Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Port Of San Diego's Maritime Clean Air Strategy: Enhancing Public Health With Innovative Clean Air Strategies, Gabriela Yamhure, Alexis Padilla

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

The Port of San Diego (The Port), established in 1962 under the Port act, is the Maritime agency that manages and stewards the thirty-four miles of coastal working waterfront along the San Diego Bay. The Port develops and promotes commerce, navigation, recreation, a healthy environment and fisheries around the San Diego Bay, contributes billions to San Diego’s economy, and is home to international cargo and trade operations. In a concerted effort to lessen greenhouse gas emissions impact of operations on local, often underserved communities, the Port developed and is implementing a Maritime Clean Air Strategy (MCAS), an update to the …

Transformative Policies Supporting Equitable Workforce Progress, India Shiroma Perreira, Eo Hanabusa, Leaders 20/20

San Diego Regional Quality of Life Dashboard

As the need for Green Workforce jobs rises, it is essential that companies are transparent about pay. The California Pay Transparency Law (SB 1162) enforces job descriptions that explicitly outline employee compensation, which is also a step towards closing gender and race-based pay gaps. It also prohibits employers from using hiring practices that may be discriminatory against certain groups of people. SB 1162 builds honesty, trust, and equity in the workplace for job seekers today and for generations to come.

2023 San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative Annual Report, San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

The San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative is a network for public agencies that serves the San Diego region to share expertise, leverage resources and advance comprehensive solutions to facilitate climate change planning. By partnering with academia, nonprofits, and businesses, the SDRCC also works to leverage the profile of regional leadership. This is the 2023 San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative Annual Report.

The Value Of Stem As An Educational Tool For Enhancing Cognitive Development, Alessandra Olmedo Robles, Leaders 20/20

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. The focus of STEM education is to provide a holistic approach through hands-on, problem-based learning where students are able to take what they learn in the classroom and apply it to real world problems.

Why Reach Codes: Local Players Driving Statewide Building Standards, Gabriella Medina, Darbi Berry, Gabriela Yamhure

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

Reach codes are local energy ordinances that employ various technologies, strategies, and integrated systems that go above California Building Standards Code (CA Building Code, Title 24) standards and support greenhouse gas emission reduction efforts. A reach code is a mandated energy performance requirement for the built environment, typically incorporated as part of a city’s climate action plan, local hazard mitigation plan, or climate adaptation plan. Not only do reach codes help local jurisdictions remain in compliance with state mandates, they enable local climate leadership by signaling support for the future direction of state Building Code standards. This blog provides a …

Interannual Variation Of Ichthyofaunal Utilization Of A Man-Made Salt Marsh Creek In Mission Bay, California, Maria Angst

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Marsh restoration and creation are increasingly being used to mitigate Southern California’s drastic decline in wetlands due to human activities. This study used minnow traps to resample the ichthyofauna of a created marsh (Crown Point Mitigation Site; CPMS) and an adjacent natural marsh (Kendall Frost) in Mission Bay, California, 26 years following the marsh creation. Data from this study were compared to data collected immediately after marsh creation from 1995-1998, and from 2021. Fishes captured included Fundulus parvipinnis, Gillichthys mirabilis, Acanthagobius flavimanus, Ctenogobius sagittula, and Mugil cephalus. Species richness and dominance measures were higher in the natural relative to the …

Special Education: Inclusion And Exclusion In The K-12 U.S. Educational System, Erik Brault

Dissertations

The U.S. Department of Education defines students with disabilities as those having a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more life activities. Previous research has found that students with disabilities placed in inclusive environments perform better academically and socially compared to students with disabilities who are placed in segregated environments. Yet, we know that inclusion in K-12 general education classrooms across the country is not consistently implemented.

