofounder of the conservation studies certificate at West Los Angeles College. Ms Cobar produces events such as the Raices Y Futuro- Celebrating Latine Conservation and Climate Justice work.

To attend

Direct zoom address https://laccd.zoom.us/j/81583996227

or for

FLEX CREDIT

Register for Flex Credit via the VRC.

Each seminar is followed by a 1 hour "community of practice" meeting - 1 hour.

Schedule of

Fall Semester Seminars and

Community of Practice

September 19th, 12:00-1:00 pm (zoom) Emily Cobar

o         1:00-2:00pm Community of Practice

October 17th, 12:00-1:00 pm (zoom) Matthew Teutimez

o         1:00-2:00pm Community of Practice

November 21st, 12:00-1:00 pm (zoom) Lazaro Arvizu)

o  1:00-2:00pm Community of Practice

This Fall we are starting a Community of Practice - providing support for embedding environmental equity into curriculum across disciplines. Join us just after our seminars where we can discuss strategies and best practices (or worse) for integrating concepts gained from the seminars and other resources into our classes.

Stay after each seminar this semester to participate.

All are welcome.

SEI Implements a New Initiative in Partnership with the

California Center for Climate Change Education at WLAC 

SEI is advancing every possible opportunity to help faculty embed environmental equity into the curriculum across all disciplines in the LACCD. With the support of the Climate Center at West LA College, SEI just launched the LACCD Environmental Equity Education Demonstration Project.  This Includes  funding for professional development resources  and stipends for faculty.  In the 24/25 academic year, e are placing an Environmental Equity Liaison (EEL) and 5-6 Global Environmental Equity Educator Cohort (GEEECo) faculty on each of our 9 colleges. For further information contact us at SEI@laccd.edu

This demonstration project is meant to scale up to all 116 California Community Colleges.  Working with the sponsorship of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, SEI submitted a $7.5-million-dollar budget request to the State Chancellor’s Office. This request amplifies the work we are doing here in our district to all California Community colleges for 3 years.

Indigenous People, Native Americans and the climate crisis

The second Monday of October the US celebrates Indigenous peoples day. a reminder that Indigenous Peoples safeguard most of the planet’s biodiversity has long been cited by many international organizations.

Southern California Indigenous communities have been here stewarding -here- for time immemorial and have the knowledge and expertise to provide leadership on place. First nations and autochthonous people the world over have led the struggle for conservation of wilderness, protection of water resources, and work toward the restoration of exploited landscapes that are led by native peoples, especially women. Opposition to oil and gas pipelines and defense of forest lands are today led by native nations in the US and Canada.  

Important victories for native people in the US involve water rights and ecological restoration. In Arizona the Navajo and Hopi nations as well as the Paiute peoples have agreed to share the Colorado River with other users as long as their claims are honored first. (Consider that half of the extracted water from the Colorado River is used to irrigate fodder crops like alfalfa and hay for the dairy and cattle industries.) This agreement comes after many years of litigation on what seemed unresolvable.  

“The deal calls for the federal government to allocate $5 billion toward the building of critical infrastructure to link the territory’s surface water and groundwater sources to the communities that need them.” (LA Times)

Now Congress has to act to secure this settlement. 

In California, the Yurok people have seen the successful removal of dams on the Klamath River that will return their land and restore the salmon runs of this northwest salmon culture.

There is no better time to make way for Indigenous leadership and to dedicate resources, materials and institutions to this path. SEI is hoping to help strengthen community knowledge about indigenous leadership with speakers in our We Live Here Fall Seminar Series. Plus, keep an eye out for the new Pierce College Native American Studies program.

Climate Updates

It's hot in Los Angeles, how hot?

This September is off the scale for heat in Los Angeles. Woodland Hills in the San Fernando Valley may be used to being the hottest place in LA, but now Van Nuys, where I live, can be 110ºF for what seems like days. We are seeing the hottest years in recorded history and this one has broken several records. Even Climate scientists are surprised by how this heat has surpassed their models.

