Env E viroN New wss Newssletter of Santa Cllara University Environmenntal Studies Instituute Voolume XXIXX
Wiinter 2009
We Need You (E Environm mental Sttudies & Science S M Majors) to design an ESI T-Shirt! T We have just reac W ched 100 0 majors so we w want to celebrate c e! We nee ed you to o come u with a design that up t reprresents ESI and all we have h to offer! o All submis ssions are due to LNa akasaki@sc cu.edu Monda ay, Februarry 9.
1st Place= 1 = Fre ee T-Shirt + $ $20 Frozo’s
2nd Place= $10 Frrozo’s Card d 3rd Place= $5 Frozo o’s Card
Wh hat’s Insidee…? ESI Semin nar Series: Winter W 20099…………… …….................................................2 Spring 20009 Courses… …..............................................................................................2 Summer 2009 2 Tentatiive Course Offerings.... O .........................................................2 Faculty Reesearch…… ……………....................................................................……3 Undergrad duate Reseaarch and Stu udying Abroad in Costta Rica………….........4 From the Office O of Su ustainabilityy…………… ……………… ……………… ………......55 From the Office O of Su ustainabilityy Cont’d…… ……………… …………… …….……...6
Neew Upcom ming Sprin ng 2009 Courses C ENVS S 196: Envvironmenta al Educatioon Praxis Studennts work witth local environmental education prograams in the coommunity in ncluding Ulisstac Natural Area and a SCU’s new n garden. The class meets m on campuus to discusss current theo ories, issues,, and pedagogies in envvironmental education e ass well as to reflectt on their teaaching experriences. Studdents work in smaall groups to develop and d / or adapt enviroonmental eduucation activ vities for ESII’s BEE (Broncco Environm mental Educaation) prograam and assist in data colleection for ressearch on enviroonmental eduucation in th he Bay Area. Instrucctor’s permission is requ uired to enrooll. Enrolllment is limiited to 16 stu udents.
Environm E mental Sttudies Insstitute S SEMINA AR SERIE ES Winteer 2009
FRIDAYS AT A NOON Kennedy Coommons
Januaryy 16 Gray Woolf Conservaation and Reintrodduction Patrick Valentino, Executive Directorr, California Wolf Centerr
A this Spring: Also ENVS S 13: Soil, Water W and Air A L &L ENVS S 95: SLUR RP ENVS S 98: Outdooor Leadersh hip Expeditioon (OLE) ENVS S 132: Agroeecology L & L ENVS S 140: Sustaiinability Outtreach ENVS S 147: Int’l Environment E t & Developpment ENVS S 151: Restoration Ecolo ogy ENVS S 158: Conseervation Psychology ENVS S 195: SLUR RP ENVS S 199D: Unddergraduate Research R Iniitiative
Summer 2009 Tenttative Courrse Offerin ngs ENVS S 11: Introduuction to Env vironmental Science ENVS S 120: Intro to t Envt’l Law w and Regulation ENVS S 145: Enviroonmental Teechnology More Colloquia Credit C Opportunities… … The neew Biology Seeminar Seriees is hosting three t visiting scholarrs who conduuct research in n Evolutionarry Biology. January 29─Dr. Daavid Reznick k (UC Riversidde) Kenna 306, 5:30 – 6:30 6 p.m. February 12─Dr. Maureen M Stan nton (UC Davvis) DeSaissset, 5:30 – 6::30 p.m.
uary 20─Dr.. Rita Mehtaa (UC Davis)) Febru Alumnni Sci 120, 2:302 3:30 p.m.
Januaryy 30 Greeningg the Bay: 100,000 1 acrees of Wetlandds for the Sann Francisco Bay Stephen n Knight, Poolitical Direcctor, Save thee Bay
Februarry 13 Greeningg the Resideential Sectorr: Efforts to t Transform m the Homebuuilding Markket Douglass King, Projeect Managerr, Jay Halll & Associates
Februarry 27 The Chaallenge of Cllimate Changge Policy ndstrom, Asssociate Provvost Bill Sun for Facuulty Development, Professoor of Econom mics, SCU
Seminars are 12:00 p.m.1:00 p.m. K Kennedy Coommons JJoin us for coffee and coookies at 11:45 a.m. Iff you have a disability annd require reasonable accommodationss please call (408) 551-77086 at least 48 houurs before thhe event datee. Visit our website w at www.scu.edu//envs 2
Environmental Economics: Development and Conservation Goals in World Bank Projects By Peter Kareiva, Michelle Marvier & Amy Chang Yes, you can have your cake and eat it too — at least that may be the case for biodiversity protection and economic development. Peter Kareiva (Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy, TNC) and Michelle Marvier, both of Santa Clara University’s Environmental Studies Institute, worked in collaboration with TNC’s Amy Chang to study whether economic development and conservation were compatible activities in World Bank projects.
