Monday, October 26, 2009

IEE Seminar: Building Energy Performance and Efficiency: Fact or Fiction?

MARTIN FISCHER
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University
Director, Center for Integrated Facility Engineering (CIFE)
Coordinator, Building Energy Efficiency Research, Precourt Energy Efficiency Center

Seminar Title:
Building Energy Performance and Efficiency: Fact or Fiction?

October 28, 2009 4:00PM ESB 1001

Abstract
Are our buildings as energy-efficient as designed, performing as well as possible? We usually don't know. Ill-defined performance metrics, fragmented building design-construction-operations processes, and a lack of building and energy performance data at multiple scales make it difficult to achieve or even document good energy performance or explain why a building is performing in a particular way. This seminar will describe cost and value-based metrics for building energy performance and methods for predicting and measuring energy performance at the building system, whole building, campus, and regional levels developed at the Precourt Energy Efficiency Center and the Center for Integrated Facility Engineering at Stanford University. The goal of the work is to close the loop between building performance goals and actual performance through digital models of buildings and their predicted and actual energy performance.

Biography
Martin Fischer is Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University. He also serves as the Director of the Center for Integrated Facility Engineering (CIFE). CIFE is the world-leading, industry-sponsored, academic research centre on virtual design and construction. Dr Fischer is known globally for his work and leadership in developing virtual 4D modeling (time plus 3D) methods to improve project planning, enhance facility life-cycle performance, increase the productivity of project teams, and further the sustainability of the built environment. His research results have been used by many small and large industrial and government organizations around the world. He has lived and worked in Europe, South America, North America and Asia. Dr Fischer holds a PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering and a MS
in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University, and a Diploma in Civil Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland.

For complete event information, visit www.iee.ucsb.edu

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Campus-wide Sustainability Meeting

Campus-wide Sustainability Update Meeting
Friday, October 30 @ 9:00 a.m.*
Ellison Hall, Room 2620 (North Wing)
*Please note time change.
Meeting Agenda
Welcome

New logo (Jill) – 2 min

Update on policies before Chancellor (Bruce/Ron) – 2 min

Update on Climate Action Plan (Jill) – 2 min

Introduce Sustainability Champions – 10 min

Update on composting pilot program (Mark R) – 10 min

Trayless dining & impacts of the program (Mark R) – 10 min

Bren Hall Double Platinum Process & LEED EB (Jordan/Jeff) – 25 min

Update on Strategic Energy Partnership (David) – 10 min

LabRATS plan for the year (Amorette) – 10 min

PACES Program (sustainability interns) – 10 min

Monday, October 19, 2009

H&RS Hosting Sustainability Week

Housing & Residential Services - Dining Services will be hosting a full week of events, including composting displays, local produce displays, alternative fuel vehicle displays, etc.

The events will take place in the campus dining facilities and will take place October 19 through October 23.

If you would like to see the schedule of events, send Jill Richardson an email.
(I can't seem to find a way to attach the schedule to the blog!)

IHC's Oil + Water Series

Oil + Water: IHC theme for 2009-20010

This year, the Interdisciplinary Humanities Center will present a series of programs on the theme Oil + Water. Oil + Water commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Santa Barbara oil spill, and provides an opportunity to examine the impact of these two resources on the history, economy, and culture of California and the world. Topics will range from dams to surfing to plastics to car culture; the program will examine oil and water in a global as well as local context.

There are several screenings, panels, talks, etc. over the next few weeks.

Click here for a Schedule of Events.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Composting Workshop

The BSSC (Bren School Sustainability Committee) will be hosting its first composting workshop of the year. Come learn about the Can-O-Worms Worm Composter, help us harvest our castings, meet our worms, and meet other composters within the UCSB community!

Tuesday, October 20
12:30-2:30pm
Bren Hall north lawn

World Food Day Events

World Food Day Schedule, October 16th

World Food Day is a worldwide event designed to increase awareness, understanding and informed, year-around action to alleviate hunger.

9:00am-12:30pm, Bren 1414: TGIF (The Green Initiative Fund) Real Food Challenge is hosting a screening of the World Food Day teleconference, "Global Food Crisis: Opportunities, Responsibilities and Solutions" (check website for more information http://www.worldfooddayusa.org/CMS/2955.aspx) and is inviting students, staff, faculty, and community members to engage in a critical discussion of proposed solutions and approaches to alleviating global food problems. Drop-ins are welcome, as intermittent discussion will occur between segments of the screening. Professor David Cleveland (Environmental Studies) and TGIF Sustainable Food Coordinator Megan Carney (Anthropology) will facilitate discussion.