Extreme heat impacts are found across all aspects of urban life. This type of heat results in cascade of effects that threaten the health of vulnerable populations as well as plants and wildlife. Heatstroke and life-threatening distress can occur when temperatures rise to the low 90s and 100s. The 2023 Fifth National Climate Assessment points out that “redlined neighborhoods” are more likely to see temperatures on hot days that are 15°F higher than the wealthier neighborhoods in the same city. The thousands of deaths are hard to track, but you can use the UCLA Heat Map to track data such as unusual emergency room visits. Our lives in Los Angeles are changing.

For ideas on how to manage in this type of extreme heat.

Find resources and strategies for managing extreme heat in Los Angeles visit the L.A. City's Climate Emergency Mobilization Office

Graphic images here are from the Los Angeles Times series on Climate California. The series offers an excellent and frequent publication of well researched articles with a regional focus.

PFAS gets overdue attention as research and new regulations are published

With the directive from the EPA that PFAS* (“forever chemicals”) must be removed from drinking water in the US, the good news is that over-arching regulation has arrived to this pernicious family of chemicals that have been in use since the 1950s. They were developed to provide non-stick surfaces to kitchenware, and fabric, but also found in fire retardants, food (coffee, white rice, eggs), detergents, and common household products. Removing them from drinking water will be difficult as the state of Maine has discovered. Indeed,

The SEI hosted a seminar on this subject last year where scientists and public health experts at USC presented their findings on the impact of these chemicals on the health of Latino communities in Los Angeles. Some of the recent research has shed light on the broad range of effects that PFAS have in the human body.

New regulations are already getting pushback from the plastics industry. The World Health Organization has scrapped rules on PFAS that were too weak because the scientists who provided reports were in the pay of the industry. Educating the public can put more pressure on the industry as it has done increasingly with plastics and the climate crisis.

But there is good news. Scientists at UC Riverside have found a way to destroy forever chemicals, they have discovered microbes that “eat” PFAS, thus removing it from the environment. Their work has drawn international attention. And two states have moved to remove PFAS from the gear used by firefighters which is associated with increased rates of rare cancers.

In the meantime keep in mind that there are several home water filters that can help reduce PFAs. Reverse osmosis and granular activated carbon can both effectively remove PFAS as well as other contaminants.

And, consider replacing nonstick pots and pans with stainless steel, cast-iron, glass, or ceramic.

You can find many resources for adding PFAs information into curriculum for a broad spectrum of disciplines on the SEILaccd.net website.

*PFAS, or Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, are a group of man-made chemicals that include PFOS and PFOA. PFOS and PFOA are two of the most well-known PFAS chemicals

"Stash Your Trash" Free sites for e-waste and hazardous waste disposal. Where to take that stuff? See the QR codes for LA City and County

TreePeople is hiring and offering internships for students, including climate action fellowships. Sept-Oct

Sept 15-Feb 16 Pacific Standard Time (PST) Art & Science Collide Exhibitions and Events The PST ART Climate Impact Program is a groundbreaking integration of climate action, community building, and data reporting as part of Getty's landmark recurring arts event, PST ART.

Fri. Sept 20: World Clean-up Day, Look for ways to participate. We aim to activate 5% of the world's population that will catalyze lasting societal change behavior around mismanaged waste.

Sat. Sept 21: Pando Days 1-3pm (EDT) free, online, "Blitz: How might we get Angelenos to love to drink reclaimed sewer water?" A Pando Days '24/25 brainstorming Blitz for college and university teams, advisors, community partners, and sponsors.

Wed. Sep 25, 2024 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM PDT: 2024, online, free "Ed Ricketts Memorial Award and Lecture Honoring Dr. Daniel P. Costa" National Marine Sanctuaries

Wed., Oct 2, 2024: 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. PT, UCLA Geography Dept. hosting "Ursus Environmental a symposium on climate science". Heat Domes, Atmospheric Rivers, Bomb Cyclones and Climate Whiplash:California Climate and Weather Now and in the Future.n (remote, free)



​Tues. Oct. 15 · 8:30am - 5pm PDT: Water (R)evolution Symposium: Join us at the Water (R)evolution Symposium to discuss innovative ways to protect our planet's most precious resource! Please visit the Water (R)evolution Symposium webpage for full tour descriptions and more program information as it is released. 100USD tickets

Thurs. Oct 24, 2024: Climate Action Palooza 2024: WLAC, On-Campus : in person, All Day, Public Event, free