2nd Annual

Empowering Sustainability on Earth Conference

University of California, Irvine
July 23-27, 2012

Summary Report





Created by Juliana M. Zanotto
September 25, 2012

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Table of Contents
Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................................... 2
1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 3
2. Participants and Contact Information ................................................................................................. 4
3. Conference Program ............................................................................................................................ 7
4. Outcomes .......................................................................................................................................... 10
Working Groups ..................................................................................................................................... 10
Group 1: Mission Statement and Conference ................................................................................. 10
Members ........................................................................................................................................ 10
Goals .............................................................................................................................................. 10
Tasks accomplished ..................................................................................................................... 11
Next steps ...................................................................................................................................... 11
Group 2: Electronic Journal .............................................................................................................. 12
Members ........................................................................................................................................ 12
Main contact .................................................................................................................................. 12
Goal ................................................................................................................................................ 12
Tasks accomplished ..................................................................................................................... 12
Next steps ...................................................................................................................................... 12
Group 3: Films ................................................................................................................................... 13
Members ........................................................................................................................................ 13
Goal ................................................................................................................................................ 13
Tasks accomplished ..................................................................................................................... 13
Next steps ...................................................................................................................................... 13
Group 4: Website .............................................................................................................................. 13
Members ........................................................................................................................................ 13
Goals .............................................................................................................................................. 13
Tasks accomplished ..................................................................................................................... 14
Next steps ...................................................................................................................................... 14
Exchanges and Collaborations ............................................................................................................. 14
5. Suggestions for next year's conference ........................................................................................... 15


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1. Introduction
The 2nd Annual Empowering Sustainability on Earth Conference took place at the University of
California Irvine from July 23 to July 27, 2012. The seventy-five participants "sustainability fellows"
from over twenty countries represented a broad variety of disciplinary fields, expertise, and
experience, ranging from high school students, to scholars, practitioners, and activists.
From 9:00AM to 5:30PM, sustainability fellows attended presentations from guest speakers
(experienced scholars and professionals) and other sustainability fellows and had the opportunity to
engage in dialogues with the presenters. Informal discussions, brainstorming, and socializing
occurred among sustainability fellows during coffee breaks, lunch and dinner. On Tuesday and
Wednesday evenings, discussion sessions including around 45 participants resulted in the formation
of the four working groups presented on section 5.1 of this report.



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2. Participants and Contact Information
For additional information about each participant, go to our website:
http://sites.uci.edu/empoweringsustainability/
LAST NAME FIRST NAME COUNTRY EMAIL ADDRESS
PARTICIPATION
YEAR(S)
Artale Tessa USA tjartale@ucdavis.edu 2012
Asakawa Haruna USA hasakawa@uci.edu 2012
Atalla Seema USA 2012
Atalla Lalia USA 2012
Baker Jesse USA jesse@ecofficiency.org 2012
Baltmanas Jessica USA jbaltman@ucsd.edu 2012
Bartenev Vladimir Russia vl_bartenev@mail.ru 2011, 2012
Bedolfe Sarah USA sbedolfe@gmail.com 2011, 2012
Bogatykh Maria Russia maria.bogatykh@gmail.com 2012
Bordokoff Peter USA bordop@gmail.com 2012
Broad Max USA maxebroad@gmail.com 2012
Carranza Roco Costa Rica carranzamaxera@hotmail.com 2011, 2012
Cheffs Claudia oti stampitout19@gmail.com 2012
Chen
Cindy
Xiaoning
USA/China stormc008@hotmail.com 2011, 2012
Collins Kay USA kcollins@uci.edu 2012
Cook Allison USA allison@storyofstuff.org 2011, 2012
Cox Felicia Barbados CoxF@bnocl.com 2012
Daboub Evan uni eddaboub@gmail.com 2012
Dayfallah Angelina oti adayfall@uci.edu 2012
Desormeau Markendy Haiti markendyd@hotmail.com 2012
Dunaev Alexander Russia aleksandr.dunaev@gmail.com 2011, 2012
Espiritu Yolanda oti espiritu.yolanda@gmail.com 2012
Fallas Fallas Raquel Costa Rica raquelf@coopesantos.com 2011, 2012

