Concurrent Sessions
Technology Plenary
Mini-Tours
Tastings and Dinner Party
| Agenda | Coverage | Lodging / Travel | Advertise/ Exhibit | Environmental News | About Sacramento |
As a journalism organization that believes in an open society, SEJ each year welcomes a diverse group of attendees to our annual conference. Attendees include representatives of business, government and environmental groups, as well as working journalists, academics and students.
Because non-journalists are here, you may see or hear presentations or responses to presentations that you might not expect from mainstream journalists. The presentations and any responses do not necessarily reflect the views of SEJ or any of its members.
As our guest, you should respect our interest in open discussions of environmental issues by thanking all participants in sessions you attend and not disrupting presentations of views you disagree with.
Finally, please respect our rule that SEJ members are given preference during question-and-answer sessions.
Saturday, September 24, 2016
All sessions, as well as registration, exhibits and breaks, will be at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Sacramento, 2001 Point West Way, Sacramento, California, 95815, (800) 445-8667, unless otherwise indicated.
Registration
7:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Location: California Ballroom Foyer
If you didn't sign up ahead of time for the Saturday night party or Sunday brunch at the Library Galleria, there may still be room — please check with registration.
SEJ Information Table
8:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Location: California Ballroom Foyer
Sign up here for Saturday mini-tours. Read up on SEJ Board candidates, and find information about SEJ Award winners, membership and services. Pick up copies of SEJournal and other SEJ information.
SEJ Exhibits
7:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Location: Grand Ballroom, Grand Ballroom foyer, California Ballroom Salons 1/2 and auto technology exhibits just outside the California Foyer doors
Don't miss the wealth of information offered by the 2016 exhibitors. Learn about environmental issues and innovations, educational opportunities, see some great displays and add to your source list. Sign up for test drives in the California foyer.
Bookstore
10:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Location: California Ballroom Salons 1/2, Booths 11/12
The UC Davis bookstore is on site to sell SEJ members' and speakers' books, as well as offering environmental books handpicked for the SEJ conference.
Breakfast with Exhibitors and Tech Demos
Breakfast, sponsored in part by the Auto Alliance, will be available beginning at 7:00 a.m. in both the Grand Ballroom and the California Ballroom near registration. Browse the exhibits, test drive alternative vehicles and watch technology demos.
Concurrent Sessions 3
THE CRAFT 1
Data Journalism 101: Mining Databases
Location: Capital Ballroom A
From U.S. EPA toxic releases to endangered species, data has long been key to environmental reporting. But new tools and the availability of more complex data sets have expanded the reach of how we can cover the environment. This panel will give you tips and tools for using data on the environmental beat. Coverage.
Moderator: Jennifer LaFleur, Senior Editor for Data Journalism, The Center for Investigative Reporting
Speakers:
Cheryl Phillips, Data Journalism Lecturer, Department of Communication, Stanford University
Lisa Song, Reporter, InsideClimate News
Eric Sagara, Senior Data Reporter, Reveal, The Center for Investigative Reporting
THE CRAFT 2
Communicating Climate Change
Location: Capital Ballroom B
Children born today will live through an era of rapid global warming in which the future of the climate no longer looks like the past. But public awareness of the urgency of the climate challenge remains low even as journalists report more deeply about how global warming will alter our cities and environment and how we’ll have to adapt to those changes as wildfires rage, ice sheets melt and seas rise. A panel of journalists and climate communication experts will discuss how the media can effectively communicate the urgency and complexity of the climate threat with reporting that rises above the white noise and encourages audiences to pay attention. Coverage.
Moderator: Bobby Magill, Journalist | Photographer
Speakers:
Patrick Gonzalez, Principal Climate Change Scientist, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science, U.S. National Park Service
Jon Krosnick, Frederick O. Glover Professor in Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of Communication, Stanford University
Emmanuel Vincent, Project Scientist, University of California Merced, and Founder, Climate Feedback
CLIMATE AND AIR
Transformational Transportation and Energy Policies
Location: Capital Ballroom C
California is exceptional for many reasons, and one of them is that it has more policies to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions than any other state in the world. Some of them have been around for decades and have been copied by other governments, while others are still the first of their kind. How is California doing in its quest to cut emissions? Which policies are the best? How are people responding to them? Let's find out! Coverage.
Moderator: Debra Kahn, Reporter, E&E Publishing
Speakers:
Simon Mui, Director of California Vehicles, Fuels, Energy and Transportation, Natural Resources Defense Council
Tiffany Roberts, Director of Fuels and Climate Policy, Western States Petroleum Association
Daniel Sperling, Founding Director, Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis and Member, California Air Resources Board
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND JUSTICE
After the Disaster: Whose Lives Matter?
