2010 Winter

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES INSTITUTE...

EnviroNews V O L U M E

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Santa Clara Rolls Out Zipcar Service

By Chris Woodhouse,‘10 Sustainability Intern

If you haven’t picked up your ESI T-Shirt yet, please stop by the ESI office and get one in your size for only $10!

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Forge Garden Update

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Residence Hall Energy Challenge

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Sustainability Workshop

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News From the GIS Lab

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USES 2010

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ESI Colloquia Credit

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No car? No problem. At least that’s the message Santa Clara sent when it officially launched its own Zipcar chapter earlier this January. The car -sharing program, found in urban areas and other universities, like Duke and USC, will allow faculty, staff and students to rent vehicles for dollars on the hour. Administration officials and representatives from Associated Students collaborated for nearly two years on the project. The university signed a contract with Zipcar in November and two vehicles, a Toyota Prius and Scion xB,

Zipcar Launch at SCU!

program requires an annual fee of $35, but rates include gas, insurance, 180 free miles and roadside assistance. Zipcar vehicles at Santa Clara are parked in designated spots just north of the parking structure.

were delivered to campus at the beginning of the Winter 2010 quarter. Students, faculty and staff can rent one of the two vehicles for as low as $8 an hour or $66 for the day during weekdays.

The service furthers Santa Clara's commitment to sustainability by specifically reducing the need for individual cars that are associated with congestion and emissions.

Weekend rates are $9 an hour and $72 for the day. The

For more information, visit Santa Clara's Zipcar page at www.zipcar.com/

Letter From the Director The Haitian Earthquake as an Environmental Justice Issue

Opportunities New Spring 2010 Course Offerings

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BUG Program

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The recent earthquake in Haiti demonstrated how intertwined environment and social justice issues are in this country that is the poorest in the western hemisphere.

Even before the earthquake, Haiti’s history of unequal development and misrule was

evident on its physical landscape, with over 98% of the country deforested and its population mired in poverty.

The earthquake illustrates how much more vulnerable poor countries are to environmental hazards as well as the environmental dimensions of this humanitarian crisis. Environmentally degraded rural areas led to widespread rural-

urban migration and the building of substandard housing. Deforestation and soil erosion added to the deaths and injuries caused by landslides.

An earthquake like this could happen in many places. In fact, the type of earthquake See Letter, Page 3

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Forge Garden Updates

By Marsha Habib BUG Americorps Volunteer

Just another day of digging in the dirt.

“Those of us who have been working out here have enjoyed the butternut squash, chard and collards of last years’ students' labor.”.

Fruits of their labor pay off just in time for Halloween

ENVIRONEWS

If you have walked past the corner of Sherman and Benton streets and peered through the fence, you have surely seen the once vacant lot transform over the past few months. Following our collective design day last October, Annie Thomas, James Hanold and Marsha Habib, the three full time members of the BUG (Bronco Urban Garden) program, have been digging and forking away in the garden, of sweat, love and creativity!

The three BUGies have since been joined by Kristine Keller and Steven Smoker, as well as a small but committed number of awesome volunteers on our work days. The lot is gradually transforming into a space for production cycles, education, collaboration and creation.

The cover crop which we sowed back in December is coming up densely in the garden beds, breaking up compaction and providing biomass and habitat for life in the soil.

The corn stalks (seeds from El Salvador) in the back corner of the plot have turned golden and the ears have been harvested and saved for planting out again next season. The swan neck bird cage and canteen gourd plants from last season have senesced and the molds are

working their way around the skins, leaving beautiful patterns to be captured in the musical instruments or bowls that will be made out of them.

Those of us who have been working out here have enjoyed the butternut squash, chard and collards of last years’ students' labor.

We have a straw bale classroom which is being put to use by several of Patrick Archie's classes, as well as spontaneous Capoeira games.

clippings from campus lawns, which is heating up and breaking down.

Our winter vegetables are in the ground and slowly sizing up during this period of short day length and cool temperature. Our winter crops include lettuces, leeks, carrots, cauliflower, collards, chard and cabbages.

On Friday, February 26th from 3-5 p.m. we will host our second garden design party.

On Sunday, February 28 from 12-5 p.m. we are having a Fruit Tree 101 Workshop. Both of these events will take place in “The Forge” Garden which is located at the corner of Sherman & Benton streets.

We hope to have more of you join us in the garden!

Our volunteer work days are every Wednesday and Sunday from 2- 5 p.m.

Watch for the sweet pea flowers vining up along the perimeter.

These El Nino rains should help them germinate and wrap their tendrils up the fence.

