Author: Schatz Center

5:30 pm Thursday, March 28 in Founders Hall 118

Environmental planner Aldaron Laird specializes in sea level rise vulnerability assessments and adaptation planning, specifically in the Humboldt Bay region. In this lecture, he will highlight the significant changes we might see on Humboldt Bay with just 2.0 meters of sea level rise – which could occur between 2070 and 2100, based on new probabilistic projections. Laird will discuss the associated challenges for land and water use, transportation and utilities infrastructure, and cultural and environmental resources.

Aldaron Laird helped create the first baseline vulnerability assessment of the Humboldt Bay shoreline, and was the lead planner for the Humboldt Bay Sea Level Rise Adaptation Planning Project. Recently, he authored a portion of the 4th California Climate Change Assessment that described sea level rise vulnerability and adaptation opportunities on the North Coast. Laird serves as co-chair of the Sea Level Rise Initiative at HSU.

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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 Center, the Environment & Community graduate program, and the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences at Humboldt State.

Spring 2019 lectures will be held on Thursdays from 5:30 – 7:00 pm in Founders Hall 118.

• For additional details on upcoming events or to request accessibility accommodations, email serc@humboldt.edu or call (707) 826-4345.
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For our final talk in this semester’s Sustainable Futures Speaker Series, Catherine J.K. Sandoval will explore The Native American reservation electricity access gap: a case study of the Yurok Tribe’s energy access leadership and next steps for energy justice and climate change.

Please note that this lecture will be held in the Native American Forum (BSS 162).

Catherine Sandoval is a tenured Law Professor at Santa Clara University, where she teaches energy, communications, antitrust, and contract law. Her research explores the intersection of energy, the environment, telecommunications, and underserved and disadvantaged communities — including the Native American reservation electricity gap and the role of net neutrality in powering energy and forestalling climate change.

Sandoval served as a Commissioner of the California Public Utilities Commission from 2011-2017, and was the first Latinx person appointed as a CPUC Commissioner. She serves on the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of California Advisory Council, and received the Chamber’s 2016 Warrior Award for her work to improve Native American utility infrastructure access and service. The first person in her family to earn a Bachelor’s, she received a B.A. from Yale University; a Master of Letters in politics from Oxford University, where she was the first Latina to win a Rhodes Scholarship; and a J.D. from Stanford Law School.

This August, Schatz Energy Fellow Thalia Quinn presented for a panel discussion on Broadening Access to Solar: Jobs, Careers, and Futures, at the American Solar Energy Society’s 47th annual conference in Boulder, Colorado. Panelists discussed paths for the solar energy field to increase inclusivity and the economic opportunities of underrepresented communities. Thalia shared her recent journey from undergraduate work in chemical engineering into the field of renewable energy. Moderated by Annie Lappé, the panel also included representatives from Grid Alternatives, the American Association for Blacks in Energy, Power52, SolarWorld, and Sandia Labs.

Conference talks included the estimated locational value of solar, progress in electric vehicle costs compared to combustion engines, solar resource and solar cost/benefit webtools, and current events in solar policy. The conference closed with a discussion of policies designed to increase the deployment and ease of procuring solar energy in the Interior West region. Jessica Scott described achievements and lessons learned from Vote Solar campaigns: recently, Nevada legislature submitted a ballot initiative pushing for a higher renewable portfolio standard (RPS), which would increase the state’s RPS from 25 percent by 2025, to 40 percent by 2040.

This talk will share inspiring solutions for water collection, storage, treatment, and conservation that have been created by community engagement.

Lonny Grafman has worked on and led teams for hundreds of domestic and international projects across a broad spectrum of sustainable design and entrepreneurship — from solar energy to improved cookstoves, micro-hydro power to rainwater catchment, and from earthen construction to plastic bottle schoolrooms. Throughout all these technology implementations, he has found the most vital component to be community. His first book shares stories and strategies for communities coming together To Catch the Rain.

Grafman is an engineering instructor at HSU; the founder of the Practivistas summer abroad, full immersion, resilient community technology program; the project manager of the epi-apocalyptic city art project Swale; the Chief Product Officer of Nexi; Managing Director of the BlueTechValley North Coast Hub; and the President of the Appropedia Foundation, sharing knowledge to build rich, sustainable lives.

The Sustainable Futures Speaker Series at Humboldt State creates interdisciplinary discussion, debate, and collaboration around issues related to energy, the environment, and society. Fall 2018 lectures are held on Thursdays from 5:30-7 pm in HSU Siemens Hall 108 (with the exception of Catherine Sandoval’s talk on November 1, which will be held in the Native American Forum / BSS 162).