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LAST NAME FIRST NAME COUNTRY EMAIL ADDRESS
PARTICIPATION
YEAR(S)
Frechoso
Llorente
Luca Spain luciafrechoso@gmail.com 2011, 2012
Gomez Vallarta Sofia Mexico sofia@costasalvaje.com 2011, 2012
Goneva Eleonora Bulgaria/USA e_goneva@hotmail.com 2012
Gunda Siva USA sgunda@ucdavis.edu 2012
Gurbanzade Rafiga USA grafiga@gmail.com 2012
Helling Kimmy USA khelling@oneworldoneocean.org 2012
Hernandez Wiliam USA willy@requejoconsulting.com 2011, 2012
Iseri Michael USA michaelaiseri@gmail.com 2011, 2012
Iskajyan Mariam USA miskajya@uci.edu 2012
Janardan Kamini USA kjanarda@uci.edu 2012
Park Sung Jin
South
Korea/USA
spark32@uci.edu 2012
Komagaeva Julia Russia jkomagaeva@worldbank.org 2011, 2012
Kregel Luisa USA lfkregel@yahoo.com 2012
Kuznetsov Vasily Russia vasiakuznets@yandex.ru 2012
Lambeth Jeremy USA jlambeth@ufl.edu 2011, 2012
Leng Dieb Cambodia DiebL@halcrow.com 2012
Lichtner Naomi USA nlichtne@uci.ed 2012
Loezer Leila Brazil/USA leilaloezer@gmail.com 2012
Made Dheyani USA dheyanimalde23@gmail.com 2012
Martins Ligia Brazil/USA ligmartins@gmail.com 2012
McClure John USA jcmcclur@uci.edu 2012
Nayudu Sitara USA sitara89@gmail.com 2011, 2012
Oganisyan Lida Russia lidaoganisyan@gmail.com 2012
Onuma Uloma Kalu Nigeria/USA uloma.u@gmail.com 2012
Ortiz Susana Mexico Susana_Ortiz@symantec.com 2012
Pack Nolan USA nolanpack@gmail.com 2012
Popova Oxana Russia popova.oxana@gmail.com 2012

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LAST NAME FIRST NAME COUNTRY EMAIL ADDRESS
PARTICIPATION
YEAR(S)
Remigio Ana Rose USA remigioa@uci.edu 2012
Richardson Ashleigh USA anfergus@uci.edu 2012
Ruiz Catalan Josefina Chile mjosefinaruiz@gmail.com 2012
Rumyantseva Anna Russia annarumyantseva91@gmail.com 2012
Rybakov Sergey Russia s.v.rybakov@mail.ru 2012
Sagy Gonen Israel gonen9999@gmail.com 2011, 2012
Sami Mojgan USA msami@uci.edu 2012
Sarangi Debjeet India debjeet2002@gmail.com 2011, 2012
Sinpeng Aim
Thailand/
Canada
thaiaim@gmail.com 2012
Soe Win Latt Sai
Burma/
Canada
sailatt@gmail.com 2012
Solano Rojas Daniela Costa Rica dsolano@fundacionsaimiri.org 2011, 2012
Stokols Sol Andrew USA/China astokols@gmail.com 2012
Teles da Silva Solange Brazil solange.teles@terra.com.br 2011, 2012
Tovar Soto Ana Alexandra
Spain/
Venezuela
ana_alexandra_ccs@yahoo.com 2011, 2012
Van Ooststroom Hidde Netherlands hvanooststroom@gmail.com 2011, 2012
Vreeland Stephanie USA svreelan@uci.edu 2012
Wan Jaimie USA wanjc@uci.edu 2012
Warmington Chace USA chace.warmington@gmail.com 2011, 2012
Williams Frank oti williamsf1731@gmail.com 2012
Wolcott Sarah UK/USA sara.j.wolcott@gmail.com 2011, 2012
Zanotto Juliana Brazil/USA jzanotto@uci.edu 2011, 2012
Zavalishina Ekaterina Russia kaliopa05@bk.ru 2012




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3. Conference Program

MONDAY

9:00 AM. Welcome
Wendell Brase, Vice Chancellor of the University California, Irvine and Chair, University of California
Climate Solutions Steering Group.