The huge black pile of compost is gradually diminishing as we incorporate it into the soil and spread it as a side dressing into the existing beds- a welcome donation from the municipal land fill. We have built our own compost pile out of the crop residue from last season, mulch and grass

ESI Professor, Patrick Archie had folks gather round at the SCU Garden Design Party on

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Upcoming Residence Hall Energy Challenge

By Cara Uy Sustainability Intern This winter quarter, from Sunday February 14 to Saturday, March 6, on-campus students will be competing in Santa Clara University’s 1st Annual Residence Hall Energy Challenge. This year’s slogan is, “Watch your energy savings grow-in-the-dark!” Rather than competing against one another,

residence halls will attempt to reduce their building’s electricity consumption in comparison to data from previous years.

Students will be able to keep track of their residence hall’s electricity use as well as their own through SCU’s Electricity Graphing System (http:// university-operations.scu.edu/ energy/). In the spirit of the game and competition, the three week challenge will also include

other activities to unify the Residence Life Communities (RLCs) on campus under the message of the importance of energy conservation. Proposed activities include a themed dinner in Market Square, a glow-in -the-dark dance party, and a campus wide glow stick night.

‘That’s a Wrap’-Sustainability Workshop

“She has also been working on a

By Kristin Sterling Sustainability Intern Last quarter, Kristin Sterling, staff and faculty intern at the Office of Sustainability, organized a "Sustainable Holiday Workshop" to help staff and faculty lower their environmental footprint during the holidays. The workshop was a great success and the Human Resources department has requested that the Office of Sustainability sponsor another workshop this quarter, the theme of which is currently TBD.

“Sustainable Event

to make their oncampus events more sustainable!

She has also been working on a "Sustainable Event Guide" which will soon be available as a resource to all those who want

This quarter her attention has shifted slightly to working on this year's Sustainability Decathlon competition, which is sure to be exciting, as well as the soon-to-be coveted Sustainable Office Award Program. Make sure to stay tuned for more details!

Guide” which will soon be available as a resource to all those who want to make their on-campus events more sustainable!”.

Letter From the Director Cont’d that hit Haiti is not so different from one that could happen along the San Andreas Fault in California. However, the results were far different. While rich and poor were equally affected by the earthquake in Haiti, it is the poorest who are now suffering most from the aftermath of lack of infrastructure, basic services and access to healthcare.

As a Jesuit institution concerned with social justice, SCU is an excellent position to educate our students about environmental justice issues. The world’s poor and marginalized suffer from access to resources and often bear the brunt of environmental harms. The current crisis in Haiti gives us the opportunity to critically understand the complex nature of environmental

problems and solutions and to create a compassionate view of how different communities bear the burden of environmental impacts.

Of course, the next step is translating compassion into meaningful action.

Haitian woman is helped out of rubble from a destroyed building on January 12, 2010 in Port-au-Prince.

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News From the GIS Lab

By Iris Stewart-Frey Assistant Professor of ESI

“One student from the class, Christina Hagerty, is already putting her GIS skills to use for her internship with the Santa Clara Valley water district.�

treatments affect the amount of carbon emitted into the atmosphere during wildfires. In December, his team presented their findings at the American Geophysical Meeting in San Francisco.

The Fall 2009 GIS class tackled a variety of interesting problems for their final projects: One group made the first GISbased maps for the Blue Oaks Open Space reserve, which is developed as a teaching and research resource. Students used GIS analysis to One GIS group from the Fall 2009 quarter Holger Fritze, a determine the best made the first GIS-based maps for the Blue student studyplace for 40 additional Oaks Open Space reserve shown above. ing abroad from measurement stations, Muenster, Gertaking factors such as elevamany and I worked on intion, aspect, vegetative Another student determined vestigating the most recent cover, slope and soils into changes toward earlier the best areas for marine account. This work has snowmelt runoff throughout conservation around the been mentioned in a report Hawaiian Islands by consid- western North America. and will be refined.

Our work found significant ering factors such as proxsnowmelt regime shifts imity to hotels and sewage Another group investoward greater rainlines. tigated roofs and open domination connected to spaces on the SCU climate warming.

One student from the class, campus, using GIS to Christina Hagerty, is aldetermine possible In addition, two statistical ready putting her GIS skills places for wind tursecond-order linear models to use for her internship bines. showed an acceleration of with the Santa Clara Valley timing shifts for the past 10 water district.

Two students used years, which have been GIS analysis to deter- Will Danse, a GIS student especially warm. We premine best study sites sented this work to the from the previous year, for an investigation of completed a GIS-based American Geophysical Unan endangered native NASA internship during the ion (AGU) in San Francisco plant species in the this past December. An past summer. His group Coyote Creek waterlooked at how different fuel interactive Java-based shed.

