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)

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.

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.

CCBER's Collections Profiled on NPR

The local NPR station interviewed Drs. Jennifer Thorsch and Carla D'Antonio on CCBER's extensive biological collections and the NSF grant they just received to improve storage of all the plant and animal specimens they house.

Click here to listen to the interview. It'll make you want to go down to Harder Stadium to check it out!

Coastal Fund Accepting Applications

APPLY FOR FUNDING THROUGH UCSB COASTAL FUND!

The UCSB Associated Students Coastal Fund is currently accepting applications for funding. The Coastal Fund, a student-led funding entity, provides support to enhance, protect and restore the shoreline associated with UCSB through preservation, education, open access, research, and restoration.

Funds can be requested for community and campus related programs and projects, undergraduate and graduate research, or for fundraising activities for student organizations. Over $320,000 is distributed annually. Proposals are accepted at the beginning of each quarter and must advance the Coastal Fund Mission to be eligible.

The FALL 2009 Funding Cycle deadline is Friday, October 2, 2009.

If you are interested in learning more about the AS Coastal Fund, Fall Quarter paid internships with our partners, getting involved, or applying for funding, contact Scott Bull at coastalfund@gmail.org or visit http://www.coastalfund.org/

Emerging Green Builders

Join Santa Barbara Emerging Green Builders (EGB)

Thursday, October 1st at 5:30 in Bren Hall (room TBD) to learn more and ask questions.

* Are you interested in green buildings?

* Are you concerned that buildings are the number 1 contributor to Greenhouse Gas emissions in the US, and use over 70% of the nation's electricity?

* Are you interested in green building design, engineering, efficiency, and operations?

* Do you want to learn more about the United States Green Building Council, LEED certifications, and how you can get involved?

If so, come and join us for Santa Barbara Emerging Green Builders' first meeting of the '09-'10 school year!

Anyone and everyone who is interested in becoming more involved in green building, from any discipline or background, regardless of age or experience, is welcome to get involved. Most EGB groups around the country are comprised of students and young professionals, but we also welcome seasoned professionals who are new to the green building industry.

For more information, check out: http://www.usgbc.org/egb

Email Jordan Sager, jordan.sager@pf.ucsb.edu to get involved.

Hope to see you there!