Location: Capital Ballroom D
As climate change increases natural disasters and other complex emergencies, the human toll will increase. The most vulnerable people — women, children, minorities, refugees and indigenous people — are the most threatened, the least served and the least likely to bounce back. In the chaotic aftermath of major disasters, being prepared and receiving appropriate and timely assistance is critical to individual survival, community resilience and government stability. A panel of reporters and experts will investigate the inequities that threaten to undermine disaster preparedness and recovery in communities from California to Calcutta. Coverage.
Moderator: Elijah Wolfson, Deputy Editor for Science and Health, Quartz
Speakers:
Alisha Graves, Co-founder, The OASIS Initiative (Organizing to Advance Solutions in the Sahel)
Ian James, Reporter, The Desert Sun
Priyali Sur, Freelance Journalist and Documentary Filmmaker
WATER
Trouble at the Tap: Does America's Safe Drinking Water Act Have Our Back?
Location: California Ballroom 3
Join us as we discuss how — in a little more than two years — the Elk River chemical spill near Charleston, W. Va., Toledo's algae-infused water crisis and Flint's highly offensive experience with lead poisoning have more in common than what meets the eye with California's massive drought, the nation's vanishing groundwater supplies and nutrient pollution in Iowa, the Carolinas, the West Coast, the Chesapeake Bay and just about any other part of the country where large numbers of people, sewers, crop farms, chemicals and CAFOs come together. With the population expanding, effects of climate change becoming more acute and wars over land use intensifying, how well is the nation's federal law designed to ensure safe drinking water is up to the challenge? Is clean drinking water a humanitarian right and what does our failure to deliver it say about us as a society? Coverage.
Moderator: Tom Henry, Environmental Writer/Columnist, The (Toledo) Blade
Speakers:
Joseph Cotruvo, President, Joseph Cotruvo & Associates LLC; former Director, Drinking Water Standards Division and former Director, Risk Assessment Division in Pollution Prevention and Toxics, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Laurel Firestone, Co-director and Attorney at Law, Community Water Center
Peter Gleick, President and Co-founder, Pacific Institute
Thomas Harter, Endowed Chair for Water Resources Management and Policy, Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California, Davis
ENERGY AND LAND
What’s Shaking with Earthquake Science — And Why You Need To Know About It
Location: California Ballroom 4
There are three cutting-edge aspects of earthquake science that journalists need to know about. When does the Big One arrive and will we get any warning? What have recent quakes taught us about how they work and what’s to come? Is human activity increasing the risk? Our panel brings to SEJ state-of-the-art expertise in all three of these emerging areas of study, with relevance to anyone who lives and works in Earthquake Country, and even beyond. Coverage.
Moderator: Craig Miller, Science Editor, KQED
Speakers:
Richard Allen, Director, Seismological Laboratory, Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley
Joan Gomberg, Geophysicist, U.S. Geological Survey
Rall Walsh, Ph.D. Student, Geomechanics Research Group, Department of Geophysics, Stanford University
OCEANS AND GLOBE
Restoring the Deep and the Shoreline
Location: Terrace Room
We’ll have one of the leaders of efforts to use money from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill to restore habitat on the coast and the waters of the Gulf of Mexico; a veterinarian to talk about how wildlife are cleaned and restored to health in the aftermath of an oil spill; and a reporter to talk about her work documenting the status of fisheries around the Pacific Marshall Islands 60 years after atomic bomb tests. Coverage.
Moderator: Mark Schleifstein, Environment Reporter, The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune and NOLA.com
Speakers:
Curt Clumpner, Deputy Director of Care Operations, Oiled Wildlife Care Network, Wildlife Health Center, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis
Justin Ehrenwerth, Executive Director, Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council
Ashlan Gorse Cousteau, Journalist and Advocate
Beverage Break
10:15 - 10:45 a.m.
Location: California Ballroom 1/2 and Grand Ballroom
Concurrent Sessions 4
THE CRAFT 1
Data Journalism 102: Drones, Satellites and Other Hi-tech Tools
Location: Capital Ballroom A
Drones, satellites and other sensors are being used by scientists and journalists. Whether the technology fuels a citizen-science project or whether the data is available from scientists for use by journalists to plumb for stories, it's a facet of data journalism that is particularly relevant to environmental reporting. Come learn how drones are being used to detect environmental hazards such as gas leaks and airborne disease microbes, how planes equipped with sensors can tell us about ecological change and how DIY sensors placed in homes by journalists generate data and stories about the impact of heat waves. Coverage.
