Search: Student Projects, Climate Change

PROPOSED PROJECT: a visible dashboard in UC Berkeley website – The University does not currently have an integrated system to manage information relevant to GHG emissions generated by campus activities. Data collection from some potentially important sources (e.g., campus fleet, commute, air travel) is manual and often in terms of cost. This is particularly true for air travel, where there is no system that tracks air travel trips or mileage. Also, information on different GHG emissions sources is not integrated. It was not until we performed the inventory that we realized the relative size of the different sources of emissions on campus. This is typical of most institutions given that climate change mitigation is a fairly recent interest.

PROPOSED PROJECT: fund graduate students to work with CCAR to improve the GHG reporting standards based on UCB experience and research.

Project to cover the cost of showing environmental films and advance printed posters/ads/fliers to promote participation in the upcoming Earth Week 2008. Need: $4,000, 25% funded

PROPOSED PROJECT: The University’s academic curriculum needs to demonstrate a more serious commitment towards addressing climate change. Initiatives taken by the Education for Sustainable Living Program can help jumpstart student-led courses at the grassroots level. Additionally, the University’s Academic Senate, the representative body of the University faculty that can exercise some influence over academic matters, can create a core curriculum focused on climate change (About UC Governance, 2006). At the least, it should create a “flexible course module” on climate change that would be offered to all faculty to be integrated into relevant existing course offerings.