reduced performance if biodiversity was included as a project goal, but a significant reduction in environmental outcomes if biodiversity was not an explicit project focus. The implication of this is clear — if there is no penalty to adding in biodiversity protection as a goal but there is a penalty to leaving biodiversity out of the projects goals, then shouldn’t all World Bank projects seek to advance both conservation and development? The paper describing these findings was published on September 19, 2008 in Science: Kareiva, P., A. Chang, and M. Marvier. 2008. Development and conservation goals in World Bank projects. Science 321:1638-1639.
For decades economic development and conservation have been painted as opposing interests, with the idea that conservation action is only possible after a vibrant economy has been developed. The argument has been that when people are poor, energy and investment must be directed first at people. And only after people are taken care of can we succeed at taking care of biodiversity. This storyline about a tradeoff between conservation and economic development has been based on case studies, anecdote, and personal experiences. Now for the first time researchers have conducted a statistical analysis that hones in on the question of environment and development in a precise way. Noting that the World Bank has conducted over 1000 projects, and that many of those projects are evaluated in a standard way, Kareiva, Chang, and Marvier identified a sample of World Bank projects that were matched by country and rough time period, but that differed in being either development-only or development-plus-biodiversity projects. By developing a large sample size and contrasting development to development plus conservation projects, it was possible to test the hypothesis that adding a conservation component lessened the ability of projects to succeed at economic development. The data were clear and compelling. Projects that included biodiversity goals were as successful as development-only projects in achieving poverty reduction, gender equity, and all other development objectives. This was the case even though biodiversity projects received less than half as much money, on average, compared to development-only projects. In fact, the only detectable difference between these two sets of projects was that biodiversity projects scored significantly higher in terms of environmental objectives. Thus, contrary to conventional wisdom, Kareiva and his team found that there was no significant cost in terms of cont’d
ESI Students and Staff Assist Breathe California’s Clean Air Efforts By Terry Trumbull
In the past five years, about 10 ESI students have assisted Breathe California in its work to protect lung health. These activities have included energy conservation, air pollution control, limiting climate change emissions, and smoking reduction. English major, Patrick Flajole (‘09) assisted with the annual Bike for Breath event. He also helped put together Breathe California’s monthly newsletter. Patrick “feels good about helping an environmental non-profit with limited resources that relies so much on interns and volunteers.” ESI students have also helped with auditing public schools for toxics, educating people on the dangers of wood burning, and answering lung health questions. ESI climate change expert, Sean Watts, was a guest on Breathe California’s weekly television show. The program is available to 350,000 households on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. It is hosted by ESI’s environmental law lecturer, Terry Trumbull. Overall, Breathe California assists 150,000 people a year, and ESI’s faculty and students have been an important part of this effort. 3
Unndergraduaate Research & Preseenting at a Sccientific Conference By Iriis Stewart-Freey & Dan Bates Througgh the ESI Unndergraduate Research R Initiative (URI) studentts have the oppportunity to participate p in research projects with ESI facculty. They th hen present thheir work to people,, both inside and a outside th he scientific community. c This is a great opporrtunity to hon ne your researrch, project planninng, and comm munication skiills. It also loooks great on resumees. Dan Baates (’09) has been working with me onn developing GIS (G Geographical Information I Systems) S dataa bases for snowm melt-dominatedd watersheds in Californiaa. These databasses, together with w climate data, d will be used u to help explainn why some sttreams have responded r moore to climaticc changes over the passt several deccades than othhers. Throughh the UR RI, Dan was abble to presentt his work viaa a scientific poster at a the Fall 20008 conferencee of the Amerrican Geophyysical Union (AGU) which h took place at a the Mosconne Center in San Franciisco. AGU attracts over 155,000 scientissts from alll fields relateed to earth (an nd environmeental) science,, includinng Geology, Hydrology, H Global G Change, and Biologyy, and is the largest l conferrence in that field f worldw wide. Dan expplained and discussed d his work w with people who visited his h poster sesssion, and in addition a he attendeed a number of o sessions on n other topics of interest to him. Accordding to Bates, “Being immeersed in a seaa of Earth sciencee intellectuals is less intimiidating than one o would think, but b more so overwhelming g. Walking upp and down thhe massivee rows of posster presentatiions and readiing and discusssing cutting eddge research with w people from f all over the worrld on subjectts including, but b not limited to, climate change, hydrology, geology, g atmo ospheric sciennces, and ocean sciences s was very v informattive and confu fusing at the same tiime. I could go g from posterr to poster annd from talk too talk andd discuss reseearch with ressearchers to my m hearts contentt. The majoritty of the work k presented reequires your full atteention, as welll as a good understanding of the field inn questioon due to the specificity s and complexityy of each individdual project. Overall, O the AGU A conferennce was a weeek of intennse intellectuaal stimulation n that provided good insighht into thee life of a scieentist or reseaarcher.”
