Campus Activism

In the Spring of 2011, AS Legislative Counsel passed the “Green Bill”, a resolution to promote sustainable practices within Associated Students by bringing environmental consciousness to the spending of student funds. The bill requires that at least half of all money allocated to food and supplies be used to buy “sustainable” products. In addition to proactive spending the Green Bill also targets passive spending habits by requiring the promotion of energy conservation techniques in student government offices.

This year, EAB has launched a campaign to increase awareness of the Green Bill creating the Green Consultant position on our core group of officers. The Green Consultant  is responsible for publicizing the Green Bill to other Boards, Councils and Commissions and provides a resource for student groups that are unfamiliar with environmentally friendly practices or are looking for new ones.

If you have questions regarding the Green Bill or want to find better, more sustainable products to buy for your organization contact Rachel Saputo (current Green Consultant) at rachsaputo@gmail.com.

Check out the Resources tab to read the full text of the Green Bill itself.

Perpetuating Environmental Change

EAB seeks to engage students from all walks of life through a wide variety of campaigns that address broad aspects of the environmental movement. All of our campaigns are student-initiated and run. If you have an idea for an environmental campaign, EAB can provide the support and resources to make it a reality!

For more information about any of our campaigns email us at ucsbeab @ gmail dot com

Political Action

We lobby decision-makers at every level for effective environmental policy. Recent actions include sending 23 students to Copenhagen, Denmark for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (December 2009) and 24 students to Washington, D.C. for the PowerShift Convergence (February 2009). While in Copenhagen the students blogged extensively about their experience.

EAB’s Day of Action for the 350 movement

PowerShift 2011

California Student Sustainability Coalition

CSSC is a statewide network of thousands of students (from UC schools, private schools, State schools, & community colleges) that are actively influencing key decisions and policies of California’s colleges, communities, and governments. The biannual convergences bring together hundreds of students to network, build community, share resources, attend workshops, and just have fun!

Sustainable Business

We work with local businesses to develop creative answers to climate change in socially, environmentally, and economically positive ways. From providing energy retrofits to Isla Vista stores, to working with campus policy makers to make environmentally-sensitive investing decisions, to searching for a solution to the plastic bag problem, we are always on the lookout for fresh and interesting ideas from students to make local commerce more sustainable and equitable. Some recent events have been Isla Vista CarrotMob and The Evolution of Man and Bag. EAB was also involved with the development of the Investment Advisory Committee’s Sustainable Investing Analysis and Report, which can be downloaded here.

Water Conservation

This is a new campaign to educate the student body about the importance of water conservation and to improve water use practices on campus. The educational campaign addresses the amount of water that is used and wasted each day in our area and on our campus, as well as statewide, nationwide, and even globally. Campus project goals include the installment of timed showerheads in the dormitories and water purifiers on the water fountains, the extinction of plastic water bottles on campus, and the replacement or modification of campus irrigation systems. Remember that conserving water is just as important as conserving energy!

Student Food Collective

Established Summer 2010, the Student Food Collective is a group of students who LOVE FOOD! We are a branch of the Cooperative Food Empowerment Directive (CoFed), a nationwide non-profit that is dedicated to providing a network and resources for students to start cooperative cafes on their campuses. Our goal is to open a food cart on campus that will provide delicious sustainable, local, and organic food at an affordable price to the campus community. The Student Food Collective is also dedicated to spreading awareness of sustainable food systems and empowering new leaders in the food movement!