As the largest and longest-running gathering of green building advocates in California, this event has evolved into a statewide sustainability experience!

This year, we are extending our reach to cover the entirety of California, bringing together advocates and companies from across the state. Join us in uniting the entire region for a thorough exploration of green building and sustainability practices, addressing a wide range of topics and issues that resonate throughout California.

This event is open to everyone! Kickstart or elevate your journey in the sustainability field!

Don't miss out on this exciting blend of education, networking, and celebration. Secure your spot at the California Conference on Green Building and Sustainability Expo and be a catalyst for positive change!

Learn more and RSVP here.

As climate change brings more extreme and variable weather, now is the time to work together to boost California’s water resilience. As we plan ahead for the next wet year, we must think holistically so we can replenish our aquifers – which provide 85% of Californians with a portion of their water supply – while being protective of water quality, providing healthy wildlife habitat, and ensuring our downstream communities are safe from flooding.

Join us on Monday, December 6th from 2:00 – 3:30 PM for the final webinar in our Water in a Warming World series, Fortifying California’s Water Resilience. Sustainable Conservation’s Director of Resource Stewardship and leader of our water team, Daniel Mountjoy, will sit down with a farmer that pioneered on-farm recharge, the Director of The Nature Conservancy’s California Water Program, and the Supervising Engineer at the California Department of Water Resources to discuss the best practices for groundwater recharge and the importance of taking a multi-benefit approach.

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Unprecedented levels of drought continue to plague California and show no signs of slowing down. These historic consequences not only signal the impacts of a changing climate but also point to the continued over-subscription of available water resources and underscore the importance of directing strategies and funding towards long-term drought response and resilience.

Communities across the State are being forced to contend with dire water shortages, drying wells and reservoirs, agriculture and infrastructure challenges, and more, many of which disproportionately impact tribal communities, low-income, Latinx, and other vulnerable groups. The impacts of the drought have already had health and safety, cultural, and economic consequences for communities from the North State to the San Joaquin Valley to the Inland Empire.

Amidst this crisis, the State faces a profound moment of challenge and opportunity to mitigate drought impacts and change the trajectory of this issue for decades to come. The Department of Water Resources recently announced its first round of funding commitments to combat water supply challenges, and the State Budget enacted in June 2021 puts approximately $5.1 billion over four years toward helping communities develop long-term resiliency. Philanthropy will play a crucial role in amplifying these efforts to be as impactful as possible. Through partnerships with the State, philanthropy can not only ensure funds are allocated in a community-driven and equitable manner but also help communities establish resilience in response to future droughts and climate disasters.

During this unique conversation, we will hear from State leaders at the forefront of the emergency drought response, funders providing a blueprint around roles for philanthropy and key funding opportunities, and community leaders pinpointing tools to build long-term water resilience and mitigate the impact of future droughts.

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Join AltaSea for the final Blue + Green Webinar

About this event

Photo by Deane Bayas from Pexels

Speakers:

Dr. Kristin Aquilino, lead scientist for the White Abalone Captive Breeding Program based at University of California, Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory

Dr. Kristin Aquilino is the lead scientist for the White Abalone Captive Breeding Program based at University of California, Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory and including a dozen partners along the west coast of North America. Her research focuses on the reproductive conditioning and husbandry of endangered white abalone, as well as the effects of climate change and disease on their captive and wild populations. She is a member of the California Sea Grant Extension team, connecting her work with state and federal agencies, Indigenous nations, commercial aquaculture growers, aquariums, and other stakeholders. Dr. Aquilino is a recipient of NOAA’s Species in the Spotlight Hero Award.

Dr. Luke Gardner, California Sea Grant Extension Specialist, Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California San Diego

Luke Gardner, PhD, is a California Sea Grant Extension Specialist based at the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories. Gardner is a biologist whose work focuses on leading and supporting research, extension activities, and education in the field of aquaculture. His work explores how aquaculture intersects with coastal California’s environment, economy, and citizens, and supports the development of sustainable aquaculture activities while balancing the economic, environmental and social needs of Californians to produce a net positive benefit to the state. Gardner identifies emerging issues and opportunities in California and how aquaculture may influence them in an effort to find community supported solutions. Gardner earned his PhD from Queensland University of Technology, Australia, and BS in aquaculture from James Cook University, Australia.

Dr. Kevin Marquez Johnson, Sea Grant Extension Specialist based at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Kevin Johnson, PhD, is a California Sea Grant Extension Specialist based at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Johnson is a marine biologist working to understand the genetic potential for adapation to environmental stress in aquaculturally important marine invertebrates. Johnson seeks to build collaborations with students and faculty at Cal Poly, aquaculture growers, Indigenous nations, state and federal agencies, and local stakeholders. Through these collaboration, his work will focus on emergent issues in California and will highlight educational and career opportunities in aquaculture. Johnson earned his PhD from the UC Santa Barbara and his BS from CSU Monterey Bay.

Moderator:

Charlotte Stevenson, M.S., is a Science Writer for USC Sea Grant.

