Bren - CCN 1 Team

UC - Santa Barbara Bren School Campus Climate Neutral (CCN) Team

BETTY SETO	DAVID FELIX	FAHMIDA AHMED	ORAN YOUNG	JEFF BROWN	TODD HAURIN
Graduate CCN Team at the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science & Management

DANIELLE GRABIEL		DURWOOD ZAELKE		DAN WORTH
National Association of Environmental Law Societies (NAELS) Team

BREN CAMPUS CLIMATE NEUTRAL (CCN) PROJECT

Avoiding serious climate change will require deep cuts in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from all sources. Universities can provide both practical and moral leadership in this area by taking steps to aggressively reduce their GHG emissions while educating students about climate change.

The goal of the Bren School's Campus Climate Neutral (CCN) project is to find ways to reduce UCSB's net emissions of GHGs to zero through a combination of reductions and offests and, in the process, to put the university in a position to play an effective role as a leader in the broader effort to come to terms with the problem of climate change. Specifically, the CCN project will (1) document current emissions of GHGs at UCSB, (2) explore the pros and cons of alternative approaches to reducing UCSB's net emissions, and (3) take steps to set the university on a path to become a leader in this area.

This project is part of a larger, national Campus Climate Neutral (CCN) effort spearheaded by its client - the National Associations of Environmental Law Societies - to avoid dangerous anthropogenic interference in the Earth's climate system.

Betty Seto

"Only by interviewing staff, faculty and students can we begin to understand the interwoven dynamics of our campus and how current university policies can assist or impede our project’s goals...I hope that by continuing to work with our campus community, our team will be able to develop recommendations that the university will find useful."

About Betty: Betty Seto is currently a Masters student at UC Santa Barbara, and a member of the Bren Campus Climate Neutral student team. This past summer, she had an internship with the U.S. EPA Region 9 office in San Francisco promoting energy efficiency and biodiesel technologies. Prior to returning to school, she worked as a Research Assistant with the Green Power Market Development Group of the World Resources Institute. She also worked at Zilkha Renewable Energy, calculating cost comparisons and working with local agencies to develop wind farms in Iowa, California, Kansas and Oklahoma. She has a B.S. Mechanical Engineering from Rice University. In her free time she likes to travel and ride her mountain bike on paved roads.

About Campus Climate Neutral Bren Project: One of the key challenges that my project team faces is in reconciling the academic research requirements of our project with our desire to effect long-term change on our campus. Our campus is incredibly complex, with many different policies and stakeholders who all shape the campus. It has been our intention from the beginning to engage facilities staff and key decision-makers on campus who can monitor and manage emissions long after us students graduate. Only by interviewing staff, faculty and students can we begin to understand the interwoven dynamics of our campus and how current university policies can assist or impede our project’s goals. Facilities staff at UCSB are extremely knowledgeable and have already made a lot of progress in reducing energy consumption. I hope that by continuing to work with our campus community, our team will be able to develop recommendations that the university will find useful. Overall, I have found the project to be extremely rewarding since we have received so much support from students, staff and faculty.

David Felix

"The time to act on climate change is now....Large institutions such as universities have a perfect opportunity to demonstrate that carbon neutrality is possible."

About David: David Felix is a Mechanical Engineer currently studying for his Master's at the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His primary focus is renewable energy policy and climate change. Felix recently worked for the New Zealand Government at the Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority in Wellington where he helped to develop National bio-fuel regulations and assess international best practice for renewable energy policy. In 2002 he led the University of Arizona Formula SAE team to international competition with an ethanol powered race car, the spark of his interest in renewable energy. He hopes to have direct impact making significant improvements in the way energy is created and used in our society. David enjoys rock-climbing, waterskiing, cycling & snowboarding.

About Campus Climate Neutral Bren Project: The time to act on climate change is now. The actions taken over then next couple decades will determine how significant the global changes will be. Large institutions such as universities have a perfect opportunity to demonstrate that carbon neutrality is possible. Santa Barbara and California have a history of setting the trend on important environmental issues. What better time and place to show what is possible?

Fahmida Ahmed

"What excites me about this project is that its components and execution paths are practical yet idealistic, making our interaction with the campus community genuine and rewarding."