12:45-2:00, Annex Lawn: EAB, the Human Rights Coalition, and TGIF Real Food Challenge is hosting a campus-wide Eat-In (http://eat-ins.org/) to break bread and bring focused discussion to the environmental and social dimensions of World Food Day. There will also be a Environmental and Indigenous Rights Expo at this same location from 11:00-1:30.

For more information, contact Megan Carney, megcarney@gmail.com or Katharine Brown kathardbrown@gmail.com.

Co-Sponsored by The Donald Bren School of Environmental Science & Management

IHC Open House


The Interdisciplinary Humanities Center invites you to join them for their 6th annual Open House. Meet new faculty, new fellows, and staff. Learn about IHC's tw new programs this year: Oil + Water and The Future of the University. Find out about collaborative research programs and funding opportunities. Enjoy good food, wine, and conversation.


Thursday, October 15
3:00-5:00 pm
McCune Conference Room (HSSB 6020)


Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Lecture by Catherine Gautier: Why Oil and Water?

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED

Thursday, October 22 @ 4:00 pm
McCune Conference Room - HSSB 6020

Summary of the talk:
Unsustainable use of oil and water by a rapidly growing global population is creating a serious environmental security challenge. Intensified competition for these dwindling resources threatens global security. Oil and water are intertwined in many ways. Each needs the other in its respective extraction process, and the use of one accelerates the depletion of the other. Oil and water are also linked through climate change. Oil burning emits carbon dioxide responsible for the enhanced greenhouse effect and consequent global warming that modifies the water cycle and water availability.

The looming peak in oil represents a visible surrogate for most natural resource depletion, more conspicuously advertised than upcoming water shortages. One must question why "peak oil" has become a proxy for a host of dwindling Earth resources that may have dramatic consequences for humanity. While oil is considered a catalyst for economic growth and often associated with wealth and power, water tends to be conceived as a commons, inspiring hope for multinational cooperation around water resources. In this presentation, we will lay the groundwork for the IHC’s Oil + Water series. We will also reflect, together, on the problem of translating the scientific data relevant to these challenges to humanists.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

This Way to Sustainability Conference - Registration

This Way to Sustainability V Conference
at California State University, Chico
November 5-8, 2009

This annual event is hosted by CSU, Chico, Butte Community College, and the Associated Student groups of each.

Online Registration is NOW OPEN through October 30, 2009

Please visit our web site at http://www.csuchico.edu/sustainablefuture/conference/ to view the conference schedule and to register online. This year we have an exciting lineup of speakers, workshops, tours, and sessions that you won't want to miss!

Registration fees for This Way to Sustainability Conference V include participation in all sessions, featured keynotes, tours, and workshops (some workshops or tours may require separate registration, please see schedule for details).

Registration fees are as follows:

* Students are FREE! Includes all university, college, and community college students, and K-12 students with a valid student ID card or with a registered faculty member
* Faculty/Staff: $25.00 per person
* General Audience: $25.00 per person
* Speakers/Moderators: Free, pre-registration required to validate status

Note: All sessions are on a first-come, first-served basis. Pre-registration does not guarantee you a seat in all sessions so you are encouraged to arrive early as space in some sessions may be limited.

If you are a student and would like to become a conference volunteer please contact Deanna Dottai at twts@csuchico.edu.

A&L Sustainability-Related Movies/Lectures in October

UCSB Arts & Lectures will be presenting a few sustainability-related movies and lectures in October that might be of interest to some of you:

October 8: Food, Inc. - Filmmaker Robert Kenner exposes the highly-mechanized underbelly that is our nation’s food supply.

October 15: Telluride Mountain Film Festival - Telluride Mountainfilm was launched 30 years ago by a group of climbers and friends dedicated to educating and inspiring audiences about issues that matter, cultures worth exploring, environments worth preserving and conversations worth sustaining.

October 19: Silvia Earle - Sustainable Seas: The Vision and the Reality - Earle will share her joy of discovery through images and stories from her more than 30-year aquatic career – and express how that joy can help save the world.

October 20: Crude: The Real Price of Oil - This cinéma-vérité feature is the epic story of one of the largest and most controversial legal cases on the planet, the infamous $27 billion “Amazon Chernobyl” case in the jungles of Ecuador.

October 20: Flow - For the Love of Water - This award-winning documentary builds a case against the growing privatization of the world’s dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution and human rights.