SEI Update
November, 2022
LACCD Sustainable Environment Institute
|
|
from the editors…
Welcome to SEI Update, we welcome submissions and feedback from LACCD faculty who might have a short text or commentary to share on any aspect of the environment from the global to the local to your own campus. Email the SEI staff with your proposed article or news brief, or calendar event. Contact us at SEI@laccd.edu
|
|
November 10: SEI seminar on climate anxiety and young people
This November 10 SEI will address the emergence of “climate anxiety” as a mental health challenge especially for young people. Students, burdened economically, anxious about the war in Europe and uncertain about their future, also face climate anxiety. Recently, mainstream media has increased coverage on how youth are coping or not coping with the tsunami of bad news on the environment and the climate crisis in particular.
This November 10th event will include five panelists addressing mental health and climate anxiety among our students.. Dr. Azeb B Bhutia, Special Programs and Services at Harbor College, has experience in this area and will include resources for students in the LACCD. Houry Tanashianm, Director of Student Health at Pierce College, will discuss mental health services for students. Eugenie Lewis is a practicing psychologist with many young clients,and a climate activist. Sim Bilal, student activist with Youth Climate Strike Los Angeles, was recently featured in a LA Times article on youth and climate anxiety. Elmida Baghdaserians is a professor in Child Development at Valley College and will also talk about resources available to students on our campuses. Join us for this vital and resource rich discussion.
|
|
 |
Gold Creek Camera. Black Bear
Opens in Youtube
|
|
|
|
Gold Creek Camera. Bear cub
Opens in Youtube
|
|
|
|
Gold Creek Reserve Offers Funding for Learning Activities
Gold Creek Ecological Reserve is a LACCD owned 240-acre parcel of chaparral, coastal sage scrub, and riparian oak woodlands located in the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains. The Gold Creek Committee is offering stipends of up to $3000 for individuals or teams who wish to develop learning activities to be used at Gold Creek Ecological Reserve. Link here to find more information and how to apply
|
|
Recap: October 20 Seminar on Water in Los Angeles
|
On October 20, the SEI seminar series featured two guests to talk about the LA River and the water conservation goals in Los Angeles. Amanda Begley from TreePeople and Jessica Rodriguez from Friends of the LA River shared insights and comments including the restoration of the LA River and the challenges of recycled wastewater and grey water use. Attendees learned from the two panelists that the LA River, once a major feature of this city, is now a concrete storm drain lacking in the biodiversity associated with waterways in semi-arid regions such as Southern California. FoLAR and TreePeople are also committed to environmental justice at every level and so had some critical insights on many of the projects in Los Angeles that are not primarily focused on quality-of-life improvements for under-privileged and working-class communities of color.
|
|
|
Youth Transit Passes
AB1919, which had bipartisan support, would have established the five-year Youth Transit Pass Pilot Program run through Caltrans. K-12 students, along with students enrolled in state community colleges, California State University, or the University of California systems would have been eligible. But the governor found it too costly. The good news is that federal funds are available. Here in Los Angeles, Metro has implemented the GoPass TAP card. Students attending participating schools can ride Metro and other participating systems to and from school, and for trips after school and on weekends. All LACCD campuses are in the program.
|
|
Recycling,Green and Organic and Solid Waste Pickup will be consistent all over the district.
Early this summer LACCD signed a contract with Republic Services to take care of all waste issues on district campuses. This includes picking up recycling, organic waste and trash. For those campuses longing for recycling, it is back. Look around and ask about implementation on your own campus.
However...
Only 5% of the plastic waste can be recycled
What we thought of as recyclable turns out to be landfill. The Greenpeace study found that plastic degrades quickly and the more times that plastic is reused the more toxic it becomes. According to NPR’s investigations, only plastic soda bottles and jugs may be considered for recycling (PET). All other plastics - such as bags, yogurt cups, to-go containers, etc., are being sent directly to landfill, or even incinerated in places like Idaho and Utah.
NPR reports that “ industry officials misled the public about the recyclability of plastic even though their own reports showed they knew as early as the 1970s and 1980s that plastic could not be economically recycled”.(Sullivan)
We have been lulled into the idea that the average 218 lbs of plastic per person, used annually, up from 80 lbs in 1980, could and would be recycled into new products. Not so. Stick to glass, aluminum and paper- all of which can be recycled. Skip the plastic when you can - reuse and refill.
Citations
The Real Truth About the U.S.Plastics Recycling Rate, Beyond Plastics, Bennington College, May 22
|
|
On Tackling Plastic Waste opens on Youtube
|
|
Events
Nov 4 · 7 - 9:30pm PDT: Arts and Cinema Collective and USC Cinematic Arts present Eco Film & Media Arts Festival, USC School of Cinematic Arts 900 West 34th Street Los Angeles, CA 90007
Nov 13, Deadline to sign up for the Sierra Club Activist Academy This leadership program is for individuals ready to take their activism to the next level and grow as leaders in their communities.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