The purpose of this study was to better understand the effects, if any, of general education high school teachers’ personal and professional experiences and knowledge on their attitudes toward educating …

Assessing Ecosystem Health Through Contaminants In The Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, Nancy Torres

Theses

Although the Tijuana River Estuary (TRE) remains the largest, most-intact coastal wetland in Southern California, it has a history of major changes, much of this related to its location immediately north of the US / Mexico Border. One of the primary challenges is cross-border flows from the rapidly growing city of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, and the delivery of wastewater, debris, and sediment to sensitive coastal wetland ecosystems. There is a need to more fully investigate these environmental changes to assess the ecosystem health of the Tijuana River Estuary over time, especially related to pollution impacts. This can inform an …

Assessing The Effectiveness Of Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture For Growing West Coast Venus Clams, Avery Wallace

Theses

With demand for sustainable sources of seafood on the rise, California is looking to expand aquaculture with a focus on innovative culturing methods and use of native or resident species. Therefore, this study examined the potential for culturing native North American west coast venus clams (Chione californiensis and Chione undatella) using integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA). An ITMA approach was chosen because it is a culture method that uses species from different but functionally complementary trophic levels that have been found to reduce the potential negative effects of traditional monoculture. California sea cucumber (Parastichopus californicus) and the seaweeds red ogo (Gracilaria …

Understanding The Green Workforce, Gladys Torres Olivarria, Darbi Berry, Leaders 20/20, University Of San Diego

San Diego Regional Quality of Life Dashboard

One initiative to improve environmental conditions is prioritizing the Green Workforce. The Green workforce is an economic approach to combating climate change. The Green Workforce refers to jobs that help us advance towards a more sustainable society and help us transition from the over-dependence on oil towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions. A Green workforce can bring in millions of new jobs and opportunities.

Understanding Urban Heat Islands And Impacts, Darbi Berry, Nicole Fassina, A-Bel Gong

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

Urban heat islands play a large role in aggravating climate impacts on water, electricity, and air pollutants, and affect vulnerable communities disproportionately. This blog calls onto historical redlining and disinvestment and urban development as direct contributors of socioeconomic disparities and includes a case study of one of our region’s most vulnerable communities.

Water And Agriculture In The San Diego Region, Olivia Frigyes, Darbi Berry, A-Bel Gong

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

The San Diego region is susceptible to drought with little annual precipitation. The rising temperature and changing precipitation is expected to affect the agriculture economy. Classified as having a mediterranean climate, San Diego has hot, dry summers and cooler, wet winters. In this blog, learn about how San Diego's climate shapes its agricultural communities' reliance on water supply.

2022 Annual Report, San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

The San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative is a network for public agencies that serves the San Diego region to share expertise, leverage resources and advance comprehensive solutions to facilitate climate change planning. By partnering with academia, nonprofits, and businesses, the SDRCC also works to leverage the profile of regional leadership. This is the 2021 San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative Annual Report.

Mobilizing Regional Action: Insights From The San Diego Region Coastal Resilience Roadmap, Darbi Berry, Civicwell, Sdrcc

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

This case study details the process of developing the San Diego Region Coastal Resilience Roadmap with particular attention to how this process can be replicated in other regions throughout California – for coastal resilience, as well as other climate impacts and community priorities.

Understanding Binational Water Scarcity, Avery Aquino, Darbi Berry

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

Water scarcity has become a growing concern in many regions around the world, including the San Diego, CA and Tijuana, MX border region Water is a valuable resource that sustains all life on earth, and the San Diego/Tijuana border region is no exception. With increasing population growth, urbanization, and changing climate patterns on both sides of the border, the demand for water resources has significantly outstripped its availability in this region. As a result, it has become essential tounderstand the extent and impacts of water scarcity, and to develop innovative and sustainable solutions that can mitigate its effects.

