Breathe LA Pollution & Solutions Sept 18 Featured Local High School ‘Climate Champions’

BREATHE LA Pollution & Solutions September 18, 2008 featured an expert panel discussion and two local Los Angeles area high school students selected as Climate Champions.
The students were among 15 California students selected by application by British Council, partnered with California Air Resources Board on a project called California Climate Champions. The students have demonstrated commitment to environmental issues and a desire to communicate about climate change to their peers. The Los Angeles area local students, Adam Raudonis of Westlake High School and Leah Roh of Marlborough High School, Los Angeles, spoke about their commitment to develop and execute a plan to spread the word about climate change in his or her community. They posed questions related to green schools of following the panel discussion.

The BREATHE LA Pollution & Solutions Salon Series AB 32: Climate Change & Southern California: What Science & Technology Have to Offer was held at Los Angeles Community College District Boardroom. ( view the slideshow ) The Los Angeles Community College District has the distinction of being the largest, and the greenest, community college district in the United States, training students to serve green jobs industry and pulling campus buildings into LEED compilance and off the grid.
A panel of experts discussed ramifications of AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. Vasilios Manousiouthakis, UCLA Professor of Chemical Engineering, ( HERC ) spoke on accesiblity of Hydrogen as the clean fuel of the future. Richard Varenchik, Office of Climate Change with the California Air Resources Board, the state agency tasked with implementing AB:32, presented details on goals to achieve ambitious carbon reduction goals. Dario Frommer, Former Assemblymember and AB 32 Co-Author, with Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez and Assembly Member Fran Pavley, spoke on the need and for significant commitment to reduction of greenhouse gases. AB:32 was signed into law by Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006 and will have far-reaching impact for all Californians as early as 2009.

BREATHE LA Pollution & Solutions Salon Series are all FREE and open to the public. To learn about upcoming series, contact us. The BREATHE LA Pollution & Solutions Salon Series Continues throughout 2008 with upcoming panels on " Sinful Behavior, the 8th Deadly Sin? " and " Healthful Living and Community Wealth: Clean Air, Lung Disease and the Economy "

Introduction was provided by BREATHE LA Board Member and KTLA TV personality Ray Gonzales and Welcome speech was presented by Honorable Jose Huizar, Los Angeles City Councilman, 14th District. Panel Moderator was Jon Regardie, Executive Editor of the Downtown Daily News Host Marvin Martinez, Vice Chancellor of Economic & Workforce Development for the Los Angeles Community College District, extolled the green leadership of the district, followed by student Climate Change Champions Adam Raudonis of Westlake High School and Leah Roh of Marlborough High School, Los Angeles.

California Climate Champions is part of a global initiative by the British Council called International Climate Champions. In May, three of these 15 students, along with 36 other International Climate Champions from Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and the United Kingdom, traveled to the G8 Environment Ministers Meeting in Kobe, Japan, where they presented the “Kobe Challenge” – a call to action for addressing climate change to the environment ministers gathered there (also attached). In addition to the "Kobe Challenge," champions from each country also made a commitment to their ministers on a specific goal or task they would accomplish over the coming year (with support from their champions at home.) Rebecca Chan, a California Climate Champion from Encinitas, CA, presented printed copies of both the Kobe Challenge and the Champions’ US commitment to US EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson, who was attending this meeting as one of the American delegates.

The Challenge: Kids Leading their Communities to Improve the Environment

Over the next year, the California Climate Champions will each develop and execute a plan to spread the word about climate change in his or her community, whether neighborhood, school, church/mosque/temple, hometown or state. (Just as an example, they might set up a school carpooling network, start a “greening” project with nearby small businesses or talk to community leaders about bigger plans to spread the message about climate change. Each student is responsible for coming up with the idea for his or her project, which British Council and Air Resources Board staff will then help them to develop and plan for the year.)

In mid-August, all 15 Champions convened in San Diego, CA, for an intensive retreat and workshop to design their climate change projects, which will be conducted over the 2008-2009 school year. (Ten Climate Champions from Canada will also be joining in the August workshop.)

For bios of the students. Or have a look at Adam Raudonis YouTube

http://youtube.com/watch?v=LtkV3HreZBk –

About British Council: The British Council is the United Kingdom’s international non-profit organization for educational opportunities and cultural relations. Since 1973, British Council USA has cultivated partnerships with American academic, NGO, artistic and government partners to explore similarities between our long-allied countries and to encourage positive interaction through continual dialogue and collaboration. The Council’s two U.S. offices – located in Washington, DC and Los Angeles – work closely with counterparts in Canada and Western Europe.

 

Attachment	Size
9-18-08_AB_32_Salon_Flyer.pdf	231.26 KB