The 7th annual Campus Earth Summit was held on January 31st at UC Santa Cruz. The well-attended event was organized by the Student Environmental Center and the Sustainability Office at UCSC and featured local speakers, a 'low carbon' lunch sourced from local organic farms, workshops on reducing 'carbon footprints' and conversations about environmental sustainability at UCSC. The summit was held in conjunction with Focus the Nation, a nationwide climate change teach-in happening simultaneously at over 1,000 colleges and universities across the USA. Read More and View Photos

Bicicleta Bandito writes, "Instead of challenging the power structure that enables one group of people to assault another for doing something as benign as climbing a tree, the speakers offered euphemisms about technological solutions, progress, leadership, efficiency, and investment. To them, it would be perfectly fine to erect an office/research building over a redwood grove, where human beings will toil for 8-10 hours a day under artificial light as long as the light is provided by solar panels." Read More

Vertigo comments, "Surprisingly, once all the coffee mugs were gone & lunch devoured, the event was concluded in the minds of those that came to critique.... but it just began for those that wanted to sit together, explore opportunities, and commit to a process to address challenges and barriers toward sustainability together. That is what the Earth Summit stands for: a living, dynamic space, where thoughts can flow freely in round tables of discussions." Read More