Related information: Drones, Satellite and Gadgets Tipsheet, by Loretta Williams.
Moderator: Loretta Williams, Independent Public Radio Journalist
Speakers:
Gregory Asner, Principal Investigator, Carnegie Airborne Observatory and Staff Scientist, Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science
Molly Peterson, Freelance Environmental Reporter
Brendan Smith, Graduate Researcher, Mechatronics, Embedded Systems and Automation (MESA) Lab, University of California, Merced
THE CRAFT 2
2016 Elections: A Pivotal Moment for U.S. on Climate Change
Location: Capital Ballroom B
The Republican and Democratic presidential candidates couldn't be further apart on what the U.S. should or shouldn't be doing on climate change. A Republican victory could mean GOP control of both chambers in Congress and the White House for the first time in a decade. That would put U.S. participation in the Paris climate deal and Obama’s domestic climate actions in the crosshairs. Alternatively, a Democratic president would be looking to expand on Obama’s climate regulations and also provide enough coat-tails to return the Senate to Democratic control — and perhaps give new hope to resurrecting climate bills or a national carbon tax. Coverage.
Moderator: Dean Scott, Senior Climate Change Reporter, Bloomberg BNA
Speakers:
James Connaughton, President and CEO, Nautilus Data Technologies, and former Chairman, White House Council on Environmental Quality
Bob Perciasepe, President, Center for Climate and Energy Solutions and former Deputy Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Heather Zichal, Senior Fellow, Global Energy Center, Atlantic Council and former Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change (Obama Administration)
CLIMATE AND AIR
Innovating with Nature: Ecosystem-based Adaptation to Climate Risk
Location: Capital Ballroom C
Coastal wetlands restored to defend cities against sea-level rise. Forests thinned with prescribed burns to enhance drought resilience. Farm and range land managed for carbon sequestration. Find out about these and other approaches being tested to learn how nature can do better than manmade solutions to reduce future climate impacts and prepare for those already on the way. Question top experts to get stories in your backyard about the science, policy and practical implementation of nature-based solutions to climate adaptation. Coverage.
Moderator: Adam Glenn, Editor, AdaptNY.org, ReportingOnClimateAdaptation.org and SEJournal
Speakers:
Jessica Grannis, Adaptation Program Manager, Georgetown Climate Center
Mark Schwartz, Director, John Muir Institute of the Environment, University of California, Davis
Laura Tam, Sustainable Development Policy Director, SPUR (San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association)
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND JUSTICE
Indigenous Rights and the Environment
Location: Capital Ballroom D
On this panel we'll look specifically at Californian Native issues, including current economic development, the impacts of environmental regulations and the state and federal policies that affect tribes that are not state or federally recognized. Speakers include a tribal chief who works to restore ancient salmon runs, a tribal historic preservation officer whose efforts encompass the breadth of indigenous issues and a former tribal chairman who advocates for indigenous rights to gain access to traditional coastal lands and to protect cultural resources. Coverage.
Moderator: Peggy Berryhill, General Manager, KGUA (Gualala, Ca)
Speakers:
Morningstar Gali, Ajumawi, and former Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, Pit River Tribe
Caleen Sisk, Chief, Winnemem Wintu Tribe
Eric Wilder, Artist and former Tribal Chairman, Kashia Band of Pomo Indians
WATER
Clean Water Act Rumble
Location: California Ballroom 3
The Obama Administration’s bid to resolve four decades of disputes over how far upstream the Clean Water Act’s protections reach has spurred a full-on nationwide rumble over the future of water-pollution enforcement, with 31 states among the dozens of entities in the fight. Supporters say it’s impossible to clean up waterways as vast as the Great Lakes and Mississippi River unless you start with waterways as small as rainy-season ponds in a wheat-field. Many farmers and scores of other opponents say the federal government is attempting a vast overreach that threatens property rights and the powers of the 50 states. Coverage.
