General Sustainability Announcements

A new course, Applications of Energy Efficiency and Conservation is now offered at UC Berkeley.
It will focus on:

• Using energy efficiency and conservation to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions on campus
  
• How to conduct energy audits and analyze building energy consumption in workshops given by professionals
  
• Creating an energy plan for a campus building and start implementing programs that reduce energy use
• Learning essential skills such as grant writing, proposal writing, and consulting

The course, listed under ERG 199, is P/NP, 1-3 units, Mondays 11am-1pm, and can count toward an ERG (Energy and Resource Group) minor if taken for 3 units. If interested, please contact Desirae Early at Desirae_E@berkeley.edu for more information.

The California Sustainability Alliance (the Alliance) is funded by California utility customers under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission. The Alliance supports aggressive environmental objectives related to energy efficiency, climate action, smart growth, renewable energy, water use, waste stream management, and transportation within the State of California.

The Alliance has opened an internship program for current university students. As interns, students will participate in the development of written and/or graphic content for the program website. The website will serve as an educational resource for policy makers and other professionals working towards sustainability in California. The website is available in its current form at www.sustainca.org.

Undergraduate interns will be compensated at a rate of $20 per hour; graduate interns will be compensated at a rate of $25 per hour.

For more information, please contact Claire Gagne, Navigant Consulting, Inc., at Claire.gagne@navigantconsulting.com or (415)-356-7117, or visit the website.

Attached below is an in depth description about the internship and application process. California_Sustainability_Alliance.pdf

This event will address what global change will mean for the Bay Area and what we should do about it. Will Travis, Executive Director of the Bay Conservation and Development Commission
will present an eye-opening look at the history and future of waterfront development around the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento Delta, focusing on the affects of climate change and rising sea leaves.

Following the presentation, there will be a Q &A and a panel discussion of personal and political actions we can take to slow the rising tide and adapt to the challenges that lie ahead.

The event will take place at the Center for Ecoliteracy - 2530 San Pablo Ave - on December 11th, 2007, from 7:00pm-8:30pm.

For more information, please see the attached flier or contact Andy Coghlan, andy.coghlan@gmail.com.

six_feet_under_as.pdf

The Solar Decathlon is a competition in which 20 teams of college and university students compete to design, build, and operate the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house.

The event takes place on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Teams of college students design a solar house, knowing from the outset that it must be powered entirely by the sun. In a quest to stretch every last watt of electricity that's generated
by the solar panels on their roofs, the students absorb the
lesson that energy is a precious commodity. They strive to innovate, using high-tech materials and design elements in ingenious ways. Along the way, the students learn how to raise funds and communicate about team activities. They collect supplies and talk to contractors. They build their solar houses, learning as they go.

It has been suggested that UC Berkeley participate in this competition, but without an existing team, it will take several years to bring one up to par with the Universities that have built legacies by sending students in the past.

For more information, please visit http://www.solardecathlon.org/. If you or someone you know would like to participate, have ideas, expertise, or enthusiasm in this project, please contact Bozidar Stojadinovic at boza@ce.berkeley.edu.

ETHsustainabiltiy, the Center for Sustainabiltiy at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich and Hosei University in Japan are offering a two week course about issues concerning sustainable development in a global context, while exploring issues pertinent to Japan and the region through course work, field trips, workshops, group work, discussions and practical learning experiences as well as unique social and cultural activities. This two program creating sustainability agents of change will take place March 22-April 6, 2008 at Hosei University Tama Campus and Mt Fuji Seminar House.

The program has eight years of experience running the Youth Encounter on Sustainability YES program in Switzerland, Latin America, Africa, as well as Central and Eastern Europe.

There are 36 places available for the course with 24 places reserved for international applicants and 12 reserved for Japanese applicants. All applicants have to be proficient in English, between 20-30 years old, and enrolled in a University either as a student in the final stages of undergraduate study or at any level of graduate school. The entire course will be taught in English and applicants are welcomed from diverse dissciplinesa and nationalities.

More information can be found at www.yes-japan.org . Online applications are now open at http://www.sustainability.ethz.ch/en/activities/japan.cfm. You can view the attached brochure as well.

Deadline for applicants overseas is December 17, 2007
Deadline for applicants from Japan: January 14, 2008

YES_Japan.pdf