Leading Climate & Environmental Action In The San Diego Region, Tessa Tinkler, Eo Hanabusa, Emily Young, Darbi Berry, Connelly Meschen

Environment

Leading Climate & Environmental Action in the San Diego Region presents the state of environment-focused nonprofits in the San Diego region and their legacies that position them to continue impactful climate action. Findings in this report are synthesized from quarterly public opinion pollings (San Diego Residents Survey), surveys of 30 local environmental nonprofit leaders (Nonprofit Leaders Survey), the latest nonprofit data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and data on foundation grants awarded to local nonprofits (Candid). The environmental nonprofit sector in the San Diego region is relatively small, but it has worked on the frontlines for many years to …

Interannual Variation Of Ichthyofaunal Utilization Of A Man-Made Salt Marsh Creek In Mission Bay, California, Maria Angst

McNair Summer Research Program

Southern California’s wetlands are drastically declining due to human activities. Increasingly, marsh restoration and creation are being used to mitigate such losses. This study used minnow traps to resample the ichthyofauna of a created marsh (Crown Point Mitigation Site; CPMS) and an adjacent natural marsh (Kendall Frost) in Mission Bay, California, 26 years following the marsh creation. These data were compared to data collected from 1995-1998, immediately after marsh creation, and data from 2021. Fishes captured included Fundulus parvipinnis, Gillichthys mirabilis, Acanthagobius flavimanus, Ctenogobius sagittula, and Mugil cephalus. Species richness and dominance measures were higher in the natural relative to …

The Effect Of Different Feeding Regimes On Recent Nutritional And Growth Measurements In Juvenile California Killifish (Fundulus Parvipinnis), Emily Parks

Theses

Gaining a deeper understanding of in-situ growth approximations for juvenile fishes is one way to understand how food consumption may affect fish growth. If variations in growth rate are strongly mirrored by past food status, then the condition (degree of well-being) of fish can be potentially used as a reference for relative prey availability. Furthermore, confirming that there is a positive relationship between food availability and fish growth rate is a critical first step to deepen our understanding of growth rate variation as well as examining if growth can be a proxy for habitat quality.

The California killifish (Fundulus …

Calgreen: California Green Building Standards Code: Blog 3, Gabriella Medina, Darbi Berry M.S., San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

CALGreen encourages local governments to go beyond statewide Energy Code regulations to achieve greater building energy efficiency and cost savings, all while providing the necessary resources to do so. The currently enforced version of CALGreen is the 2019 CALGreen code. Mandates and voluntary provisions in the 2022 CALGreen update will go into effect January 1, 2023.¹ If both the 2022 Energy Code and 2022 CALGreen mandatory and voluntary standards were to be adopted statewide, the carbon reductions would be equivalent to removing 8,000 fuel-powered cars off the road for the first year and 24,000 fuel-powered cars by the third year.² …

An Equity-First Approach To Climate Adaptation, San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative, San Diego Association Of Governments

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

The Equity-First Approach to Climate Adaptation guidance document (Equity Guidance; document) serves as a general framework for local agency planners and transportation planning professionals. The Equity Guidance’s overall goal is to provide best practices for designing, planning, and implementing a climate adaptation process that supports equitable outcomes. This document identifies trends, assumptions, emerging practices, indicators, metrics, and implementation opportunities, that support and operationalize an equitable climate adaptation planning process.

Understanding California's 2022 Energy Code: Blog 1, Gabriella Medina, Darbi Berry

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

When thinking about the built environment, it is easy to overlook the influence structures have on our communities' quality of life. Buildings are relics of the past or symbols of modernity. They are tangible evidence of our society's investment in people's health, the environment and a resilient economy. Buildings play a crucial role over energy usage, urban heat impacts, and overall greenhouse gas emissions.

Quick Guide To The 2022 Energy Code: Blog 2, Gabriella Medina, Darbi Berry

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

There are a wide range of updates to the 2022 Energy Code; however, there are four categories of top priority for industry professionals and end-use stakeholders as California strengthens compliance standards: electric heat pump technology, electric-ready requirements, solar photovoltaic systems and battery storage standards, and strong ventilation standards.

