Climate Conversations
UC San Diego is actively planning for climate action and resiliency. Engaging in dialogue with the campus community is an integral part of the planning process to assess and determine needs, priorities and areas of opportunity. These events are designed for staff, students and faculty with all levels of climate change understanding—beginners, intermediate and advanced.
Join us at Climate Conversations to share your climate story, gain insight and inspiration from your peers, learn about available resources and help guide the goals and actions for a climate-ready UC San Diego. Lunch is provided; no RSVP needed unless noted.
Climate Conversations take place during fall, winter and spring academic quarters; no events are planned for summer.
Past Events
Spring Quarter 2024
- April 10: Decarbonization + Adaptation = Climate Resilience
- April 24: Campus Sustainability Panel (view meeting recording)
- May 20: Coping with Climate Anxiety
Winter Quarter 2024
- January 24: Introduction to the UC San Diego Decarbonization Study
- February 21: Climate Hope vs. Doom and Gloom
- March 6: Decarbonization Download
Academic Year 2023–2024 Activity Station Descriptions
Climate Action Fellows host all activities. Complete all three activity stations and earn a prize!
Decarbonization Activity
The decarbonization activity station is an interactive choose-your-own-adventure story immersing readers in the world of UC San Diego's Central Utility Plant, offering branching paths that delve into sustainability topics crucial to the UC system, such as scope-level emissions and the important distinction between carbon free and carbon neutral. From understanding the intricate inner-workings of the plant’s steam turbines to learning about carbon initiatives students can engage with, readers can navigate through unique branching paths each time they play. Accompanied by fun custom sustainability-focused Wordle puzzles, this activity allows participants to explore their climate change impact while navigating a captivating narrative journey.
Climate Resilience Activity
The climate resilience activity station involves a survey conducted with the goal of understanding student, staff and faculty interaction with climate change on campus and beyond. In the wake of ongoing climate events, such as the extreme weather events Southern California experienced this past winter, acknowledging how climate change affects different people is important. Survey data will be used to determine student concerns and to provide a foundation for further policy surrounding climate resilience on campus.
Engagement and Equity
The engagement and equity activity station is a mood meter, recognizing the varying degree to which climate change affects our daily moods and feelings. This mood meter consists of three questions, with the option to provide additional comments. The questions will be aligned to the chosen discussion topic each week. The results are anonymous and will help Climate Conversations facilitators to understand where people’s emotions and understanding stand on all levels of campus affiliation (student, faculty, staff, etc.).