CCS Newsletter 20/2
TL;DR:
Crash Course on Environmental Policy
Pub Quiz with Pembroke Panels later also on Wednesday
Panel Discussion: Wellbeing in a Warming World: The Health-Climate Nexus next Tuesday
CCS Student Research Presentation Night on 5th March (new date!) - apply to present and sign-up to attend (no presenting)
…and many more opportunities
📅 Upcoming Events
February 20th, 5:30pm: Green Society Support Workshop Click here to sign-up!
For anyone interested in starting or helping with a college green society - we'll be running workshop in the Timmy Hele Room at Emma on Green Societies and ways we can work on sustainability at a college level. For more information, please do not hesitate to contact Shreya (sp2068).
February 21st, 6:30pm: Crash Course on Local and Central Government: Exploring Environmental Policy through Cambridge's Evolution Over 100 Years Click here to sign-up!
Part one of a two-part series on environmental policy! Please note that the two sessions are separate and you can choose to attend either (or both!). More information on both sessions down below.
February 21st, 8:30pm: Pub Quiz with Pembroke Panels
Join us after the Policy Crash Course for our Quiz Night on 21st February at 8:30 PM in the Pembroke Bar, run in collaboration with Pembroke Panels! This is in build-up to our panel on climate and health on 27th February.
The £1 entry fee will go towards our two chosen charities - Max Windle Memorial Trust and Friends of the Earth.
February 22nd, 6:15pm: Planetary and Human Health: Virtual Q&A with Chris MacAskill + Plan(e)t-Based Dinner Click here to sign-up!
Come join Cambridge Zero Postgrad Academy and Plant-based Cambridge for an exciting virtual Q&A with the fabulously entertaining Chris MacAskill, a retired Stanford-educated Earth Scientist, and host of the YouTube channel Plant Chompers, where he covers all sorts of topics related to food, human and planetary health. A free delicious plant-based dinner will also be provided afterwards! Darwin's catering hall will be serving up the winning recipes from the previous term's Plan(e)t-Based recipe competition. All Q&A attendees are welcome to join.
February 22nd, 4:30-6pm: Panel on the Nuclear Business Case
A panel will be held in Lecture Theatre 6 in the Engineering Department on the nuclear business case, financial policy and it’s challenges and opportunities, with Prof Simon Taylor from Judge Business School and Abigail Luxton from HM Treasury as speakers.
February 27th, 6pm: Panel Discussion: Wellbeing in a Warming World Click here to sign-up!
Join us for an engaging discussion on "Wellbeing in a Warming World," featuring esteemed experts in public health, microbiology, and climate change. Our diverse panel of speakers will delve into the intersections of climate change, infectious diseases, and human health, offering insights into the challenges and opportunities facing health policy and communities worldwide.
More information on speakers down below.
February 28th, 6:30pm: Crash Course on Citizen’s Power: Understanding National Environmental Legislation through the draft Climate and Ecology Bill Click here to sign-up!
Part two of a two-part series on environmental policy! Please note that the two sessions are separate and you can choose to attend either (or both!). More information on both sessions down below.
March 5th, 6:30pm: Student Research Presentation Night Apply to present or just sign-up to attend without presenting
The date of this event has changed - again. Sorry!
After a highly successful Student Research Presentation Night last year, we are excited to present the second iteration of this event on 5th March! This event will give you the unique opportunity to showcase your research in climate change and related fields to a wider audience. We ask you to present your research in just three minutes, so get your elevator pitch ready. Selected participants will be asked to submit a single static slide summarising their research in advance of the event. Presentations will be followed by a meet and mingle to network and discuss shared topics of interest. Click here to apply to present your research, and sign up to attend the event here (no presenting)!
📜Crash Course on Environmental Policy
Join us for a two-part workshop series on environmental policy with local Cambridge historian and ex-civil servant Antony Carpen!
In our first session on Local and Central Government, we will take a deep dive into Cambridge town over the past 100 years to illustrate the powers central government wields over local councils in England and the importance of community action through the lenses of economic growth, pollution control and climate change. Participants will examine original paper/digitised documents from Cambridge town past on how and why things have changed in our built environment. Sign up here (6:30pm, Wednesday 21st February)!
The second session on Citizen's Power and National Environmental Legislation will prepare participants for the general election, which is particularly important as Cambridge colleges now cover three constituencies in and around Cambridge. We will explore the draft Climate and Ecology Bill published at https://www.zerohour.uk/bill/. Participants will gain an insight into the essentials of public policy and passing legislation in parliament. Sign up here (6:30pm, Wednesday 28th February)!
