Special Announcements
- Arctic Explorer Invites Students to Experience Clean Energy on his Sailing Vessel
- Open Enrollment for Sacramento Chapter of the Environmental & Water Resources Institute
- Goldman Tahoe Scholarship 2008 Call for Nominations
- New Report Highlights Environmental Issues; Some in Unlikely Places
- U.S. EPA putting its money to work, to clean up diesel engines
- Campus Refrigerator-Freezer Replacement Program -- reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions!
- Bird Banding
- Volume 6, Issue 1 of San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science Journal is now available
- The East Quad Farmers Market
- California Sea Grant Call for Preliminary Proposals - 2009
Arctic Explorer Invites Students to Experience Clean Energy on his Sailing Vessel
Web site: |
Contact: | Cora Monce, Office of Research, cmonce@ucdavis.edu |
Robert Swan, OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) will be wrapping up his west coast “sailing voyage” at UC Davis to promote this five-year worldwide adventure dedicated to solving global climate change. “The Voyage for Cleaner Energy” is a lecture series and sailing expedition that began April 8th in San Francisco. After completing visits on the west coast, he will take the Panama Canal to the eastern seaboard, through the St. Lawrence Seaway, to the Mississippi River and New Orleans. He will then depart for three years of sailing Europe and the Far East. Swan’s vessel harnesses wind with sails made from recycled plastic bottles and other eco-features.
Swan made his mark as a polar explorer who traversed the South Pole unassisted in 1986 and the North Pole in 1989, becoming the first person to walk to both poles. In 2010, he will attempt to become first to cross Antarctica on foot, a sequential journey for which he has completed all but 300 miles.
As UN Education Goodwill Ambassador for Youth, and Special Envoy to the Director General of UNESCO, Swan is inviting highly motivated students to join the crew along several segments of his voyage along the California coast from April 28 to May 20. Next year he will lead students on an annual two-week expedition to Antarctica’s King George Island. Students on his earliest expeditions removed and recycled 1500 tons of accumulated waste from the island’s beaches. Swan later founded E-Base on the island, an education center powered by alternative energy. The 2009 expedition will learn leadership, teambuilding, climate change and renewable energy. For student applications and a sailing schedule for seven west coast segments contact Cora Monce, Office of Research, cmonce@ucdavis.edu. http://voyage.2041.com has a complete calendar of campus visits and presentations.
Swan will speak at UC Davis, May 23, beginning at 4:00 p.m. in 101 Giedt Hall.
MODIFIED DATE: 4/25/2008
Open Enrollment for Sacramento Chapter of the Environmental & Water Resources Institute
Contact: | For more information, please contact Lori Baccus lori.baccus@stantec.com |
We are very pleased to announce that a new Sacramento Chapter of the Environmental & Water Resources Institute (SCEWRI) as part of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has been approved for initiation by the national organizations. We're hoping to get as many UC Davis students involved in the organization as possible. The cost for student membership is only $5/year!
We are confident that, consistent with EWRI chapters elsewhere across the nation, our new local organization will effectively nurture an increasing level of professional discourse between the traditional engineering disciplines, and those of the other environmental planning, physical, social, and cultural sciences.
Our inaugural membership meeting is being scheduled for June 18, 2008, 6 - 8 pm, in Sacramento (space is limited). If you are interested in joining SCEWRI or attending the inaugural meeting, please see the attached form and flier.
MODIFIED DATE: 4/25/2008
Goldman Tahoe Scholarship 2008 Call for Nominations
Deadline: | July 1, 2008 |
Web site: |
Contact: | Heather Segale, Education and Outreach Coordinator |
We are seeking nominations for the third annual Goldman Tahoe Scholarship. The Goldman Tahoe Scholarship is presented by the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center to honor the pioneering work of Dr. Charles R. Goldman in helping to preserve and protect Lake Tahoe for future generations.
The Goldman Tahoe Scholarship is awarded annually to a high school Junior or Senior from the greater Lake Tahoe area that has displayed an active interest in environmental studies, environmental issues, conservation and protection of Lake Tahoe. This is an open competition and all nominations will be considered. One scholarship recipient will be chosen by the selection committee to receive a one-time scholarship of $500.
Please take a moment to nominate one or more students from your school using the attached guidelines. All nominees will be notified and included in community outreach materials.