Therre were only 27 2 students inn the program m, and we did everyything togethher. This incluudes making breakfast at 66:00 a.m., eating mealss, going to claass, going to town, t doing ffield reseaarch, and travveling around the country. It was a uniqque expeerience to say the least, andd even thoughh things arounnd the center c were offten hectic, it was an experrience that I aam luckyy to have hadd. Alm most every weeek, the studennts, professorss, and supporrting stafff would travell to a differennt part of Costta Rica for haands on leearning experriences. We traveled t to thee continental dividde, volcanoess, tropical rainnforests, and beaches b on thhe east coast. One off my favorite trips within the t country w was to a beach b compleetely littered with w trash. This T trip occurrred durinng the week that t we were learning l abouut the waste management systems in Costa Rica, and thee challenges w in a deveeloping counttry. associated with deealing with waste One area in particcular that is exxperiencing thhe environmeental and social is s problem ms associatedd with urban development d is Costta Rica’s capiital city, San José. J Waste management m curreently a probleem in all of Costa Rica where many peoople buryy or burn theirr waste, and thhe country laccks an infraastructure thatt encourages recycling. r T increase inn The the amount a of waaste in San Jossé (due to the increase in popuulation), couppled with a pooor waste mannagement infraastructure, hass created a sittuation in whiich San José especially is facedd with challennges. The reaason why the partiicular beach we w visited is completely c litttered is becauuse wastte is brought from f the city of San José by b rivers. Havving the opportunity o too see the beacch first hand has h had a lastiing effecct on me, and I believe it greatly g compliimented the lectuures we had inn the classrooom. It seeems that we are a rarely ablee to experiencce what we arre learnning hands onn in a typical college c settinng. The SFS proggram providedd me with a unique opportuunity to face whatt I was studyiing head on. While my expperience at thhe beacch and many other o places revealed the problems p facinng Costta Rica, just as a many of theem showed what w can be doone and what w is beingg done to face current challlenges and prevvent future prooblems from surfacing. s Onne of the mosst impoortant concepts that I have taken from my m experiencee in the School S for Fieeld Studies prrogram is thatt we can and shouuld overcome the challengees that threateen the wellbeiing of thhe people and environmentt there, because there is so muchh worth conseerving.
Studying Abroad d in Costa Rica R By Tracey Mangin The Schhool for Fieldd Studies abro oad program does d not conform m to the typiccal collegiate abroad experrience. I didnn’t attend a college in thhe traditional sense – instead, I studied at a centerr, in the rainfforest, on the beach, b and inn mangroves. Each sttudent had a room r with two o or three rooommates, althouggh I rarely choose to sleep in n my room, coonsidering I cont’dd had thee option of sleeeping outsidee.
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From m the Offiice of Susstainabillity Greeen your offfice! By Jenny Gore, Suustainability In ntern
Leveel 1: Easy
* Chaange the energgy settings on n your compuuter to modestt energy savinngs. Learn how to set compputers to enerrgy saving settinggs and make sure to shut th hem down whhen you leavee for the day. (the “standbyy” setting will continue to draw power even when w not in use) u *Printt only when absolutely a neccessary. Utilizze the functioons available on o word proccessing prograams like trackking changes, and addding commeents. * Brinnging your ow wn water botttle, coffee muug, and lunch to the office is i good for yoour wallet andd reduces wasste, as long ass you use u reusable coontainers. *Repllace your offiice’s water co ooler with a faaucet filter. * Takke the stairs innstead of the elevator! e Youu’ll conserve electricity e andd burn up to 10 1 times moree calories! * Fam miliarize yourself with the current recycling and wastte instructionss at home, woork & school. You’ll be suurprised at what can be recyclled! If you need extra recycling containeers, call faciliities. (408-554-4742 or Facilities-CSC@ @scu.edu)
Leveel 2: Modeerate
* Prinnt double-sideed by setting your y printer and a copier deffault settings to “duplex” or o “double-sidded.” Visit the SOAP pagee When you caan’t print on both to dow wnload a PDF F guide to hellp you print double-sided. d b sides, usee the clean sidde of an old docum ment for scrattch paper, or if i possible, usse it to print faxes. f * Repplace incandesscent light bu ulbs with enerrgy efficient compact c fluorrescent light bulbs. b (CFLs)) * Puriify your officce by bringing g in plants succh as philodenndrons and peeace lilies, whhich absorb airborne polluttants. * Shaare and save documents d eleectronically innstead of relying on paper copies. Transsmit informattion on disks, CDs, zip drivess, or through email when possible. p *Plugg hardware intto a power strrip with an onn/off switch, or o better yet, a Smart Stripp. This allows the whole deesktop setup tto be turrned off at once and elimin nates phantom m loads.