Both workshops will be at the RJP Seminar Room, Emmanuel College.
📢 Panel Discussion: Wellbeing in a Warming World Panelist Bios
Mala Rao
Professor Mala Rao is a Senior Clinical Fellow at the Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Imperial College London, Medical Adviser to NHS England on Workforce Race Equality, and Vice Chair, WaterAid UK.
She studied medicine in Delhi at the height of the smallpox eradication era. Dr. Rao has worked closely with the Indian and UK governments, the World Health Organization, frontline health staff at primary health centers and hospitals, and other organizations to reform health care policies and practice with benefits to millions of disadvantaged people.
Jeanne Salje
Jeanne Salje is Assistant Professor at the Department of Pathology and Department of Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge. Jeanne is interested in questions about the fundamental biology of bacterial cells, and in understanding how they interact with their dynamic external environment. She has acted as a post-doctoral research fellow at the Harvard Medical School and has worked for nine years as a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellow in Thailand.
Jeanne Salje runs a research group focused on the fundamental biology of obligate intracellular bacteria with a particular focus on Orientia tsutsugamushi, the causative agent of the life-threatening human disease scrub typhus that is endemic in many parts of Asia
Jessica Gerard
Jessica is Research Assistant London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London. Her work supports the partnership between the Centre on Climate Change and Planetary Health (CCCPH) and the African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP) to create an evidence base on climate change and health for the Kenyan Ministry of Health.
She holds an MSc in Control of Infectious Diseases from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a BSc in Public Health and International Development from Tulane University. She has previously conducted research in South and North America relating to climate change, urban planning and both communicable and non-communicable health risks
Oscar Cortez Azuero
Oscar Cortez Azuero is a PhD student in the Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge and a researcher in The Pathogen Dynamics Group, which looks at the maintenance and control of pathogens through analytical and empirical techniques.
Oscar's work focuses on studying the spatial spread and the diversity of different pathogens using genetic data. He has previously worked on the Development and application of mathematical and phylogenetic models in infectious disease epidemiology. He has a Master’s degree from Master's degree in Engineering from the École Centrale de Lille in France.
👑 CCS President 2024-25 Applications
Apply here today and find more information here.
The Cambridge Climate Society is recruiting its next President or co-Presidents for the 2024-2025 academic year, and we think it could be you! This is an incredible opportunity to lead one of Cambridge’s largest and fastest growing societies, have a tangible impact across the university, and make close friends!
We’d like to stress that applications from anyone and everyone are welcome for this role! Being on committee for the previous year is not a prerequisite. Applications are welcome from any degree course (undergrad & postgrad) with an interest in climate. The only requirements are a deep commitment to the climate crisis, great organisational skills, and willingness to own the full responsibility of the role.
The deadline is Monday February 26th 11:59pm.
Please note: only applications for President are currently open - this is so that the successful applicant(s) can participate in the recruitment process for next year’s committee. The role officially starts towards the end of Easter but applications are open now to gradually ease you in!
🍃Pesticides Free Campaign
Synthetic pesticides are routinely used in and around the built environment, and in green spaces to treat unwanted vegetation and insects. HOWEVER, pesticides are damaging to the environment; they are also a public health and disability rights issue. Together with other harmful practices such as over-mowing, they are a major cause of biodiversity loss, and by killing off invertebrates they also drive other animals such as hedgehogs and birds towards extinction.
Pesticide-Free Cambridge is now joining forces with Cambridge Climate Society to tackle ongoing pesticide-use in Cambridge’s colleges.
This is a relatively low commitment but highly powerful way you can help people and nature in your college!
Read more about the campaign at https://www.pesticidefreecambridge.org/colleges-campaign
💚 More Opportunities
Cambridge Zero Future Leaders Program: Paid Summer Roles
There are 17 roles available this summer, open to students from any degree background. Get paid work experience in climate change, sustainability and environmental science this summer with Cambridge Zero, the Centre for Landscape Regeneration, the Centre for Science and Policy, Aldersgate Group, and the Public Mapping Project.
Engage for Change
Engage for Change is an 8 week programme where students are trained and guided to create a climate action project at the university. The Easter cohort has just opened with limited spaces only available to postgraduate students. Please apply through this link. Applications close 10th March.