NASA world wind application lets users visualize One student comstreamflow timing measures posed maps that will and streamflow responses at help the Ulistac Natuhttp://webpages.scu.edu/ ral Area environmental eduftpstreamflowtiming/. cators target schools with a Information is publicly high percentage of disadaccessible. vantaged students and help them determine public transportation routes.

ENVIRONEWS

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Undergraduate Science & Engineering Symposium May 12th – 14th 2010, Kennedy Commons I am happy to announce the 3rd Annual Undergraduate Science and Engineering Symposium (USES)! This year USES will occur in the evenings of May 12th – 14th. For those of you conducting independent research or collaborative research with your mentors, please consider participating- abstracts are due 1 March 2010. The process of submitting an abstract and presenting a talk is a professional skill that will serve you well in the future and give you a much deeper understanding of your research.

You will also have an attractive entry in your resume and may even emerge from the experience with some concrete rewards: last year the top four presenters won $50 gift certificates to REI and all participants were entered in a raffle for gift cards for Starbucks coffee and books from Wiley & Sons Publishers.

If you are unfamiliar with USES please visit the website for background information and a schedule of deadlines. A pdf of participants and abstracts from the last USES is also available here: http://www.scu.edu/cas/environmentalstudies/research/uses/ The primary goal of USES is to bridge the gap between students and faculty, and to actively engage students in the many research opportunities here at Santa Clara University. Additional goals of this symposium and workshop are to expose students to the research process, to improve recruitment and retention in the sciences, and to allow student researchers to present their work (or that of their labs) in a professional format.

The symposium will consist of sessions divided according to similar disciplines. The basic schedule for each of these sessions will be as follows: 10 minute talks by students (3 – 5 talks per session) An informal panel of student researchers at the end of each session to answer questions on the talks.

Followed by a general discussion of careers and the culture of science in that discipline.

We will have coffee and snack breaks between sessions to allow students to interact with one another. On Friday evening we will have a keynote address on careers in research science and conclude the symposium with a reception & awards ceremony.

Currently the following sessions are confirmed: Ecology, Environmental Studies, and the Costa Rica Field School. If your onor off-campus research does not fall in these categories, please contact me (page 6) and I can help you find an appropriate session. Wednesday and Thursday sessions may include disciplines: chemistry & biochemistry, physics, engineering, biology, psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science (others?) or campus organizations: e.g. Solar Decathlon, Center for Nanostructures, courses, or collaborative research between labs.

I am excited that USES is encouraging student engagement in the sciences- I have received several comments from students excited about conducting independent research: “Let me begin by saying, wow. I knew that there are some smart folks here at Santa Clara, but these presentations exceeded my expectations of professionalism at the undergraduate level.”

Senior, Sociology “USES actually changed what I thought I was interested in. Now, I think it would be a great idea for me to further explore research opportunities.”

Senior, Environmental Science

See USES, Page 6 Left: Some Participants at the 2009 USES: Back Row (L-R): Mitchell Klipa, Tommy Lloyd-Davies, Nick Obradovich, Khaaliq Dejan, Chris Melisi Middle Row: Miranda Melen, Tinah Barnett, Allie Dunne, Beth Tellman, Craig Benko, Jason Buenrostro, Kristin Sterling, Sean Watts Front Row: Meghan Mooney, Christina Hagerty, Kelly Ferron, Patty Guzman, Laura Huston, Dr. Regina DavisSowers, Dana Honzel, Christopher Rose

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Undergraduate Science & Engineering Symposium (USES) Cont’d Deadline: Final Title & Abstract (Student submission): 1 March 2010 Abstract of approx. 150 words to be submitted to Sean via email (SWatts@scu.edu). Abstracts should include: background, a statement of the question(s), brief summary of experimental design, RESULTS, and conclusions. Especially in this forum, the content can (and probably will) shift by May, but we would like to introduce students to established practice. Please avoid excessive jargon to broaden your abstract's appeal to the general scientific community. Advice on abstracts & talks are available via the "Resources" link on the USES home page.

Left: 2009 USES Award Recipients Working at the margins: Access to recycling cooperatives as a means of social inclusion for catadores (waste pickers) in Salvador, Brazil Meghan Mooney Senior, Anthropology The garden as an experiential classroom: The dirt on educational gardens for Santa Clara County elementary schools Patty Guzmán1, Betsy Purner2, Miranda Melen3, Marta Langland 4 & Kimee Goeggel5 1Senior, Env Sci/ Environmental Studies, 2Junior Env Sci/ Religious Studies, 3Senior, Env Sci, 4Senior, Spanish/ Environmental Studies, 5Senior, Environmental Science Using lasers to understand magnetic semiconductors Craig Benko Junior, Physics Vibrational communication: A language of its own Khaaliq Dejan Senior, Bioengineering

