THINKING WATER, part 2: Water, Energy, and Climate Challenges

DESIGNERS, SCIENTISTS, AND RESEARCHERS JOIN FORCES TO TACKLE CRITICAL ISSUES FACING THE WESTERN LANDSCAPE: WATER, ENERGY, AND CLIMATE CHANGE On October 29, designers, scientists, and researchers will come together at Woodbury University in Burbank for Water, Energy, and Climate Challenges Facing the U.S. West: A Briefing for Designers. The half-day seminar tackles the critical water challenges facing the U.S. West. WHAT: Water, Energy, and Climate Challenges Facing the U.S. West: A Briefing for Designers WHEN: Saturday, October 29th, 2011 9:30 am —12:30 pm WHERE: Ahmanson Main Space, Woodbury School of Architecture Woodbury University 7500 Glenoaks Boulevard Burbank, CA 91510 COST: The event is free and open to the public. FOR MORE INFO: http://aridlands.woodbury.edu/ Water, Energy, and Climate Challenges Facing the U.S. West: A Briefing for Designers is hosted by the Arid Lands Institute (ALI) at Woodbury University in partnership with UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability (IoES). The event is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing + Urban Development/Office of University Partnerships and is supported by the California Architectural Foundation (CAF), and the American Institute of Architects/California Council (AIA/CC). Woodbury University School of Architecture is a proud supporter of the ALI’s mission and activities. The future of development across the western United States is intricately linked to the availability of water. A precious, but often overlooked and misunderstood resource, water impacts policy, the environment, and economics. Addressing these issues, a team of scientists and researchers from UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability will present findings, brief attendees, and answer questions on water, energy, climate change, and strategic design opportunities for a water-smart future. "We are delighted that UCLA's IoES is joining us in this effort” said Peter Arnold, architect and ALI co-director. “Design without science is folly." Presentation topics include: the limitations posed by energy-intensive water delivery systems; projected impacts of climate change on western water resources; myths and realities of localized stormwater management, including case studies; and the challenges, both regional and global, of managing water in an urbanized world. Presenters represent thought leaders in the field of design, engineering, and sustainability and include: Dr. Glen MacDonald, UC Presidential Chair and Director, UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability; Dr. Paul Bunje, director of UCLA’s Center for Climate Change Solutions; Dr. Terri Hogue of UCLA’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; and Dr. Stephanie Pincetl, director of UCLA’s Center for Sustainable Urban Systems. "Design professionals can inspire change through visionary and untraditional solutions to seemingly intractable problems," explained Dr. Pincetl. Water, Energy, and Climate Challenges Facing the US West: A Briefing for Designers is part of ALI’S 2011-2012 Drylands Design Initiative. The event support architects, landscape architects, engineers, urban designers, and students participating in the William Turnbull, Jr. Drylands Design Competition, an international competition seeking progressive design strategies for low-carbon, localized water systems. Winning competition entries will be presented at the Drylands Design Conference at Woodbury, March 2012; and displayed in a traveling exhibition launching from the Architecture + Design Museum of Los Angeles in March 2012. http://drylandscompetition.org/ PARTNERS: UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability educates the next generation of professional and scientific leadership committed to the health of the planet; advises businesses and policymakers on sustainability and the environment; and informs and encourages community discussion about critical environmental issues. http://www.environment.ucla.edu/ The Arid Lands Institute at Woodbury University is an education, research, and outreach center devoted to adaptive design strategies for drylands. Its mission is to train designers and citizens to be resourceful and inventive in the face of water scarcity and climate change. http://aridlands.woodbury.edu/ WOODBURY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE Woodbury University School of Architecture is a network of strategically sited hubs operating within the complex megalopolis of Southern California: Burbank, Hollywood, and San Diego. Together they form a critical platform. The school’s undergraduate and graduate programs in architecture and interior architecture emphasize the development of students as architect-citizens and cultural builders. Norman Millar, Dean Woodbury University School of Architecture Woodbury University, founded in 1884, is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Southern California. Woodbury offers bachelor’s degrees from the School of Architecture, School of Business, School of Media, Culture & Design, and Institute of Transdisciplinary Studies, along with an MBA program, Master of Architecture, Master of Architecture in Real Estate Development, and Master of Organizational Leadership. A San Diego campus offers bachelor of architecture and Master of Architecture in Real Estate Development degrees. http://www.woodbury.edu PRESENTERS: Dr. Glen MacDonald’s research focuses on climate change and its impacts on ecosystems and societies. Areas of active field research include California, the northern Great Plains and adjacent Rocky Mountains, the North American subarctic, Russia and Siberia. Dr. Paul Bunje works to bridge the gap between scientists and decision makers to help society respond and adapt to the challenges of climate change. As Executive Director of the UCLA Center for Climate Change Solutions he facilitates innovative research and communicates between scientists, decision makers, educators, and the public. As Managing Director of the Los Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Action and Sustainability Dr. Bunje works to foster greater cooperation between government, business, universities, and non-profits in achieving climate mitigation goals. Dr. Stephanie Pincetl is a professor and researcher at the Institute of the Environment and Sustainablity at UCLA, with a focus on urban land use and the transformation of their natural environments. The theoretical core of her research is environmental politics, policies and governance and specifically, the ways that rules and rulemaking impact the participants in decision-making and the content of decisions. Rules can be formal or informal, hard or soft, but they form the boundaries of what is perceived of as possible. Dr. Terri Hogue’s research interests include investigation and application of optimization techniques to rainfall-runoff and land-surface modeling, and integration of these methods into operational flood forecasting. Her research also involves analysis of land-atmosphere interactions in semi-arid climates, with special emphasis on modeling surface fluxes in these regions. This research provides insight into the hydrologic, energy, and carbon cycles and possible response of these cycles to climate change. The Arid Lands Institute @ Woodbury University is supported by funding under Grant Number HSIAC-09-CA-39 with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of University Partnerships. The author and publisher are solely responsible for the accuracy of the statements and interpretations contained in this publication. Such interpretations do not necessarily reflect the views of the Government.