About Fahmida: Fahmida Ahmed is specializing in Political Economy of the Environment with a focus on public policy. Fahmida earned a B.A. from Smith College in 1998 with a major in Economics and a minor in Environmental Science. Prior to attending the Bren School, Fahmida worked for the Bay Conservation and Development Commission as a legislative analyst, Siebel Systems as a marketing manager, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as a research analyst for the U.S. Coast Guard. This summer she worked at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in their Energy Analysis and Technologies Division to design a sustainability plan. For the CCN project, she is primarily responsible for components addressing UCSB decision processes, California Climate Action Registry relationship and inventory, communication and outreach, financial mechanisms and educational tools. After receiving her Bren Master’s in Environmental Science and Management, she plans to have a consulting or policy career in climate change or energy resources in the San Francisco Bay Area.

About Campus Climate Neutral Bren Project: What excites me about this project is that its components and execution paths are practical yet idealistic, making our interaction with the campus community genuine and rewarding...The Bren CCN project is about drawing a new vision on a painted canvas. The research and interview processes we follow are both interesting and challenging, because we are investigating UCSB’s existing facilities/utilities/sustainability components and simultaneously identifying which areas could be enhanced for carbon neutrality. Not all research contributions can be about groundbreaking ideas, but it is often about learning how to make the best of what we have by seeing things in a new light.

Professor Oran Young

"...CCN is a brilliant mix of analysis and action. This project shows what a group of bright and committed students can do to move a large organization toward the path of social responsibility."

bout Professor Young: Oran Young is a founder and Co-Director of the GSD Program. The author of recent books, including Governance in World Affairs and The Institutional Dimensions of Environmental Change: Fit, Interplay, and Scale, he is a leading figure in the global environmental change research community. [webpage]

Todd Haurin

"The CCN Group Project at the Bren School is making significant progress in helping our university (UC-Santa Barbara) become a national leader by taking major actions in reducing its carbon footprint."

About Todd:

Education: Bachelor of Science in Environmental & Business Economics and Bachelor of Science in Environmental Policy, Institutions, & Behavior from Cook College-Rutgers University in 2002.
Professional experience: CA Dept. of Food & Agriculture, USDA, Burlington County (NJ) Health Department, New Jersey Commerce and Economic Growth Commission, Union County (NJ)Department of Parks and Recreation.
Currently pursuing a Master of Environmental Science and Management at the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management.
2004 Summer Internship: Environmental Coordination Office(ECO), Toyota Motor Sales, North America – Torrance, CA
Assisted in revising and coordinating the 5-year Environmental Action Plan and North American Environmental Report.
· Calculated environment metrics for Toyota’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory.
Created and administered a department-wide office waste reduction and diversion program for the Legal Services Department(part of ECO).
Assisted in researching and developing a nation-wide company waste reduction and resource conservation program.
Participated in compliance, communications, environmental and resource management working groups.

About Campus Climate Neutral Bren Project: The Campus Climate Neutral Group Project at the Bren School is making significant progress in helping our university (UC-Santa Barbara) become a national leader by taking major actions in reducing its carbon footprint.

Jeff Brown

"CCN is both pragmatic and visionary"

About Jeff: Jeff Brown is a 2nd year Master’s student at the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at UCSB where he specializes in public policy related to climate change, energy, and water. He has an undergraduate degree in business from Tulane University and prior to coming to the Bren school he taught science and environmental awareness to elementary and middle school children through the Orange County Department of Education and worked at the Alliance to Save Energy in Washington DC to promote energy efficiency and conservation through federal policy and through the Green Schools program. He also worked for the Alliance to Save Energy’s Green Campus program while at UCSB to educate students about energy efficiency and to promote no cost behavior changes and low-cost technologies that can reduce energy consumption without sacrificing utility. Over the summer, Jeff was back in Washington, DC to intern at the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Enforcement & Compliance Assurance where he helped develop an environmental compliance guide for tribal governments that emphasized pollution prevention opportunities. Upon graduation, Jeff hopes to work on climate change policy in California or with individual companies/municipalities to develop GHG emissions inventories and cost-effective emissions reduction plans.