Moderator: Ellen Knickmeyer, Reporter, Associated Press, San Francisco
Speakers:
John Duarte, Fourth-generation California Farmer
Jan Goldman-Carter, Director of Wetlands and Water Resources, National Wildlife Foundation
Felicia Marcus, Chair, State Water Resources Control Board, California Environmental Protection Agency
ENERGY AND LAND
The New Energy Infrastructure
Location: California Ballroom 4
California has bold, ambitious plans for its energy future, and all include squeezing the last drops of carbon out of the grid. How will the state’s overburdened electric grid adapt to manage the off-peak glut of renewable energy, the puzzle of distributed generation and rooftop solar, and the loss of nuclear power? How best to integrate a blizzard of new consumer technology and what is the plan to power the millions of electric cars expected to flood the market? How to build in flexibility, grid response and storage? Will the private sector and cutting-edge technology save the day? Coverage.
Moderator: Julie Cart, Reporter, CALmatters
Speakers:
Lorenzo Kristov, Principal, Market and Infrastructure Policy, California Independent System Operator
Heather Sanders, Principle Manager, Regulatory Affairs & Compliance, Southern California Edison
John White, Executive Director, Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
What Is Sustainable Agriculture?
Location: Garden Room
Sustainable agriculture means different things to different people, and is also a term bantered about vaguely. But it is a term and aspiration in wide circulation. In this session, our panelists will offer what sustainable agriculture means to them, how their work is sustainable agriculture in practice, what the pertinent science is for sustainable agriculture, and what the needs and challenges ahead are, especially in a future of population growth, climate change and various local environmental stresses. Also, we will look at how different stakeholders — industry, organic farmer and indigenous and environmental groups — have different and conflicting assertions for agricultural rights and resources. Our panelists will offer reflections to these and other questions that stem from the first question, "What is Sustainable Agriculture?" Coverage.
Moderator: Richard Blaustein, Freelance Science and Environmental Journalist
Speakers:
Raoul Adamchak, Market Garden / CSA Coordinator at Student Farm, Agriculture Sustainability Institute, University of California, Davis
Lynn Epstein, Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California, Davis
Jeffrey Herrick, Soil Scientist, Jornada Experimental Range, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; Co-Principal Investigator, Jornada Basin LTER; and Adjunct Faculty, Department of Animal and Range Sciences, New Mexico State University
Tom Tomich, Director, Agriculture Sustainability Institute, University of California, Davis
OCEANS AND GLOBE
California’s Marine Reserves: After 10 Years Are There Unexpected Surprises?
Location: Terrace Room
Nearly a decade after all of the shouting, what’s become of the necklace of marine reserves off the coast of California? State-appointed officials in Sept. 2007 set aside 29 protected areas in the Central Coast region spanning more than 200 square miles. It was the first batch in a statewide rollout of marine protected areas that came despite protests from ferocious fishermen, and forecasts of economic ruin. How has the decision reorganized life under the sea and above as the reserves approach a 10-year anniversary? Have some species rebounded? Is California’s experience a failure or a success story that should be considered by other states fearful of taking up the issue due to pressure from the fishing industry? And in the face of ocean acidification and other climatic changes, do reserves play a role in ocean resilience? A panel of scientists, decision makers and fishermen analyze what’s known, what’s not, and size up the role of marine reserves in answering these key questions. New developments in state level commitments will be explored. Coverage.
Moderator: Nancy Baron, Science Outreach Director | COMPASS, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis
Speakers:
Scott Hamilton, Professor, Department of Ichthyology, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, California State University
Tessa Hill, Associate Professor, Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences and Bodega Marine Laboratory, Coastal & Marine Sciences Institute, University of California, Davis
Michael Sutton, Project Manager, Pacific Flyway Fund; Board Member, Ocean Champions; and Author, "Ocean and Coastal Law and Policy"
Chris Voss, President, Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara
Lunch Plenary
Can Technology Save the Planet? A Discussion with Innovators and Ecologists
Noon - 2:00 p.m.
Location: Grand Ballroom
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| The Delta. Photo courtesy of Paul Hames, California Department of Water Resources. |
Technology has advanced our lifestyles and cultures in countless ways. Major leaps like the Industrial Revolution and in transportation have polluted the air, water and land. Even with the Information Age and Green Revolution, the exploitation of Earth’s already stressed resources continues. How far can technology take us on a finite living planet that ecologists warn is unraveling before our eyes? Are human societies dependent on functioning natural systems, or can technology replace these systems enough to sustain our burgeoning population growth? Coverage.
Moderator: Christopher Joyce, Correspondent, Science Desk, National Public Radio
Speakers:
Jonathan Foley, Executive Director / William R. and Gretchen B. Kimball Chair, California Academy of Sciences
Deb Frodl, Global Executive Director, Ecomagination, General Electric
Mary Ruckelshaus, Managing Director, Natural Capital Project, and Consulting Professor, Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University
Daniel Sperling, Founding Director, Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis and Member, California Air Resources Board
Afternoon Mini-Tours
2:15 - 5:30 p.m.
