Author: Schatz Center

We are outraged and grieved by the recent murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor by police, and by the violence inflicted against protestors across the nation who are taking a stand to change our country’s systemic oppression of Black people. We know that police brutality is a product of racist power structures, and that this same brutality reinforces oppression. George Floyd and Breonna Taylor are among the latest victims of a culture of hatred and violence towards Black bodies that has been present since the founding of this country.

We recognize that this oppression is maintained through a fundamentally unequal distribution of resources, and of exposure to harm. Across the globe, the access by Black, brown, and indigenous peoples to basic goods is curtailed by racist, colonialist systems. The same systems expose these communities to higher levels of pollution — again threatening and shortening lives. Further, we recognize that the extent to which communities can mobilize and deploy solutions is often stymied by racism, and that the nature of privilege makes it much easier for those who already occupy positions of power to be heard and acknowledged.

Systemic racism impacts every location, including ours here on California’s north coast. Our community is still reeling from the loss of David Josiah Lawson, a Black student leader, three years ago, and from the incapacity of our police and legal system to bring justice for his murder. Students and staff on our campus face very different challenges depending on the color of their skin, their language, and their heritage — including ongoing harassment on and off campus, as recent events have again made apparent. None of these events happen in isolation.

As a majority white organization in a predominantly white field, we recognize that we must be simultaneously humble and strong. We must be humble to realize the gaps in our understanding — and in our empathy. We must be proactive in developing a safe, inclusive, and collaborative work environment that supports our non-white students and staff. We must learn more inclusive ways of engaging with all people toward a just division of resources. At the same time, we must be strong in our protection of all people.

We know we have a great deal of work to do, and much to learn and unlearn.

We stand in solidarity, and in humility, to acknowledge the truths of our history, and to affirm:

Black Lives Matter.

View the webinar recording

On Friday, April 24 @ noon (Pacific), the California Community Choice Association will launch a new monthly webinar series. This opening event will explore innovations developed for the Redwood Coast Airport microgrid — including novel roles and responsibilities for both CCAs and utilities, new tariffs and agreements, new policies for wholesale market participation, and technical advances.

• This event is free and open to the public. Register here.
  
• Learn more about the California Community Choice Association and sign up for their upcoming webinars.

Between 1-2 billion people can’t access a reliable power grid. In some communities, the grid is unstable, with power outages that total hundreds to thousands of hours each year. In others, the grid is unaffordable – or there is no grid at all. Many of these communities rely on diesel or gasoline backup generators, which emit greenhouse gases and particulate pollutants inside and in close proximity to homes, businesses, and community markets.

In 2019, scientists at the Schatz Center built a model to assess backup generator use around the globe. In this talk, project leads Peter Alstone and Nicholas Lam share their recent findings about the global impacts of backup generator use on human health, economies, and the environment. The findings shed light on the opportunity for small, solar-based systems to increase energy access in underserved communities by replacing dirty backup generators.

Nicholas Lam is a research scientist at the Schatz Center. Nick’s work focuses on the welfare impacts of clean energy transitions in low and middle income countries. Peter Alstone is a faculty scientist at the Schatz Center, and an assistant professor of environmental resources engineering at Humboldt State. Peter’s research areas include distributed energy systems and energy access, for both on and off-grid environments.

How to attend

We’re holding this semester’s Sustainable Futures Speaker Series online via webinar — visit our speaker series page for the schedule of upcoming events. Talks will be given from 5:30-7:00 pm on Thursday evenings (Pacific). Each lecture will be streamed via Zoom with closed captioning, and will be followed by a Q&A discussion period. All events are free and open to the public.

• REGISTER for this talk

About the series

The Sustainable Futures Speaker Series stimulates interdisciplinary collaboration around issues related to energy, the environment, and society. All lectures are free and open to the public, and are sponsored by the Schatz Energy Research Center, the Environment & Community graduate program, and the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences at Humboldt State. For Spring 2020, we’re bringing our ongoing series online via Zoom with closed captioning. Please visit schatzcenter.org/speakers for the full lineup. Questions? Email info@schatzcenter.org.

Seabird species may be at risk for collision with, or displacement by, offshore wind turbines. Existing seabird distribution models describe the density and species composition in the California Current, and are used to identify hot spots for seabird activity. However, these models do not describe the three-dimensional distribution of flight behavior above the sea surface. Understanding flight height is key to accurately modeling the risk of direct interactions between seabirds and offshore wind turbines, and is the focus of our latest offshore wind feasibility study.

Seabird flight height is known to vary as a function of species and wind speed — so this study will integrate data-driven existing 2D species distribution models, species-specific seabird flight heights as a function of wind speed, and the latest wind resource data, to make a 3D probability map of seabirds in space. This will allow us to model the risk of different turbine designs and power outputs, for locations offshore California and southern Oregon.

Our two-year project will kick off in the summer of 2020, and is being funded through a $500,000 grant through the California Energy Commission’s Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC). H. T. Harvey & Associates ecologists will synthesize 2D seabird species distribution data from records on more than 120 ship-based and aerial surveys spanning the period of 1976-2016 and provide flight-height data for all offshore species occurring in the study area, as well as contribute to model development. The Schatz Center will use the seabird model to evaluate the relative risk of seabird impacts and power production potential at sites off California, to optimize the design and location of potential wind farms.

• Learn more about our offshore wind feasibility research for the California north coast.
• If you’d like to receive emails about our offshore wind research and details on related webinars and presentations, please send us an email at windstudies@schatzcenter.org.

How to attend

We are glad to announce that the remainder of this semester’s Sustainable Futures Speaker Series will be going online via webinar… visit our speaker series page for the schedule of upcoming events! Talks will be given from 5:30-7:00 pm on Thursday evenings (Pacific). Each lecture will be streamed via Zoom with closed captioning, and will be followed by a Q&A discussion period. All events are free and open to the public. Questions? Please email info@schatzcenter.org.

April 9: Amanda Baugh

Amanda Baugh is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at California State University, Northridge, who specializes in the study of religion, race, and environmental values among diverse American groups. She is the author of “God and the Green Divide: Religious Environmentalism in Black and White” (University of California Press, 2016).

• REGISTER for this talk

The Sustainable Futures Speaker Series stimulates interdisciplinary collaboration around issues related to energy, the environment, and society. Lectures are sponsored by the Schatz Energy Research Center, the Environment & Community graduate program, and the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences at Humboldt State.