About Campus Climate Neutral Bren Project: CCN is both pragmatic and visionary, helping to reduce GHG emissions from a relatively large emitter (U.S. Universities) and, in doing so, raising awareness on campus to the issue of climate change and demonstrating to future mayors, CEOs, and Congresswomen, and individual consumers that significant reductions in GHG emissions are important and financially feasible (i.e. it won’t bankrupt universities or ruin our economy

Durwood Zaelke
Chair, NAELS Board

About Durwood: Durwood Zaelke is a founder and Co-Director of the GSD Program. He is director of INECE, the founder of the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), and the Managing Partner in the Washington office of Zelle, Hofmann, Voelbel, Mason & Getty. He is the co-author of International Environmental Law and Policy and Industry Genius: Inventions and People Protecting the Climate and Fragile Ozone Layer.

In 2002 Mr. Zaelke, Professor Oran Young, and Matthew Stilwell established the Program on Governance for Sustainable Development, which began operations at UCSB in January 2003. The Program focuses on designing and implementing governance systems for sustainable development through a systematic effort of scholarship, teaching, and practice designed to generate new intellectual and political capital. A short inaugural course on Governance for Sustainable Development was presented in April 2003, and the full course, which will be team taught by Stilwell, Young & Zaelke, is scheduled for Spring 2004. Zaelke & Stilwell will teach a course on International Environmental Law & Policy beginning in 2005.

Danielle Grabiel
Campus Climate Neutral California Campaign Coordinator

"CCN is unique because it puts to use the skills, talents and sophistication of graduate students from diverse academic and personal backgrounds as problem-solvers..."

About Danielle: Danielle is a volunteer for Campus Climate Neutral and is coordinating CCN's work in California. She organized CCN's first climate summit on the UC-Santa Barbara campus in February of 2005 and played a lead role on conceptualizing and composing the Bren Master's Campus Climate Neutral group project proposal.

Danielle currently lives in Washington, D.C. where she works as a Campaigner for the Environmental Investigation Agency, an international non-government organization focused on hard-hitting campaigns and pragmatic solutions to combating environmental crime such as the illegal trade in endangered species, timber products and ozone depleting substances. She has held various positions and internships in the environmental field including work for the U.S. Navy, the United Nations Environment Program, the International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement, The Boeing Company and several environmental consulting firms.

Danielle is a 2003 Master's graduate of the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at UC-Santa Barbara and received her Bachelor's Degree in Geography/Environmental Studies and French from UC-Los Angeles in 2000.

About Campus Climate Neutral Bren Project: "CCN is unique because it puts to use the skills, talents and sophistication of graduate students from diverse academic and personal backgrounds as problem-solvers working toward the common goal of climate neutrality, while also engaging local university communities, undergraduates and professors through activism and collaboration."

Dan Worth

Executive Director, NAELS
"CCN recognizes that it is the graduate students of today that will envision, plan, and drive the next Industrial Revolution that we will need to aviod the more serious consequences of global warming!"

About Dan: Dan Worth is the Executive Director of the National Association of Environmental Law Societies ("NAELS"), a coalition of environmental law student groups that seeks to mobilize the university community in support of public interest environmental solutions. Dan also currently serves on the Steering Committee for the Energy Action Network, a coalition of student and youth groups working on climate and energy issues. Prior to joining NAELS, Dan served as the Harvard Law School Environmental Fellow, where he coordinated the Environmental Working Group - a team of Harvard Law School administrators, professors, alumni, and students working to develop a comprehensive environmental law program. While at Harvard, Dan volunteered for the Law Offices of Matthew F. Pawa, P.C., where he conducted research on the recent tort-based global warming cases. Dan graduated cum laude from Boston University School of Law and has clerked for Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund in the organization's D.C. and Juneau, Alaska offices.

About Campus Climate Neutral Bren Project: CCN recognizes that it is the graduate students of today that will envision, plan, and drive the next Industrial Revolution that we will need to aviod the more serious consequences of global warming! Only by educating, training, inspiring, and mobilizing this next generation can we hope to tackle the enormous challenge in front of us. The Bren CCN graduate team and Santa Barbara Climate Neutral Task Force are leading the way to a carbon-constrained future.