Leveel 3: Serioously green n
*Recoonsider your commute. c Inv vestigate transsportation options like Call Train or VTA to get to work. w If these routes r don’t work,, talk to co-woorkers about developing d a carpool systeem. Also, if you y live close enough, thinkk about walkiing or biking.. Visit www.511.orgg for more infformation. * Chooose Energy Star S when purrchasing yourr next office appliance. a * Redduce waste byy opting out of a printed phhone directoryy. Choose onee or two co-w workers to receeive a printedd directory annd share them among your departm ment. Login too http://phoneebook.scu.eduu/preferencess.cfm and opt out of receiving one for Fall 2009. 2 *Refill your ink caartridges insteead of buying new ones. Depending on the t cartridge, you may be able refill onee 10 times. By c you u can save oveer 75% off the cost of a neew one! refilling your old cartridges * Get others in the act! Share th hese tips, and any others yoou may have, with your colleagues. Learn more, an nd tell us how w you green your y office on o the SOAP website: http p://www.scu.edu/sustainaability/soap
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From m the Offiice of Susstainabiliity SCU participatees in nation nal sustainaability asseessment innitiative By Ricchard Jaram millo, Sustain nability Interrn Alongg with over 90 9 other Nortth America campuses, c Santa Clara University U reecently particcipated in thhe pilot phasee of the Sustainabiliity Tracking and Rating System (STA ARS). Deveeloped by thee Associationn for the Addvancement oof Sustainnability in Higher H Educaation (AASH HE), STARS S is an evaluaation of susttainability am mong higherr learning instituutions. SCU will w be evalu uated on a wide w range off institutionaal practices from f energy consumptionn, faculty researcch, and evenn the percenttage of classes that have a sustainabiility componnent in them.. This assesssment is not limitedd to sustainaability in term ms of the envvironment. It I also focusees on issues of social ressponsibility like l workerss' rights and how SC CU interacts with the Bayy Area comm munity. AA ASHE hopes STARS willl ultimately, "facilitate inform mation sharinng about susttainability prractices and performance in higher education, e ennable meaninngful compaarisons acrosss institution ns as well as benchmarkiing within innstitutions, [aand] build a stronger, moore diverse campuus sustainabiility commun nity." Resultts of STARS S should be made m public in Spring 20009.
EnviroNeews is prepaared by Leahh Nakasaki. Comments C o Suggestionns? Send to lnakasaki@s or l scu.edu.
w www.s cu.edu u/envss Ulistaac Outreach h Coordinattor Internsh hip 5 hours per week, w flexiblee schedule Help ESI E coordinatte community y programs at Ulistac Naturral Area. Thee Ulistac interrn coordinatess volunteers for f restorationn work days, d plans Ulistac's U annuaal Wildflowerr Celebration in April, and maintains coommunicationns to and from m the Ulistac Outreaach Center. Sttudents with good g interperrsonal and written communnication skillss are encouragged to apply! This innternship requuires an intereest and some experience with w Enviroonmental educcation/restoraation, experience working with voluntteers, and beinng comfortab ble with web page p design (instruuction provideed), Gmail, Microsoft M Exceel, and Microosoft Publisheer. All majors m are welcomed! To apply: Learn more m about thiss job on BronncoLink. Subm mit a resume, two reeferences withh phone numb bers (faculty or o work superrvisors), and a one-paage cover letter in which you y state why you want thee job, what skills you y would brring to it, and how this job fits into yourr future careerr plans. Please e-mail complete ap pplication matterials to lcroomwell@scu.eedu F Febrruary 6, 20099. no lateer than 5 pm Friday,
Environmen ntal Studies Institute I Santa Clara C Universsity 500 El E Camino Reaal Santa Clara, C CA 950 053
Phone: (408) 551-7086 P 5 Fax: (408) 5554-2312 ES SI Email: esi@ @scu.edu Webbsite: www.scu.edu/envs
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