MODIFIED DATE: 4/21/2008
New Report Highlights Environmental Issues; Some in Unlikely Places
Web site: |
Contact: | Media Contact: Mary Simms, (415) 947-4270, simms.mary@epa.gov |
U.S. EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region Releases 2008 Environmental Progress Report
SAN FRANCISCO – Cutting tons of pollution from power plants, turning food waste into energy, preserving threatened waterways, and reducing exposure to toxics in beauty salons -- just a few of the issues highlighted in the newly released 2008 environmental progress report.
The illustrated report takes an in-depth look at many of the important environmental issues facing Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, 146 tribes, and several Pacific Islands.
“While many of the environmental issues before us will take years to resolve, we have made remarkable improvements,” said Wayne Nastri, Administrator of EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. “This real progress is the result of innovative approaches and relentless efforts by dedicated professionals and concerned citizens.”
The 2008 progress report covers a wide range of established challenges and emerging issues, including:
- wastewater treatment at the U.S.- Mexico border
- protecting children from pesticides and toxics in the home
- environmental justice in low-income and minority communities
- contaminated land in Hawaii and the Pacific Islands
- developing cleaner, hybrid-power delivery trucks and buses
- spurring the growing green building movement
- reducing energy impacts and addressing climate change
The report also provides an inside look at the people who make up the Agency, and their commitment to improving environmental conditions throughout the region. Dedicated professionals, like father and son team Harry Allen III and Harry Allen IV, who have been collaborating on bioremedia¬tion -- the science of helping bacteria flourish, to break down toxic contaminants in the environment. Dad provides the recipe, and son mixes it up and applies it to site cleanups.
Many of the critical issues highlighted in this year’s progress report are current and dynamically changing. In many cases, there is still much to be done – and lots of new stories to be told. If you’re a member of the media interested in finding out more information about any of the environmental issues highlighted in this year’s report, please contact the media liaison listed above.
If you are a member of the public interested in learning more about any of these environmental issues – or obtaining printed copies of the report – please visit our web site at www.epa.gov/region9 or contact us at (866) EPA-WEST (372-9378).
Information in the report covers efforts by federal, state, local and tribal partners to clean our air, water and land, and to restore wetlands, respond to emergencies, and promote sustainable agriculture.
Members of the media: We are currently scheduling interviews on the environmental progress, challenges facing the Pacific Southwest. If you would like to arrange an interview or find out more information about any of the issues highlighted in the report, please contact the listed Press Officer.
MODIFIED DATE: 4/21/2008
U.S. EPA putting its money to work, to clean up diesel engines
Web site: | http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/AIRPAGE.NSF/Mobile+Sources/08RFP |
Contact: | Media Contact: Mary Simms, (415) 947-4270, simms.mary@epa.gov |
More than $5 million in grant funding now available for West Coast clean diesel projects
SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Regions 9 and 10 have announced a regional competition through the West Coast Collaborative, for more than $5 million to deploy verified or certified clean diesel technologies. The EPA is encouraging all qualified applicants to submit proposals for funding now.
It’s part of an initiative to significantly reduce diesel emissions in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and the U.S. Pacific Islands.
"We have to accelerate air quality improvements,” said Deborah Jordan, Air Division director for the U.S. EPA’s Pacific Southwest region. “One of the most cost-effective ways to do that is by modernizing our legacy diesel fleet. Through this initiative, EPA hopes to deploy the latest and cleanest technologies to reduce emissions from diesel engines, which will result in significant benefits to public health.”
Through the National Clean Diesel Campaign, the EPA is awarding $49.2 million in grants nationwide, to assist its eligible partners in building diesel emissions reduction programs across the country.
Diesels are the economic workhorses of the nation, and over the past decade, the EPA has set stringent new particulate and nitrogen oxide standards for most types of new engines. These regulations will annually prevent more than 20,000 premature deaths and yield more than $150 billion in public health benefits when fully implemented. This funding is aimed at reducing emissions from the existing fleet of 11 million diesel engines that predate these standards. Addressing the existing fleet is important because diesels remain in use for decades.
State, local, regional and tribal agencies or port authorities with jurisdiction over transportation or air quality can apply for the grants. Certain additional organizations are also eligible to apply, see the request for proposal for more details on applicant eligibility.
The grants target school and transit buses, medium and heavy-duty trucks, marine engines, locomotives, and non-road engines, such as those used in construction or agriculture. Grant recipients can use a variety of cost effective emissions reduction strategies, such as EPA-verified retrofit and idle-reduction technologies, EPA-certified engine upgrades, vehicle or equipment replacements, cleaner fuels, and creation of innovative clean diesel financing programs.