Sign up on-site at the SEJ Information Table beginning Wednesday afternoon for SEJ’s popular mini-tours. Check below or consult your mini-tour flyer in your conference packet for details. Additional flyers are available at the SEJ Information Table.
IMPORTANT: Please read all the italics!
Logistics: Following the lunch session, gather in the lobby near registration. SEJ staff will direct you to the right bus. Buses will be staged for departure in the order below. All buses will drop off attendees at the evening reception at UC Davis first, and then loop back to the hotel as needed.
NOTE: YOU MUST BRING YOUR NAME BADGES AND WHATEVER ELSE YOU NEED FOR SATURDAY NIGHT RECEPTION WITH YOU ON THE TOURS.
PLEASE SEE INDIVIDUAL NOTES FOR SOME TOURS BELOW.
1. Sacramento’s Urban Oases: Farming and Open Space
The Sacramento region boasts the trifecta of desired agricultural traits: fertile soil, temperate climate and an advanced water supply system. Farmers here grow 120 crops, with some of the harvest sold locally at farm-to-fork restaurants, grocery stores and 40 farmers markets. But Sacramento also has pockets of food deserts. Since 2000, Soil Born Farms has been preaching the value of urban farming and food education to help address this problem. Soil Born’s 55-acre farm in the American River Parkway also connects visitors to open space. They’re not alone: the Sacramento Valley Conservancy preserves the beauty, character and diversity of wild landscapes, including an urban oasis protected along the banks of the American River just 10 minutes from downtown. Camp Pollock is one of few places people can actually camp along the 32 miles of river stretching from Folsom to the central city. Its historic 1924 lodge is the heart of the property and makes an excellent backdrop to learn about the conservancy’s work.
Tour Leaders: Sena Christian, Departments Editor, Comstock's magazine; Darren Peck, Meteorologist, FOX40 News, Sacramento
Speakers: Curtis Fossum, Co-President, Camp Pollock, Sacramento Valley Conservancy; Shawn Harrison, Founder & Co-Director, Soil Born Farms Urban Agriculture and Education Project, American River Ranch; Randy Stannard, Executive Director, Oak Park Sol
Cap on size: 50
2. Salmon on Rice: The Nigiri Project and Water Use
Rice paddies at Knaggs Ranch, along the Yolo Bypass, are flooded each winter for the landmark Nigiri Project, an experiment designed to mimic the vast marshlands that once allowed juvenile salmon migrating along the Sacramento River to fatten up before their perilous journey to the sea. First we’ll visit a 1,700-acre ranch in Woodland, where the bug buffet provided by the flooded rice fields has resulted in a dramatic increase in the size of young salmon. Then we’ll head to a flooded field and demonstrate how the 58,000-acre Yolo Bypass can be used to benefit both fish and farms without wasting precious drinking water.
Tour Leaders: Peter Fimrite, Staff Writer, San Francisco Chronicle; Don Hopey, Environment Reporter, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Speakers: Louise Conrad, Senior Environmental Scientist, California Department of Water Resources; Carson Jeffres, Staff Researcher, Center for Watershed Sciences, UC Davis
Cap on size: 50
3. Sustainable West Village
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| West Village. Photo courtesy of UC Davis. |
UC Davis’ West Village housing community is the first and largest planned development designed to produce as much energy as residents use. The net-zero-energy campus housing project opened in 2011 and expanded to add retail spaces. Planning for single-family homes is under way. We’ll check out a model apartment that was built with the latest energy efficiency measures to reduce electricity usage and integrates water conservation and solar panels. We’ll check out Honda’s Smart Home, which was built to maximize the sun in the winter and keep the sun out in the summer. A miniature grid in the garage is the hub, storing excess power generated during the day and charging an electric car at night. If time allows, we’ll also check out energy efficiency and lighting labs.
Tour Leaders: Justin Gerdes, Independent Journalist; Sarah Terry-Cobo, Energy, Health Care Reporter, The Journal Record
Speakers:
Michael Koenig, Project Leader, Honda Smart Home; Robert Segar, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Campus Planning and Community Resources, UC Davis
Cap on size: 40
4. Beer, Wine, Milk and More
Before you enjoy a glass of your favorite beverage at the party Saturday night, learn about the secret lives of our food and drink. We will visit the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science at UC Davis, where we will get behind-the-scenes tours of the LEED Platinum winery, brewery and milk processing lab. We’ll discuss why foam is important to beer; how wine can be made with less water and waste; how a molecule in milk could improve our microbiomes; and why fermented food can be good for our health and the environment. Coverage.