9:30 AM. Can law save the planet?
Professor Joseph DiMento and Alejandro Camacho from the School of Law.

10:45 AM. The new Brazilian Forest Code
Solange Teles da Silva - UCI Sustainability Fellow.

1:30 PM. How viable is renewable energy in the global energy context?
Professor Scott Samuelsen from the National Fuel Cell Research Center in the School of Engineering.
(Hydrogen car display)

4:00 PM. The role of local communities in the long term sustainability of protected areas
Daniela Solano Rojas UCI Sustainability Fellow.

7:30 PM. Last Call at the Oasis
Movie at Edward Cinema. This addresses interesting and compellingly the future of freshwater for
the needs of the Planet. A star of the movie is Professor Jay Famiglietti, Director of the UCI Center
for Hydrologic Modeling, speaker on Friday afternoon.

TUESDAY

9:00 AM. Energy security vs. environmental protection
Anna Rymyantceva, Ekaterina Zavalishina, Maria Bogatykh, and Oxana Popova, UCI Sustainability
Fellows.

10:00 AM. Small scale renewable energy: A solution for negative environmental and social impact
Raquel Fallas, UCI Sustainability Fellow.

10:45 AM. Booster knowledge exchange for sustainable development
Julia Komagaeva, UCI Sustainability Fellow.

11:15 AM. Landfill possibilities: their impact on environment, human security and their potential as
energy source
Ana Alexandra Tovar and Lucia Frechoso, UCI Sustainability Fellows.

1:30 PM. Environmental issues and activism in Costa Rica
Roco Carranza, UCI Sustainability Fellow.

2:00 PM. Impacts of dams and high voltage lines in the Aisn Region, Chile
Josefina Ruiz, UCI Sustainability Fellow.



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2:30 PM. Building capacities for coastal conservation
Sofia Gomez, UCI Sustainability Fellow.

3:15 PM. Enhancing sustainability at the community level: Lessons from American EcoVillages
Leila Loezer, UCI Sustainability Fellow.

3:45 PM. Contributing to the energy future for the Planet by revitalizing the local food systems led by
small farmers and economy
Debeet Sarangi, UCI Sustainability Fellow.

4:30 PM. Sustainable energy and development in a small island developing state: Opportunities and
challenges in the renewable energy sector in Barbados
Felicia Cox, UCI Sustainability Fellow.

8:00 PM. Discussion Session
Meeting at Building 1064.

WEDNESDAY

9:00 AM. The Rio+20 Conference
Ligia Martins, UCI Sustainability Fellow.

9:45 AM. Sustainable development in times of socio-political transformation
Vassily Kuznetsov, Lida Oganisyan, and Sergey Rybakov; UCI Sustainability Fellows.

11:00 AM. Preparing for Orange Countys future: The conversion of a Cold War military airfield into
the Orange County Great Park
Tom Sweet and Tom Herbel, Orange County Great Park.

1:30 PM. Cultural sustainability in a Global Age
Andrew Stokols, UCI Sustainability Fellow.

2:00 PM. Disaster resilience in fragile States
Vladimir Bartenev and Alexander Dunaev, UCI Sustainability Fellows.

2:45 PM. Challenges to the environmental sustainability in the South Caucasus region
Rafiga Gurbanzade, UCI Sustainability Fellow.

3:30 PM. Lessons from the first year of the Youth Environmental Education & Peace Initiative in
Israel
Gonen Sagy, UCI Sustainability Fellow.

4:15 PM. Geospatial data visualization in the Cloud: A primer for Ushahidi and Crowdmap
Jeremy Lambeth, UCI Sustainability Fellow.

4:45 PM. The use of software in ecological projects
Dieb Leng, UCI Sustainability Fellow.

8:00 PM. Discussion Session.
Meeting at Building 1064.


