The University of California, in partnership with Vox media, has launched Climate Lab – a new six-part video series on climate change. Hosted by conservation scientist and UCLA Visiting Researcher M. Sanjayan, the videos explore the surprising elements of our lifestyle that can contribute to climate change and the groundbreaking work being done to mitigate its effects. The series aims to take the overwhelming subject of climate change and break it down into manageable topics to inspire viewers to transform the planet. The videos discuss everything from clean energy to food, and from religion to smartphones, through interviews with experts, scientists, thought leaders and activists, including many researchers and experts in our UC community.
The first two videos, "Why humans are so bad at thinking about climate change” and “Going green shouldn't be this hard,” can be viewed at climate.universityofcalifornia.edu.
Future videos in the series will be released each Wednesday at 6 a.m. through May 24 and will be available on UC's Climate Lab website (climate.universityofcalifornia.edu).
This project builds on the UC system's ongoing commitment to address climate change. At a time when the importance of robust and sustained funding for climate change research is being debated on a national level, it's more important than ever to invest in ambitious research about issues important to our state and nation's economic health, prosperity and innovation and to communicate about it in a way that's fact-driven as well as relevant and engaging.
In 2013, President Janet Napolitano launched the Carbon Neutrality Initiative, establishing a systemwide goal of UC becoming carbon neutral by 2025. To date, energy efficiency measures and clean energy projects implemented across the UC system have generated savings of $28 million per year.
“As Climate Lab shows, investments in research and technology are critically important as we work to address global climate disruption,” Napolitano said. “Achieving carbon neutrality and addressing climate change are not merely operational or research goals at the University of California – they are moral imperatives. That's why I launched the Carbon Neutrality Initiative and committed UC to becoming carbon neutral in our operations.”
You can help spread UC's messages about climate change by sharing the videos on blogs, social media, websites or by email. If you follow UC's Facebook (facebook.com/universityofcalifornia) or Twitter (twitter.com/uofcalifornia) accounts, you can see and share the videos directly as they release. Or you can draft you own posts directing folks to climate.universityofcalifornia.edu – sample Facebook posts and tweets are below if you would like to modify them for your use.
Facebook:
The University of California has put together an amazing video project on climate change. Check it out at climate.universityofcalifornia.edu.
Twitter:
Our friends at the @uofcalifornia are releasing a series of innovative videos on #climatechange with @voxdotcom: climate.universityofcalifornia.edu
The @uofcalifornia & @voxdotcom seek to change the way we think, talk & act around #climatechange. Watch videos at climate.universityofcalifornia.edu
- Author: Jodi Azulai
Time management? Work-life balance? Are you talking to me?
If you believe that you don't have time or work-life balance, remember that you have the same number of hours in a day that Mother Teresa, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Marie Curie, Pablo Picasso, Rosa Parks, Stephen Hawking and other highly productive people have or had.
If you're running ragged and insist you don't have time to learn time management skills, your most likely and probable future is more of the same. How does that prospect sound? How does the adage “Work smarter not harder” sound?
The good news is that Lynda.com breaks courses into chunks so that you can set aside about 5 minutes per day or a couple times per week to devote to getting a handle on your workload. Here are some examples of the Lynda.com video courses presented by leading experts in the field:
- Time Management with Dave Crenshaw
- Time Management Tips Weekly with Dave Crenshaw
- Efficient Time Management with Chris Croft
- Balancing Work and Life with Dave Crenshaw
- Enhancing Your Productivity with David Crenshaw
- Getting Things Done with David Allen
- Managing Your Time with Todd Dewett
Grab some time management tools and run with them! Sign up for a Lynda.com account if you haven't already done so. There is a link to Lynda.com under “My Links” in the ANR Portal. ANR Learning & Development would love to hear what you have learned and how it has helped!
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
The Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program has announced the Call for Pre-proposals for Research & Education Grants for 2017. The deadline is 12 noon Pacific Time on June 1.
Congress mandates that the SARE grant program depart from “business as usual.” To that end, the Western SARE Administrative Council requires evidence that agricultural producers are involved from inception to finish in the planning, design, implementation and educational outreach of any SARE-funded project.
Applications are submitted online at http://wsaregrants.usu.edu.
