News

Summer 2008 Edition

Climate Change Caused Widespread Tree Death

Warmer temperatures and longer dry spells have killed thousands of trees and shrubs in a Southern California mountain range, pushing the plants' habitat an average of 213 feet up the mountain over the past 30 years, a UCI study has determined. The work, by Michael Goulden and Anne Kelly, is the first to show directly the impact of climate change on a mountainous ecosystem by physically studying the location of plants, and it demonstrates what could occur globally if the Earth's temperature continues to rise. The research appeared on-line in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.>>More

"Shut the Sash" Campaign

The Green Campus program's pioneering "Shut the Sash" campaign caught the attention of the National Wildlife Federation's national e-magazine. >>More

Campus Receives Another LEED Gold Award

UCI has received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold Award for a new building: the Anteater Instruction & Research Building. LEED is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings, and the award is issued by the U.S. Green Building Council. This is UCI's second application to the USGBC and the second LEED Gold Award, since Palo Verde II apartments won the first in Orange County in 2007. >>More

UC a "Shining Star" for College Campuses in Sustainability

Sierra magazine has placed the University of California's 10 campuses "in a league of their own" in the Sierra Club publication's second annual green college guide, which hit newsstands on August 21. The ranking highlights UC's role as a sustainability leader.

Sierra features the 10-campus UC system and the Eco League -- five liberal arts schools focused on environmental education -- as two "shining stars," national environmental leaders among colleges. The magazine, which ranked UC No. 4 in its initial green college guide last year, adjusted its approach this year to measure campuses as individual institutions but still wanted to recognize UC's systemwide achievements.

The magazine spotlights several of UC's green efforts, such as vegetarian dining options at UC Berkeley, UC Davis harvesting campus olive trees into award-winning olive oils, UC Santa Cruz offsetting 100 percent of its electricity consumption with renewable energy credits, solar-powered water heaters at four UCLA student residence halls and UC San Diego generating renewable energy.

UC campuses also are featured in Sierra's list of "hot jobs to chill the planet," with top schools including UC Berkeley (wildlife biologist, environmental journalist, green building consultant), UC Davis (wildlife biologist) and UCLA (outdoor education coordinator).

UC System Listed By Kaplan Among Top 25 Green Colleges

Todays students are going green and the move towards a sustainable future is impacting many of their decisions, including college and career choices. In recognition of this movement, Kaplan, a provider of education services for more than 70 years, has focused its new Kaplan College Guide 2009 for the first time on environmentally responsible schools and green careers. The guide rates 25 of the top green private and public colleges from across the nation. Kaplan reviewed a range of criteria to formulate its list of 25 green schools. Specific areas examined include: environmentally responsible campus projects; initiatives and courses offered; organizations and student groups on campus; and achievements noted in the Sustainable Endowments Institutes College Sustainability Report Card 2008. The list highlights schools whose efforts reflect a commitment to long-term sustainability and to encouraging students to make better choices. >>More

UC Irvine Extension Offers New Certificate Program in Sustainability Leadership

The University of California, Irvine Extension is launching a new online curriculum, Certificate Program in Sustainability Leadership, designed to provide up-to-date information about implementing sustainability and green practices. The new curriculum was developed for professionals who need an integrated approach in responding to environmental and societal needs, and obtaining regulatory compliance while maximizing profits.

Providing an interdisciplinary focus, this program integrates sustainable development and environmentalism into management strategy, advances the comprehension of environmental compliance, contributes to an understanding of regulatory trends, and adds to the achievement of corporate social responsibility. The program is designed for individuals who are leading sustainability initiatives in their roles in corporate, government and public agencies, nonprofit advocacy organizations, engineering, public health, urban planning, and law. In addition, those within professional designations such as human resources, marketing, and facility management are encouraged to participate.

UC Irvine Extensions goal is to offer its Certificate Program in Sustainability Leadership in a fully online format, catering to busy professionals across the U.S., who need to expand their knowledge of green initiatives.

To register for the two new courses, call 949-824-5414 or e-mail sustainability@uci.edu >> More

UC Irvine (and Other College) Green Efforts Rated by the Princeton Review

On July 28, 2008, The Princeton Review debut its new "Green Rating" of colleges - a measure of how environmentally friendly, responsible, and committed the institutions are. The Green Rating is a numerical score on a scale of 60 to 99 that The Princeton Review tallied for 534 colleges and universities based on data it collected from the schools in the 2007-08 academic year concerning their environmentally related policies, practices, and academic offerings.

The Green Rating scores appear in the website profiles of the 534 schools that are posted on The Princeton Review's site. The "green rating" is located under "Campus Life/ Facilities". UC Irvine received a "green rating" of 92. Campus "green ratings" will also be in the print profiles of those schools in the 2009 editions of three Princeton Review books: "The Best 368 Colleges", "The Best Northeastern Colleges" and "The Complete Book of Colleges" all published by Random House.

The Princeton Review developed the Green Rating in consultation with ecoAmerica, a non-profit environmental marketing agency. The criteria for the rating cover three broad areas:

1. the school's overall institutional commitment to environmental responsibility,
2. whether the school's students have a campus quality of life that is healthy and sustainable, and
3. how well the school is preparing its students for employment and citizenship in a world defined by environmental challenges. The institutional survey for the rating included questions on everything from energy use, recycling, food, buildings, and transportation to academic offerings (availability of environmental studies degrees and courses) and action plans and goals concerning greenhouse gas emission reductions.

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Congress Votes to Fund the Sustainability Movement in Higher Education

On August 1, 2008, congress passed all provisions of the Higher Education Sustainability Act (HESA) as part of the new Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (HR 4137). HR 4137, expected to be signed into law shortly by President Bush, creates a pioneering "University Sustainability Grants Program" at the Department of Education. It will offer competitive grants to institutions and associations of higher education to develop, implement, and evaluate sustainability curricula, practices, and academic programs.

This is the first new federal environmental education funding program authorized in 18 years. Endorsed by over 220 colleges and universities, higher education associations, NGOs and corporations, this grant program will provide the catalyst for colleges and universities to develop and implement more programs and practices around the principles of sustainability. The bill also directs the Department of Education to convene a national summit of higher education sustainability experts, federal agency staff, and business leaders to identify best practices and opportunities for collaboration in sustainability.
>>More

UC Ranked 7th "Greenest College in America" by the Daily Green

The Daily Green released a list of colleges that have a strong commitment to going green. UC was number seven on their list.
>>More

UCI Study Finds that Environmental Stress Threatens Global Security

Environmental stresses such as climate change and resource scarcity pose enormous threats to global stability. Armed conflicts over food and water and the effects of increasingly severe storms and flooding might be avoided if the private sector and nonprofit and government entities team up to take action, according to a new report prepared for the International Peace Institute by Richard A. Matthew, director of UCI's Center for Unconventional Security Affairs.

The report, "Resource Scarcity: Responding to the Security Challenge," was recently published by IPI and reinforces research presented by Matthew to the newly formed U.N. Peacebuilding Commission. This intergovernmental advisory body aims to prevent and settle armed conflicts through policy research and development. >>More

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