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THURSDAY

9:00 AM. How viable is Green Business in Orange County?
Quantum Technologies

9:30 AM. Green Tech Development in OC
Gregory Trimarche, Chairman of Green Tech OC/ Greenberg Traurig and Taylor Honrath, Managing
Director/COO, Green Tech OC

10:00 PM. Green Orange, Inc.
Anh-Tuan Le, Co-founder of Green Orange, Inc.

10:30 PM. Inventive Negotiation
Professor John Graham and Dr. William Hernandez Requejo, UCI Paul Merage School of Business.

11:30 PM. The Path to CSR (Corporate Social Responsibilities)
Andrea Robinson, Founder and Director of ARC Sustainability.

1:00 PM. Is human security possible for the 200 million people whose water supply is threatened by
the melting of Himalayan glaciers? What are the lessons from the work of the international
community to reduce conflict over natural resources in fragile states?
Professor Richard Matthew, UCI Center for Unconventional Security Affairs in the School of Social
Ecology.

2:30 PM. Group photo with Chancellor Michael Drake

3:15 PM. Authenticity, Collaboration, and Excellence in the Service of Sustainability
Kathy Gardarian, Founder and CEO of Qualis International, Inc.

4:00 PM. Preserving the California Coast and the World's oceans
Harry Helling, Crystal Cove Alliance and Valarie Van Cleave, OCEANA.

FRIDAY

9:00 AM. Can bitterly divided cities of the world come together in addressing their long term
problems of living and sustainability?
Professor Scott Bollens, Warmington Chair in the Social Ecology of Peace and International
Cooperation.

10:30 AM. The Story of Change
Allison Cook, UCI Sustainability Fellow.

11:15 AM. One World, One Ocean
Sarah Bedolfe and Kimmy Helling, UCI Sustainability Fellows.

1:30 PM. Is it possible to ensure a sustainable water future for the world? Is there sufficient vision
and leadership for this significant challenge?
Professor Jay Famiglietti, Earth System Science and Civil and Environmental Engineering, Center for
Hydrologic Modeling.



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3:00 PM. Re-imagining sustainability
Mojgan Sami, UCI Sustainability Fellow.

3:30 PM. Sustainability as ethical imperative
Jesse Baker, UCI Sustainability Fellow.

4:00 PM. Building critical mass for sustainability revolution based on current and evolving models
for change
Sara Wolcott and Allison Cook, UCI Sustainability Fellows.

4. Outcomes
Working Groups
During the discussion sessions held on July 24 and 25, the sustainability fellows decided to form
four working groups that should be working together though the year in order to accomplish a variety
of tasks. The general goal of the working groups is to maintain the momentum created during the
conference and realize projects that reflect the learning experienced during the week in Irvine. They
also aim at bringing to the larger public the insights gained during the conference and, consequently,
empower community members through raising awareness, sharing knowledge and experiences, and
creating a network for collaborative actions. These groups will present their accomplishments during
the 3rd Annual Empowering Sustainability on Earth Conference in 2013.
Group 1: Mission Statement and Conference
Members
Siva Gunda, Ligia Martins, Nolan Pack, Chace Warmington, Gonen Sagy, Dieb Leng, and
Josefina Ruiz.
Goals
a. To formulate, in collaboration with the other sustainability fellows, a few sentences about
the 'UCI Sustainability Fellows' (i.e. who we are and what we do as a group);
b. To create, in collaboration with the other sustainability fellows, a mission statement for the
group;
c. To enumerate, in collaboration with the other sustainability fellows, the general objectives
of the group;
d. To gather feedback from the participants and provide suggestions for improving next
year's conference;
e. To assist in planning and organizing next year's conference.

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Tasks accomplished
Preliminary definitions of who we are, our mission statement, and objectives were
formulated during the groups' discussions. They are as follows:
Who are the 'UCI Sustainability Fellows'?
We are a network of young leaders.
We are an international, multidisciplinary group of academics, activists, students,
specialists, policy makers, and other stakeholders who share a common goal of
shaping a sustainable future

(alternative: ... and other stakeholders who strive to discover and embody
sustainability through practice, and share a common goal of shaping a sustainable
future).

What do we do?