Ms. Stevenson is a freelance science writer, editor, and communicator with 14 years of diverse experience writing for congressional offices, federal and state agencies, non-profits, start-ups, and newspapers. She has served as the Science Writer for USC Sea Grant since 2010, writing articles, newsletter content, strategic planning, grant reporting, and website content. Her combination of skills are best seen in Sea Grant publications like Apocalypse Cow, The Urban Mariner, and Plastic Debris in the California Marine Ecosystem: A Summary of Current Research, Solution Strategies, and Data Gaps which she completed for the California Ocean Science Trust.

Ms. Stevenson brings a very technical understanding and perspective to her science writing. At the same time, Ms. Stevenson’s 2006 National Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship placement in D.C. and participation in California’s South Coast Marine Life Protected Area process gave her a nuanced understanding of policy and politics that inform her writing as well. As a prolific creative writer, Ms. Stevenson excels at storytelling, bringing science to life, setting the stage for complicated policy, and, most importantly, making science accessible to all.

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Join us for a conversation about the legacy of ocean pollution on the California coast in an era of climate change and other stressors.

Rosanna Xia will discuss her work as an environmental reporter and storyteller for the Los Angeles Times, including the story she broke in the fall about decades of previously unknown DDT dumping in the Catalina Channel.

In the second part of the event, Mark Gold (Deputy Secretary, Coast and Oceans, California Natural Resources Agency) and Sean Hecht (Faculty, UCLA Law School) will join to discuss the implications of this DDT dumping ground and what can be done about it. Jon Christensen (Professor at the UCLA Institute of Environment and Sustainability) will moderate both conversations.

Zoom link will be emailed to registered attendees prior to the event!

Co-sponsored by:

The Graduate Student Environmental Humanities Research Group at UCLA

The Graduate Student Water Resources Group at UCLA

UCLA Laboratory for Environmental Narrative Strategies (LENS)

UCLA Water Resource Group at the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability

UCLA Law School

UCLA Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment

Heal the Bay

Speaker bios

Rosanna Xia is an environment reporter for the Los Angeles Times. She covers the coast and has written about sea level rise, toxic dumping and endangered species in the deep ocean. Her stories connect science and policy and have led to new laws and regulations. She was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2020 for explanatory reporting.

Mark Gold is Executive Director of OPC and the Deputy Secretary for Ocean and Coastal Policy for the California Natural Resources Agency. He serves as a key advisor to Governor Newsom and the Secretary of Natural Resources and directs policy, scientific research, and critical partnerships to increase protection of coastal and ocean resources in California.

Sean B. Hecht is the Co-Executive Director of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, and Evan Frankel Professor of Policy and Practice, at UCLA School of Law. He works with students to serve environmental organizations and government agencies in his role as co-director of the Frank G. Wells Environmental Law Clinic.

Jon Christensen teaches and conducts multidisciplinary research at UCLA focusing on equity and the environment, strategic environmental communication, and journalism, media, and storytelling. He is an adjunct assistant professor in the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, Luskin Center for Innovation, Department of History, and Center for Digital Humanities at UCLA.

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Community choice in energy is transforming California's electricity sector while transitioning the Golden State to carbon-free energy and serving as an effective tool for climate action. Community choice aggregators (CCAs) offer communities control over their electricity purchasing decisions.

Join us for this webinar, which features new research on how CCAs have exceeded California’s renewable energy targets and how rapid CCA growth has resulted in investor-owned utilities to also outpace California’s requirements for renewable energy. Then a discussion with energy leaders in California will address opportunities, concerns, and recommendations for the future of CCAs, clean energy policy, and system reliability in California and beyond.

Presenters:

• Kelly Trumbull, Energy and Climate Project Manager, UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation

• Beth Vaughan, Executive Director of CalCCA

Panelists:

• Angelina Galiteva, Chair, California Independent System Operator

• Tom Habashi, CEO, Central Coast Community Energy

• Edward Randolph, Deputy Executive Director for Energy and Climate Policy, California Public Utilities Commission

• JR DeShazo (Moderator) Director, UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation

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This webinar will provide a preview of voting through a pandemic. We will hear from California election officials about their experience leading election administration through a pandemic, the voting options available to California voters and the safety measures being implemented to ensure public safety.

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While residents of California’s metropolitan areas rarely have to worry about having access to clean drinking water, it is a daily concern for over one million Californians. Many rural and some urban and suburban communities are concerned about both the safety of the water flowing from their taps AND if water will flow from their taps at all. As California experiences more frequent and intense droughts, these concerns will become more urgent. Thankfully, addressing them has finally been recognized as critical, and serious efforts are being made to find both short- and long-term solutions.

Please join us to learn what the state, water agencies, and non-profits are doing to solve this issue and ensure all Californians have access to safe and affordable drinking water. Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email and login instructions.

Panelists:
Castulo Estrada, Coachella Valley Water District
Ryan Flaherty, Sustainable Conservation
Maria Kennedy, Kennedy Communications
Moderated by Alf Brandt, General Counsel to California State Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon

RSVP here.