February 11 “Food for Thought: Sustainability and Innovation in Agriculture” Karla Chambers, Co-owner and Vice President of Stahlbush Island Farms 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM Arts & Sciences Building, Wiegand Room

February 12 “Students, Sustainability and Learning: Reflections on Three Decades of Student Farming” Mark Van Horn, Director of the UC Davis Student Farm 12 PM to 1 PM Kennedy Commons

February 22 “Food for Thought: The Benefits of Bees” Dr. Jack Gilbert, a beekeeper, Program Director of Research Initiatives in the Center for Science, Technology & Society and Chair of the Department of Chemistry & Bio chemistry 12 PM to 1:15 PM Lucas Hall 126, Forbes Conference Room Lunch provided Honey tasting following the presentation

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New Spring 2010 Course Offerings ENVS 125: Green Cities Introduces socio-cultural, historical, economic, political and environmental dimensions of green city planning, with an emphasis on citizen participation, public-private partnerships and the rising role of non-profit groups (NGOs). Topics include land use, urban renovation, infrastructure, resource management, public landscapes and green architecture. Students will discuss ethical issues and practice emerging methods in community research, participatory planning and collaborative design. (Counts toward Environmental Policy, Law & Politics Concentration & as an Elective for ES Minors) ENVS 135: Biofuels: Sustainable Energy Human use of fossil fuels is contributing greatly to global climate change. Could biologically-based fuels such as ethanol be important climate-neutral energy sources for the future? This course will explore the biology and technology of diverse biofuels, their potential environmental benefits and pitfalls, and the economic and political issues surrounding them in the US, Europe, and developing nations. (Counts toward Natural Science req. for Environmental Science Majors & as an Elective for ES Minors) ENVS 148: Solar Revolution What would it take to employ solar energy to greatly decrease our reliability on fossil fuels? Solar energy is more than just photovoltaic (PV) arrays on a rooftop. The Sun provides the Earth with 7000 times more energy than humans use each year. We will compare and contrast different ways to harness the sun – regulating temperatures in buildings, heating water, drying crops, and creating electricity during daylight hours (conventional grid-tied PV) as well as creating electricity 24/7 at large scale (using concentrated solar thermal power). We will also evaluate technical, environmental, and economic challenges and compare the use of solar power between different nations. We will use the Western U.S. as a case study of what might be achievable in our region. (Counts toward Sustainable Development Concentration, counts toward Natural Science requirement for Environmental Science Majors & as an Elective for ES Minors)

Bronco Urban Gardens (BUG) Program and provide it with valuable nutrients, in preparation of spring planting.

Our focus in the next few months will be The Bronco Urban Gardens (BUG) proto continue developing relationships with gram is an environmental justice initiative our partners and fostering frequent garden of the Environmental Studies Institute design meetings at each site to gain a com(ESI) at Santa Clara University. It is a munal consensus of what should be collaborative effort of ESI, Americorps, grown and how the gardens should The Silicon Valley Health Trust, Arlook. We are also planning our currupe Partnerships for Community riculum through the use of Life Lab, Based Learning, the Food and Agrias we will shortly be teaching weekly business Institute and the Justice and classes to elementary students, on the the Arts Initiative. BUG increases food science and social importance of garsecurity, health and environmental literdening. This will run in conjunction acy through the co-creation and techniwith the trainings we will be holding cal support of urban gardens. It profor adults that will focus on a variety vides educational support for teachers of specific gardening techniques and and community groups through free problem solving methods. We are workshops, curriculum development, also working in close conjunction garden teaching, field trips and volunwith another Americorps program teer recruitment and training.

Gardner Beautification Day November 21, 2009 called “La Mesa Verde,” which foOver the past several months we have cuses on food security for low income been busy establishing our educational families through the installation of and training garden, known as “The River Communal Church and Alma Youth small gardens in individual families’ back Forge,” a block off campus. While this site and Senior Center. So far we have just yards. We are developing training curricuhas served as our primary work place, broken into the soil at each site and planted lum for this specific form of gardening as where volunteer days, focused workshops cover crop, a vital mix of nitrogen fixing well. and cultural and artistic events will be held beans and grasses used to loosen the earth

By James Hanold

BUG Americorps Volunteer

throughout the year, we have also invested time in the Washington, Alma and Gardner districts of San Jose. Within these communities, we have started four communal gardens at Rocketship Mateo Sheedy Elementary, Gardner Academy Elementary, The

Environmental Studies Institute

874 Lafayette St. Santa Clara, CA 95050 www.scu.edu/envs Phone: (408) 551-7086 Fax: (408) 554-2312 E-mail: esi@scu.edu

...dedicated to understanding the interactions between humans and the natural world

We’re on the web www.scu.edu/envs/