Through our conference, we create a space for a dialogue on sustainability that
transcends the boundaries of national borders. We exchange knowledge, and employ
our
collective capacity to indentify challenges, propose innovative solutions, and share
our experiences with the global community.

Our mission

The Empowering Sustainability on Earth fellowship is a UC Irvine Legacy Program that
serves to inform and enrich global discourse on sustainability, and empower global
citizens with the tools and passion to create positive change

Objectives

- create space for dialogue on sustainability
- raise awareness on sustainability issues
- exchange knowledge, and employ our collective capacity to indentify challenges,
propose innovative solutions / history of resistance and draw on the lessons
- facilitate networking / collaboration
- empower ourselves and others

Suggestions for next year's conference were made during the discussion session. They
are presented on section 5 of this report.
Planning and organization of next year's conference: Siva Gunda, Chace Warmington,
and Nolan Pack have volunteered to help planning and organizing the conference. They
will be working with John Whiteley, Norma Yokota, and Juliana Zanotto.
Next steps
Request feedback from Sustainability Fellows on the preliminary definitions and
statements;
Refine the definitions and statements;
Send final definitions and statements to be posted on the webpage.

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Group 2: Electronic Journal
Members
Solange Teles da Silva, Peter Bordokoff, Sai Latt, Juliana Zanotto, Vladmir Bartenev, Sara
Wolcott, Debjeet Sarangi, Hidde Van Ooststroom, Ana Alexandra Tovar, Dheyani Made, and
Miriam Iskajyan.
Main contact
Juliana Zanotto (jzanotto@uci.edu)
Goal
To create and maintain an online peer reviewed journal entitled "Empowering Sustainability"
that:
- encourages transdiciplinary research and collaborations between scholars and
practitioners;
- utilizes folk knowledge and existing practices to inform theory;
- raises awareness about sustainability issues and stories of resistance among the scholarly
community;
- promotes a channel for dialogue about sustainability that aims at empowering practitioners
and scholars.
Tasks accomplished
The group has decided on several management and logistical issues:

- the journal will be free and published online;
- the journal will be issued twice a year;
- the call for paper will require multidisciplinary authorship or collaboration between
practitioners and scholars;
- the first issue should be published before next year's conference;
- each group member is encouraged to bring one paper for the first issue. This may be a
paper written by group members (particularly from Solange, Vladimir, and Debjeet) or by a
professor or colleague.
Next steps
- Review the focus and format of existing journals (Sara Wolcott);
- Based on the review of existing journals, refine the focus of our journal aiming at filling
existing gaps;
- Create a call for papers that reflects the focus of our journal;
- Understand the constraints and opportunities offered by the University and what resources
will be available to us (e.g. translators, copy editors, proofreaders weblink, grants) (Juliana
Zanotto)
- Elect a Managing Editor/Editor
- Form a multi-disciplinary editorial board that includes scholars and practitioners

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Group 3: Films
Members
Allison Cook, Roco Carranza, Leila Loezer, Jeremy Lambeth, and Cindy Chen.
Goal
a. To create short films that can be freely accessed online and that:
- raise awareness about sustainability issues;
- encourage people around the world to take actions towards sustainability;
- document instances of resistance and positive practices around the world;
- promote the work of the 'UCI Sustainability Fellows'
Tasks accomplished
Ideas for two short film were discussed. One film should reveal the diversity of the UCI
Sustainability Fellows and promote our work. The second film should document the work
of some members around the world.
A short film that aims at raising awareness of the dangers of genetically modified
organisms (GMO) and pesticides was shot. Several UCI Sustainability Fellows repeated a
short message in several languages. The film will be edited and made available online in
the next few weeks.
Next steps
Define the content and format of the next video
Define how and where the next video will be shot
Edit the video shot during the conference and make it available online
Group 4: Website
Members
Daniela Solano, Michael Iseri, Raquel Fallas, Aim Sinpeg, and Sofia Vallarta.
Goals
a. To redesign the existing website;
b. To keep the website updated;
c. To add content provided by the other groups, including a section 'about us' with our
mission statement and objectives; add links to the short films and electronic journal, and
post videos and PowerPoint presentations from the conference;
d. To create and add content that will make the website informative and useful to the public;
e. To encourage fellows and others to write short articles that can be published directly on
the website (without having to go through the peer review process required by the electronic
journal).