Tour Leaders: Sara Shipley Hiles, Freelance Journalist and Assistant Professor, Missouri School of Journalism; Drew Sandsor, Senior News Producer, Capital Public Radio
Speakers: Charlie Bamforth, Anheuser-Busch Endowed Professor of Malting and Brewing Sciences; Daniela Barile, Associate Professor, Department of Food Science & Technology; Maria Marco, Associate Professor, Department of Food Science & Technology; Andrew Waterhouse, Professor, Viticulture and Enology; all from UC Davis
Cap on size: 50
NOTE: Attendees must wear close-toed shoes.
5. From Fish to Farm Fields: Sustainable Agriculture and Aquaculture
Attendees will get a firsthand look at how organically and non-organically farmed soils compare in the long run, as a tour through Russell Ranch's century project. The 100-year long study, now in its 23rd year, focuses on long term sustainability and carbon sequestration. The tour will also dive into UC Davis' Center for Aquatic Biology and Aquaculture, where there’s at least one huge sturgeon swimming around. At CABA, scientists have ongoing research surrounding climate change and saving California's gravely endangered delta smelt.
Tour Leaders: Felicia Alvarez, Reporter, The Davis Enterprise; Bill Yardley, Reporter, Los Angeles Times
Speakers: Linda Deanovic, Facility Manager, Center for Aquatic Biology and Aquaculture; Nann Fangue, Associate Professor and Master Advisor, Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology; Kate Scow, Director, Russell Ranch, Professor of Soil Science, Department of Land, Air, Water Resources; Tom Tomich, Director, Agricultural Sustainability Institute, Department of Human Ecology; all from UC Davis
Cap on size: 50
6. Railyard Renaissance and the New (Green) Golden 1 Center
The Sacramento Railyard encompasses more than 200 acres just north of downtown. It was the western terminus for the Transcontinental Railroad, but as train travel declined in the 20th century so did the railyard, which ultimately became an abandoned brownfield site. After years of cleanup efforts and ill-fated development projects, the railyard is now on track for a rebirth with plans for thousands of homes, a major league soccer arena and a hospital. Nearby is the brand new Golden 1 Center, which is being touted as the greenest sports facility in the world. You’ll be among the first to go inside one week before it opens to the public. The $500-million arena will be a technological milestone – an interactive “smart” building, completely solar powered, carbon and grid neutral and constructed from regionally sourced materials. As part of the team’s “Farm to Court” initiative, most concession food will come from within a 150-mile radius and food waste will be recycled or donated. Coverage.
Tour Leaders: Joe Barr, Chief Content Officer, Capital Public Radio; Jim Bruggers, Environment Reporter, Louisville Courier-Journal
Speakers: Marsha Eymann, Historian, City of Sacramento; Chris Granger, President, Sacramento Kings; Alan Hersh, Senior VP, LDK Ventures; Dale Kasler, Business Reporter, The Sacramento Bee; Alistair McGregor, Lead Architect, Golden 1 Center; Michael Touhy, Executive Chef, Golden 1 Center
Cap on size: 40
NOTE: This tour will be 30 minutes late to the evening reception, but won’t miss any of the festivities.
Tastings and Tales and Dinner and Dancing
5:30 - 11:00 p.m.
Location: UC Davis
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For dinner attendees who did not go on a mini-tour, a bus will stage at the Doubletree, just outside from registration, for departure promptly at 5:00 p.m. for the UC Davis reception and dinner party. Buses will loop between the campus and hotel following the mini-tours. Last bus leaves UC Davis at 11:00 p.m.
Following the mini-tours, all will gather at UC Davis’ Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science (pictured above) for wine and beer, olive oil, honey, tomato and other tastings and tales of innovative food research. Dinner will be in the nearby Good Life Garden. Following dinner, attendees will have a choice of a dance party (entertainment by climate rapper Baba Brinkman, followed by our band for the evening, One Sharp Mind, whose guitarist is a retired biology professor) or a taping of the public radio show "Science Friday." (The show taping is at the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for Performing Arts; start time 8:00 p.m.) Pre-registration and $35 fee required.
- Listen to or download Baba Brinkman's music here.
Thanks to UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the San Francisco Chronicle for in-kind support of this event.
Wednesday, September 21
Thursday, September 22
Friday, September 23
Sunday, September 25
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