Posts Tagged: energy
New Virtual After-School Club Offers Lessons in Sustainability for Youth Ages 9-12
The University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) 4-H Program is offering a free, virtual, after-school club for youth ages 9-12. The club – Sustainable You! – will focus on sustainability issues, including land, water, energy, food, and air. Youth do not need to be a member of 4-H to join, and again, there is no cost for participating.
A typical meeting will include:
- An introduction to a sustainability topic with an ice breaker;
- A discussion or video on the day's topic;
- A demonstrated activity;
- Games and art; and
- An activity that youth can do on their own.
The program consists of weekly meetings, which will be held on Tuesdays from 3:30-4:30. It runs for 11 weeks, from September 29ththrough December 8th. The virtual after-school club is part of the online educational programs being organized by UCCE Ventura County. Learn more here.
While there is no cost, registration is required. Attendance is limited to no more than 50 youth.
The program is organized by UCCE educators, in partnership with the City of Ventura Environmental Sustainability Division and Ventura Water.
For more information, email Susana Bruzzone Miller.
The University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) is part of the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources division. UCCE advisors offer research-based information in support of agriculture and natural resources. We also offer community-based educational programs, such Master Gardener and 4-H.
4-H provides experiences that enable young people to learn by doing. Since 1914, 4-H has welcomed young people of all beliefs and backgrounds, giving them a voice to express who they are and how they make their lives and communities better.
Through life-changing 4-H programs, nearly six million kids and teens across the US have taken on critical societal issues, such as addressing community health inequities, engaging in civil discourse and advocating for equity and inclusion for all.
Photo by Guillaume de Germain for Unsplash.
4HSustainableVirtualCamp Graphic-8-2020-IG
Energy emergency, President Drake, Town Hall reminder
Energy emergency
On August 16, Governor Newsom signed an emergency proclamation designed to free up energy capacity and reduce the need for temporary energy service disruptions amid the record-breaking heat wave.
I join Secretary Karen Ross and other officials around the state in asking every Californian to please shift energy use outside of the hours of 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. and to conserve energy in every way during those hours. Three simple actions individuals and businesses can take to reduce energy consumption include setting your thermostat to 78° or higher, refraining from major appliance use and turning off unnecessary lights and appliances.
We are mindful that this is a critical harvesting and processing time for agriculture. The order waives requirements to allow use of backup generators to take pressure off the grid from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Thank you for your help in reducing energy use and communicating this important message to your clients and stakeholders.
President Drake
President Michael V. Drake, M.D., assumed his new role as UC's 21st president today, and sent this short video message to the UC community. Welcome back to UC, Dr. Drake!
Town Hall reminder
Join the Town Hall meeting this Thursday from 1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. Topics include updates from Senior Leadership, 2020 ANR@Work Survey results, a demographic analysis of survey results by the DEI Alliance Evaluation Committee and a Q&A session.
Celebration corner
Clean, safe water is critical to public health. Doug Parker and Faith Kearns created a new California Institute for Water Resources webpage in April with resources for water safety, water use and water supply issues related to COVID-19, including numerous multilingual resources. The page is continually updated with new resources.
Glenda Humiston
Vice President
Innovating dairy digester research
California leads the nation in agricultural production, producing nearly all the nation's leafy green vegetables, most nut and fruit varieties, and is ranked first in egg and dairy production.
What that means is that California also produces a lot of agricultural waste materials, including lots of manure.
Historically these waste materials have been used as a rich source of compost. However, researchers at UC Cooperative Extension are researching innovative uses for this material.
Dr. Pramod Pandey, a faculty member and Cooperative Extension specialist at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, focuses on better ways to manage waste material for both large and small farms. Dr. Pandey researches how to convert the organic matter in manure and other waste materials into a renewable energy source that can be used to power our state.
Converting manure to renewable energy
California gets over 27% of its energy from renewable resources like solar wind, and hydroelectric. Our goal is 50% renewable energy by 2030. California is taking steps towards this goal by building a network of dairy digesters which use bacteria to break down dairy manure and convert it into biogas. Clean burning fuels, such as biogas, are a sustainable source for generating energy because when they are burned, harmful by products are not produced.
Big bonus
A bonus is that the solid material left after the digesters have done their job is a fertilizer that can be used to grow the fruits, vegetables and nuts that our state is famous for. This type of fertilizer contains nutrients that are more readily available for plants because the digestion process breaks up organic materials more efficiently than traditional composting. The digestion process also helps reduce the number of harmful bacteria found in manure, making it much safer for use on plants grown for human food.
California leading in discovery and innovation
When we think about where agriculture has been and where it is going, innovation, efficiency and environmental sustainability are hallmarks of our approach in California. People like Dr. Pandey are driving forward research and technology to minimize the impact of agriculture production on the environment. When we think about where agriculture has been and where it is going, innovation, efficiency and environmental sustainability are hallmarks of our approach in California. His multidisciplinary approach to solving this complex problem of agricultural waste materials and water/air quality helps improve the economic wellbeing of farmers, and benefits Californians by providing nutrients for safe, healthy, and nutritious food.
While the importance of California's agriculture might be huge, its footprint on the environment doesn't have to be, and it is researchers like Dr. Pramod Pandey who are ensuring our state leads in discovery and innovation for many harvests to come.
Heather Johnson, Instructional Systems Designer, Gregory Wlasiuk, E-Learning Curriculum Designer, and Dr. Sara Garcia, Project Scientist, with the Western Institute for Food Safety and Security at the University of California, Davis, provided the script for the video which was used in this story. View Heather, Sara and Greg's filming and editing skills in the video below. Greg provides the narration.
/h3>/h3>/h3>Pollinator Habitat: Important Part of Solar Energy Study
Solar energy should not only be used to benefit global sustainability, but to protect our global...
Solar energy can be used to protect pollinator habitat, according to a research paper published July 9 in the journal Nature. This is Anthophora urbana, a ground-nesting solitary bee which has a broad distribution including the Mojave Desert. It is a floral generalist collecting pollen and nectar from many species of plants, says UC Davis entomologist Leslie Saul-Gershenz. (Photo by Leslie Saul-Gershenz)
Native bee Megachile sp. on Mentzelia flower in the Mojave Desert. (Photo by Leslie Saul-Gershenz)
Why Silver Digger Bees Are Like Gold
Why silver digger bees are like gold... Remember those "long lost" silver digger bees found last...
Close-up of female silver digger bee, Habropoda miserabilis, taken at Waldport, Ore. in 2015. (Copyrighted Photo by Leslie Saul-Gershenz. Used with Permission)
Habropoda miserabilis male and female—the male is mate-guarding the female after mating with her, preventing her from mating with other males. (Copyrighted photo by Leslie Saul-Gershenz. Used with permission)
This graphic, the work of Leslie Saul-Gershenz, details information on the male and female of the species.