Sustainability & (Em)Powering Community Based Action In Chula Vista, Gabriella Medina, Darbi Berry

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

The City of Chula Vista (Chula Vista / the City) has already begun to experience the localized impacts of climate change through record-breaking heat waves, droughts, and wildfires. In response to the impacts of climate change posing a threat to Chula Vista residents’ quality of life, the City declared a climate emergency in March 2022. This declaration advanced the City’s commitment to update its Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reduction goals, strengthen existing efforts like the City Operations Sustainability Plan, and encourage new City-wide and voluntary actions by residents and businesses. The Chula Vista DIY Sustainable Home Toolkit (Toolkit) is a best …

Understanding The Intersections Of The Lgbtq+ Community & Climate Change, Annabel Gong, Darbi Berry

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

In this blog, we will explore these LGBTQ+ community relationships as they relate to environmental justice, relationships and access to the outdoors, and community representation in the environmental science field.

Laying The Groundwork For Equity-First Climate Adaptation, Michelle Robidas, Darbi Berry

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

SDRCC is excited to share the first post of our 2-part Climate Adaptation Blog Series "Laying the Groundwork for Equity-First Climate Adaptation." This blog post gives a high-level introduction to SDRCC and SANDAG's Equity-First Approach to Climate Adaptation guidance document. Readers will learn strategies to identify social equity communities, build community capacity, and link adaptation planning efforts to the four dimensions of equity.

Approaches And Strategies To Integrate Equity Into Adaptation Planning, Michelle Robidas, Darbi Berry

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

SDRCC is excited to share the second post of our 2-part Climate Adaptation Blog Series "Approaches and Strategies to Integrate Equity into Adaptation Planning." Building off of our first adaptation blog, readers will learn about equitable stakeholder engagement, identifying starting point vulnerabilities, how to conduct a vulnerability assessment, and opportunities to integrate equity into all phases of climate adaptation projects.

Electrifying Encinitas, Gabriella Medina, Darbi Berry

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

Advancing the San Diego region’s resilience to climate change impacts within the nexus of social, environmental, and economic prosperity is a top priority for local planning and efforts. As the region continues to face impacts on quality of life from climate change, the City of Encinitas is taking action to respond by leading efforts of energy resilience with their recently passed Green Building Ordinance (Ordinance). The Ordinance requires all new residential and non-residential buildings constructed in Encinitas to be “all-electric” unless an exception applies. As the San Diego region moves towards decarbonizing, Encinitas is the first city to mandate building …

Understanding The Inflation Reduction Act, Michelle Robidas, Darbi Berry

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

In this blog, readers will learn what the Inflation Reduction Act is, the major categories of its climate funding, and why its passing into law was a historical moment for the U.S.

Revolutionizing The Integration Of Sustainability & Zero Net Energy In The San Diego Region, Gabriella Medina, Darbi Berry

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

The San Diego County Regional Airport Airport Authority (Airport Authority) manages the day-to-day operations of the San Diego International Airport (SAN) and addresses the region’s long-term air transportation needs. SAN is also the busiest single-run commercial airport in the United States. To lessen SAN’s greenhouse gas emissions impact on local climate change vulnerabilities from the airport’s operations (i.e. minimizing energy usage), the Airport Authority has integrated sustainability across its social, environmental, and economic functions. In their commitment to sustainability, the Airport Authority is using the New Terminal 1 (New T1) project and zero-net energy (ZNE) Airline Support Facilities (ASF) as …

Ichthyofaunal Utilization Of A Man-Made Salt Marsh Creak In Mission Bay, California, 25 Years After Creation, Maria Angst

McNair Summer Research Program

Southern California’s wetlands are drastically declining due to human activities. Increasingly, marsh restoration and creation are being used to mitigate such losses. This study used minnow traps to resample the ichthyofauna of a created marsh (Crown Point Mitigation Site; CPMS) and an adjacent natural marsh (Kendall Frost) in Mission Bay, California, 26 years following the marsh creation. These data were compared to data collected from 1995-1998, immediately after marsh creation. Fishes trapped included Fundulus parvipinnis, Gillichthys mirabilis, Ctenogobius sagittula, Atherinops affinis, and Mugil cephalus. Species richness and dominance measures were higher in the natural relative to the created marsh. The …