The application process for this competitive grant program consists of two stages: 1) submission of a pre-proposal and, 2) after notice of selection, submission of a full proposal. The pre-proposal step assists the WSARE Administrative Council in selecting proposals that exhibit diverse subject matter, cover diverse geography, meet the basic requirements of the Congressional mandate for the grant, and contain original and innovative research, the results of which can be readily adopted by producers. The pre-proposal also spares preparation time of the unsuccessful applicant. Applicants with the most promising pre-proposals will be invited to develop more extensive full proposals.
For more information, see https://wsaregrants.usu.edu/grants/docs/CFP_PRE.pdf.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
The University of California is proposing revisions to Staff Policy 3 – Types of Appointment, which applies to staff employees in the Professional & Support Staff and Managers & Senior Professionals personnel groups and to Senior Management Group members.
The policy has undergone full review and a systemwide workgroup with representatives from UC Davis, UC San Francisco, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara and the Office of the President was formed to propose revisions to clarify the various types of appointments at the University. The proposed policy revisions will combine PPSM 3 with PPSM 24 (Per Diem Positions) and PPSM 61 (Release During the Probationary Period or from Limited Casual/Restricted, and Floater Positions) in order to have all relevant language in one policy.
The proposed policy is posted on UCnet: http://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/tools-and-services/administrators/policies/proposed/ppsm-3.html.
Employees covered by this policy who wish to provide comments on the proposed revisions may submit them to Robin Sanchez at rgsanchez@ucanr.edu by May 24, 2017.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Larry Godfrey, UC Cooperative Extension entomology specialist in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, died April 18, after a six-year battle with cancer. He was 60.
Widely known for his research on applied insect ecology and integrated pest management (IPM) strategies, Godfrey was internationally acclaimed for his research on rice and cotton. He also developed IPM strategies for such field and vegetable crops as alfalfa, dry beans, timothy grass, melons, mint and onions.
At UC Davis, he taught arthropod pest management and agricultural entomology. A member of the entomology department since 1991, Godfrey served as its vice chair in 2008.
“Larry was an outstanding contributor to the department, not only as a researcher and teacher, but also in the effective ways that he connected with clientele through outreach,” said Steve Nadler, professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. “He was a member of our department's Executive Committee and I could always count on Larry for sound advice.”
Rachael Long, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Yolo County, collaborated with Godfrey on dry bean research. Long said, “He was an incredibly dedicated field crop entomologist and terrific colleague with team spirit, and his loss leaves a big hole in our lives and I'll miss him.”
Godfrey, who grew up on an Indiana farm, was a 1974 graduate of Salem (Ind.) High School. He received two entomology d
He began his career as a product development specialist for Union Carbide Agricultural Products Co., Inc., Research Triangle, N.C., before joining the University of Nebraska's Department of Entomology from 1987 to 1991 as a research associate.
Godfrey was a founding member of the California Invasive Species Advisory Committee, appointed by then Secretary A.G. Kawamura of the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
For his personal statement on the California Invasive Species Advisory Committee website, Godfrey wrote: “Growing up on a farm in Indiana, I saw first-hand the ‘battles' that farmers and homeowners face trying to produce crops and grow landscape plants in competition with insects. I became fascinated with insects through the typical ‘bug-in-a-jar' hobby. A county Natural Resources Field Day cultivated my interest in entomology and this led to enrollment in the 4-H entomology project. By the time I was several years into the 4-H project, I was transporting a dozen wooden collection boxes full of pinned insects to the county fair.”
At UC Davis, Godfrey zeroed in on invasive insect and mite pests such as silverleaf whitefly, panicle rice mite and rice water weevil. In addition, he targeted scores of pests, including alfalfa weevils, blue alfalfa aphids, spotted cucumber beetles, and two-spotted spider mites. He researched plant response to insect injury, refining economic thresholds. He also researched various pest management tactics, including biological control, reduced risk insecticides, mating disruption, cultural control and host plant resistance.
Highly respected by his peers, Godfrey received the Excellence in IPM Award in 2005 from the Pacific Branch, Entomological Society of America (PBESA), followed by the PBESA Distinguished Achievement Award in Extension in 2010. Nationally, he was elected chair of ESA's Section F (crop protection) in 2002 and served as president of the Pacific Branch, Entomological Society of America in 2008.
He is survived by his wife Kris Godfrey, his mother Laura Godfrey and sister Carol Green and family.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to pet rescue groups or groups that support young people interested in entomology or agriculture. A memorial and celebration of his life will take place at UC Davis in the near future.
Read the full story at http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=23861.