The closing date and time for submission of proposals is Tuesday, July 1, at 5 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time. EPA Regions 9 and 10 anticipate awarding six to nine assistance agreements from this announcement, with awards ranging from $500,000 to $1 million.
MODIFIED DATE: 4/14/2008
Campus Refrigerator-Freezer Replacement Program -- reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions!
Web site: |
Contact: | fridge-freezer@ucdavis.edu |
The campus is offering rebates to departments that choose to replace old free-standing refrigerators or freezers with newly manufactured units.
The central campus will provide a dollar-for-dollar match, up to $400, to campus users who purchase qualifying units that replace existing units manufactured before 1990. The central campus will also pay the full cost of proper disposal of the old unit.
If you are able to consolidate contents and dispose of an old unit without replacing it with a new unit, the campus will pay your department an energy reduction award of $200. The central campus will also pay the full cost of proper disposal.
Please consider this program as an opportunity for you to help reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve sustainability of the campus. Each replaced unit will save an about 1,300 kilowatt-hours and 1,000 pounds of carbon emissions per year.
MODIFIED DATE: 4/9/2008
Bird Banding
Web site: |
Contact: | Cathy Koehler or Paul Aigner at (707) 995 9005, or emailing mclaughlin@ucdavis.edu. Please provide your name, phone number, and the name of each person for whom you are also making reservations. |
March - October Become a hummingbird bander or banding assistant. Banding occurs once every two weeks. Minimum time commitment required. Call or e-mail for more information.
MODIFIED DATE: 3/6/2008
Volume 6, Issue 1 of San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science Journal is now available
Web site: |
Four research papers are featured in this issue:
Long-term Trends in Summertime Habitat Suitability for Delta Smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) (Matthew L. Nobriga, Ted R. Sommer, Frederick Feyrer, and Kevin Fleming)
Phytoplankton in the Upper San Francisco Estuary: Recent Biomass Trends, Their Causes and Their Trophic Significance (Alan Jassby)
Principal Hydrologic Responses to Climatic and Geologic Variability in the Sierra Nevada, California (David H. Peterson, Iris Stewart, and Fred Murphy)
Investigating Particle Transport and Fate in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Using a Particle Tracking Model (Wim J. Kimmerer and Matthew L. Nobriga)
MODIFIED DATE: 3/6/2008
The East Quad Farmers Market
Deadline: | June 4, 2008 |
Web site: |
An on-campus farmers market, intended to give UC Davis students, faculty and staff increased access to fresh local produce, has returned for its second season. It will be open Wednesdays, from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., through June 4 on the east lawn of the Quad, a hub of campus activity.
The East Quad Farmers Market began in spring 2007 as part of a larger pilot project of the Davis Farmers Market Foundation, designed to expand sales of local produce, promote the use of farm-fresh foods in K-12 schools and on the campus, and educate consumers about nutrition
and healthful eating.
The campus farmers market also complements UC Davis' own Foods for Health Initiative, an interdisciplinary effort that is addressing issues including nutrition, obesity, the availability of healthy foods, organic farming and industrial food production.
Among the dozen vendors participating in the market will be the Student Experimental Farm of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Shoppers can choose cherries, strawberries, apples, organic vegetables, nuts, olive oil and flowers.
The market is intended to help boost consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables by members of the campus community. A 2007 survey of UC Davis students found that 60 percent eat two or fewer servings of nutrition-packed fruits and vegetables per day.
The East Quad Farmers Market is co-sponsored by Campus Recreation, Campus Unions, Cowell Student Health Center, Davis Farmers Market Foundation, Davis Food Co-op, R4 Recycling and University Dining Services.
MODIFIED DATE: 3/6/2008
California Sea Grant Call for Preliminary Proposals - 2009
Deadline: | March 14, 2008 |
Web site: |
Contact: | If you have questions regarding this call for proposals, please contact the Proposal Coordinator at proposaladmin@seamail.ucsd.edu, 858-534-4601 |
The California Sea Grant College Program is now soliciting preliminary proposals for projects to begin Feb. 1, 2009. Faculty and academic staff members from universities and research institutions throughout California are invited to apply.
Preliminary proposals are due online through the California Sea Grant website by March 14, 2008. Please read the attached RFP and visit our website for detailed preliminary proposal instructions at: http://www.csgc.ucsd.edu
MODIFIED DATE: 2/4/2008