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f. To explore possibility of incorporating free translation software to enable the website in
multiple languages, particularly Spanish and Russian
g. To link the website to Facebook account;
h. To create a section on "Resources" or "Networks" whereby Fellows can contact one
another through the website or read about each other's activities for future sharing and
learning. In the Resources section Fellows can share photos, articles, posters, etc with other
Fellows.
Tasks accomplished
Several ideas for additional content were discussed, including a map that locate the UCI
Sustainability Fellows worldwide.
Next steps
To redesign the website's layout
To update the content (e.g. information about the 2012 conference, Fellows' profiles,
links)
To add material that has already been created (e.g. PowerPoint presentations from the
conference)
To create the Sustainability Fellows' map
Exchanges and Collaborations
The informal discussions among fellows yielded a number of ideas for collaboration among fellows
and between fellows and speakers.
Debjeet Sarangi (India) is planning to lead a workshop in Gonen's school, in Israel.
Sara Wolcott (UK) and Sai Latt (Burma) are discussing the possibility of bringing Sara to
Sai's university in to Thailand to speak with about the work she has been doing around
complexity and its implications for sustainability and peace building.
Sarah Bedolfe (US) and Sara Wolcott (UK) have discussed the idea of crowdsourcing a
film on aspects of 'sexy sustainability' - inspired by Andrea Robinson from ARC
Sustainability. We would then send to her and ask her to send it to her business network
as part of an overall effort to make sustainability 'sexy' and 'cool' instead of 'boring'.
Gonen Sagy (Israel), Sara Wolcott (UK), Sai Latt (Burma), Debjeet Sarangi (India), and
Jeremy Lambeth (US) are planning to have monthly conversations about what we they
doing and to express what is not working as they 'tune' themselves into greater
sustainability. They believe these conversations will help them deal with the frustations
and barriers at their daily practices by enabling them to share their thoughts with each
other and formulate better ways to act.
Debjeet Sarangi (India) and Sara Wolcott (UK) will be co-authoring a paper for the
'Empowering Sustainability Journal'.
Mojgan Sami (US) has proposed a joint research project with Sustainability Fellows and
Prof. Jay Famiglietti focusing on how we define sustainability, in general, and renewable

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resources, in particular. She plans to seek research funding and possibly co-author a
paper for the ''Empowering Sustainability Journal' based on this collaborative research.

5. Suggestions for next year's conference
The list below includes a series of suggestions provided by the 2012 Sustainability Fellows to
improve the 2013 Annual Empowering Sustainability on Earth Conference.
provide a schedule in advance;
schedule for 5-10 minute breaks between presentations. People need to go in and out to
go to the restroom, etc. the movement is really disruptive to the beginning of
presentations, especially in afternoon/after lunch presentations;
provide presenters with a timer and hold them to the time limits for the sake of the
schedule;
interest caucuses in evenings or throughout the day to allow for more detailed
discussion/dialogue on specific issues;
there should be a board of directors or a steering committee that meets regularly to
improve the conference;
talk to other people who founded successful conferences - e.g., Netroots Nation - and ask
how their conference developed, the stages, challenges, successes, recommendations,
etc;
add more subject matter experts who can present "how to" - experts also serve as
resources in knowledge exchange and networking;
allow more time for discussion sessions;
If one of the main things we're going to do is produce videos, we need to shape the
seminar around that goal - better venue - breaks between so recording isn't interrupted -
lighting, stage (Ted talks example) - multiple cameras;
find a better way to dialogue with presenters (particularly from the business community)
that is more inclusive so that the presenters and fellows may learn from each other and
share experiences and concerns;
to the extent possible, have the presenters attend the entire week of seminars or, at
least, a full day;
organize presentations based on similar broad topics;
make the conference more sustainable (green);
reduce cost in order to prevent waste of money; allow fellows to opt for shared rooms,
less meals, and shared van to and from the airport;
purchase flight tickets in advance to reduce cost.