1 / 15

Rapid Environmental Change and the role of Interdisciplinary and Diverse Education February 18, 2010

Rapid Environmental Change and the role of Interdisciplinary and Diverse Education February 18, 2010. Carmen J. Cortez, Ph.D. Student Graduate Group in Ecology Environmental Policy and Human Ecology University of California Davis. Overview. Rapid Environmental Change (REC)

usoa
Download Presentation

Rapid Environmental Change and the role of Interdisciplinary and Diverse Education February 18, 2010

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Rapid Environmental Change and the role of Interdisciplinary and Diverse EducationFebruary 18, 2010 Carmen J. Cortez, Ph.D. Student Graduate Group in Ecology Environmental Policy and Human Ecology University of California Davis

  2. Overview • Rapid Environmental Change (REC) • REC in California • Interdisciplinary response • California public universities mission • University of California graduate student profile • My involvement

  3. Rapid Environmental Change (REC) • Pollution • Habitat fragmentation (e.g. urban development, deforestation) • Invasive species • Over harvesting

  4. Rapid Environmental Change Climate Change: • Species distribution and extinctions: -Poleward range shifts of species are occurring and range restricted species show sever range contractions (Parmesan 2006). -15-37% of species committed to extinction by 2050 with current climate scenarios (Thomas et al. 2004). • Ocean acidification

  5. REC in California • Decrease in snow pack More winter rainfall/less snowfall—earlier seasonal peak in runoff, increased fall/winter flooding, decreased summer water supply (IPCC 2007 WG2T-ARchap15) Source: NASA Terra Satellite 2004

  6. REC in California • Implications: Exacerbate water allocation issues • Water Wars: Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Farmers, endangered species, urban water supply. • Vulnerable populations: Disproportionate effect on low income and communities of color

  7. How do We Respond? • Interdisciplinary Approach: Resource Management • Natural and Physical Science • Social Scientist • Economic • Political Science • Sociology • Anthropology

  8. Communicating Our Science • To the public • To the stakeholders • To decision makers

  9. Public Universities: Teaching, Research, Public Service “Teaching, research, and public service are goals that date back to UC's origins as a land grant institution in the 1860s. Today, through its public service programs and industry partnerships, UC disseminates research results and translates scientific discoveries into practical knowledge and technological innovations that benefit California and the nation.” -University of California Mission

  10. California Mission of Public Universities The California Master Plan for Higher Education: Adopted by the state in 1960, helps integrate the missions of these colleges and universities in meeting the educational needs of Californians. • 10 UC campuses, • 23 CSU campuses • 108 campuses community college system • independent institutions throughout the state

  11. “Science is a social field of forces, struggles, and relationships that is defined at every moment by the relations of power among the protagonists. Scientific choices are guided by taken-for-granted assumptions, interactive with practices, as to what constitutes real and important problems, valid methods, and authentic knowledge…The strategies used by science are at once social and intellectual for example strategies that are founded on implicit agreement with the established scientific order are thereby in affinity with the positions of power within the field itself.” -Bourdieu 1991

  12. UC Graduate and Professional Degree Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity, Fall 200-2008 Source: UCOP Corporate Student System University of California Accountability Report 2009

  13. UC Davis Graduate Group in Ecology 2009

  14. My Research Interests: Human Ecology • Indigenous land management and conservation, land rights, human manipulation of ecological process • NSF-REACH IGERT (Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship) • Kevin Rice Lab in collaboration with the John Muir Institute for the Environment (Environmental Leaders Program): Broader Impact Seminar

More Related