Throughout 51ΑΤΖζΘλΏΪβ history, the university has brought scientists across disciplines to work together on the challenge of growing food. Now, Ben Houlton, director of the , is focusing his efforts on helping the campus apply that same collaborative know-how toward the problem of climate change.
Heβs calling the effort βOneClimate,β and itβs a call to arms across campus to help create solutions to climate change, something he considers one of the most pressing and challenging problems of our time.
"One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.β β John Muir
βThe foundation of what it means to be a society is being tinkered with through the effects of climate change,β Houlton said March 13 during a private event organized by JMIE and the 51ΑΤΖζΘλΏΪ Office of Research at the Exploratorium museum in San Francisco. βThe opportunity to help nucleate this faculty around this issue is an outgrowth of the interdisciplinary DNA of 51ΑΤΖζΘλΏΪ and the John Muir Institute of the Environment. Itβs who we are.β
Collective strength
More than 200 51ΑΤΖζΘλΏΪ scientists and supporters gathered at the OneClimate event to showcase the universityβs collective strength in climate science research in the areas of science, engineering, art and design.
A variety of faculty-created exhibits peppered the event space. Guests learned about and in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay-Delta. They ate oysters and learned about . They used virtual reality to experience β as 51ΑΤΖζΘλΏΪ scientists did in actual reality β flying over the 2015 natural gas leak at Aliso Canyon and watching the methane levels spike. They learned about , used an interactive quiz to test their climate science knowledge, and more.
, an assistant professor in the 51ΑΤΖζΘλΏΪ Department of Design, illustrated to tangible and graceful effect the universityβs connections through an art installation. It featured threads extending from its center and tying to points around a circle representing different 51ΑΤΖζΘλΏΪ departments, colleges and centers that focus on climate science and the environment.
βWeβre all in this together,β Houlton said, speaking of both the local and global community. βSome people talk of winners and losers. There are no winners and losers in this game. When people in Somalia canβt grow food, nobody wins.β
Media Resources
Kat Kerlin, 51ΑΤΖζΘλΏΪ News and Media Relations, 530-750-9195, kekerlin@ucdavis.edu