Luskin center impact report 2014

SPRING 2014

Luskin School of Public Affairs

VDigital Technology 02

Complete Streets & Climate Change 06

Electric Vehicles & Alternative Fuels 10

Nanotechnology 16

Sustainable Energy 20

Water Systems 24

Anniversary Edition

FROM THE DIRECTORGREETINGS,

We are celebrating the fifth anniversary of the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation. While our impact has grown over the years, our mission has remained true to the vision of our founders Meyer and Renee Luskin. We unite UCLA scholars with civic leaders to address pressing issues confronting our community, nation and world.

Over these five years we have developed on-going relationships with many civic partners including the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Business Council, the California Endowment, the California and U.S. Environmental Protection Agencies as well as the California Governor. In these pages we chronicle the evolution of these research partnerships as they spur innovation in sustainable energy, climate action, green infrastructure and more.

We are proud that the White House highlighted our “Los Angeles Solar and Efficiency Report (LASER)” as a national best practice of using data to inform climate action planning. This project created a mapping tool to help communities identify opportunities to invest in projects that will save households money, create clean energy jobs and strengthen climate resilience.

We are also excited about our new Digital Technologies Initiative led by Dr. John Villasenor. In its first full year, the initiative’s events and research involved collaborations with Google, Microsoft, the Recording Industry of America, the Motion Picture Association of America and others.

We invite you to share your ideas and to work with us as we all try to improve our world.

Warm regards,

J.R. DeShazo Colleen CallahanDirector Deputy Director

THE LUSKIN CENTER’S

IMPACTRESEARCH

STUDENT SUPPORT

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

& PUBLIC AFFAIRS

75Civic Partners

Collaborated with more than 75 civic partners on policy-

informing research and events.

125Students

Provided direct support to 125 UCLA students while enhancing the educational experiences of

hundreds more.

$2 MillionHelped secure over two million dollars in

grant and contract funding to conduct research in seven robust initiative areas.

CONTENTSDigital Technology 02

Complete Streets & Climate Change 06

Electric Vehicles & Alternative Fuels 10

Nanotechnology 16

Sustainable Energy 20

Water Systems 24

Etcetera 27

Informing public policy for innovation in the Digital Age.

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

2014 • UCLA LUSKIN CENTER FOR INNOVATION2

JOHN VILLASENOR AT THE INTERSECTION OF TECHNOLOGY, POLICY AND LAW

ADVANCING YOUTH INTERNET SAFETY

As children’s access to the Internet expands, so do concerns about their online safety. Providing a safe environment for children requires an in-depth understanding of the types and prevalence of online risks children are exposed to, and the solutions most effective in mitigating these risks. To this end, researchers at the Luskin Center compiled a database of doz-ens of articles relevant to child Internet safety, and are embarking on other efforts to identify best practices in colloboration with Google.

John Villasenor directs the Luskin Center’s new Digital Technolo-gies Initiative. A professor of both electrical engineering and public policy at UCLA, he works at the intersection of technology, policy and law.

Dr. Villasenor’s recent research considers the impacts of key tech-nology trends including the move to the Cloud, advances in digital communications and the increas-ing complexity of today’s networks

and systems. Dr. Villasenor writes frequently on these topics and on their implications with respect to cybersecurity, digital media poli-cy, intellectual property and digi-tal privacy. For example, he is of-ten quoted in, and writes for, the mainstream media such as Forbes, The Atlantic, the Los Angeles Times, Slate and The Washington Post. Dr. Villasenor also frequently advises policymakers including by testify-ing at U.S. Congressional hearings.

Adina Farrukh, student researcher, Luskin Center

Rebecca Sadwick, student researcher, Luskin Center

Highlights from John Villasenor’s work this year have included the following examples of Congressional testimony, policy papers and publicly accessible news articles:

• Testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, on preventing technology-facilitated exploitation of children.

• Testifimony before the U.S. House Commit-tee on the Judiciary, on the topic of copyright law as it relates to resales of digital content.

• The report “Products Liability and Driverless Cars: Issues and Guiding Principles for Legis-lation,” published by the Brookings Institute.

• The report “Smartphones for the Unbanked: How Mobile Money will Drive Digital Inclu-sion in Developing Countries.”

• Article in Forbes on ‘“Fee-Shifting and Patent Reform: A Double-Edged Sword For Startup Companies.”

• Article in The Atlantic on “What You Need to Know about the Third-Party Doctrine” and what it will likely mean as the National Security Administration lawsuits work their way through the courts.

RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT

Up to

30%

of Internet users are victims of cyber

bullying

INNOVATION.LUSKIN.UCLA.EDU 3

The Future of Digital Music Delivery

Left to Right: Alex Pham, Billboard Magazine; David Oxenford, Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP;

Jeff Price, Audiam; John Villasenor, UCLA; Steve Rennie, REN Management;

Chris Harrison, Pandora

Left to Right: Richard Wolpert, Amplify.la; Jule Sigall, Microsoft; Dean Marks, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.; Katherine Oyama, Google;

Betsy Rosenblatt, Whittier Law School

Left to Right: John Villasenor, UCLA; Steven Metalitz, Mitchell Silbererg & Knupp LLP; Lee Knife, Digital Media Association (DiMA); Angela Riggio, UCLA Library; Corynne McSherry, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)

The Demise of Ownership

PUBLIC POLICY FOR INNOVATION IN THE DIGITAL AGELuskin Center panel series connects industry leaders, technology innovators, policymakers and journalists to explore digital

technology opportunities, challenges and potential policy solutions.

Digital Media in the Age of the Cloud


Left to Right: John Villasenor, UCLA; Dean Schaffer, Allvoices; Torie Bosch, Slate/

New America Foundation; Russ Stanton, Southern California Public Radio (KPCC);

James Rainey, Los Angeles Times

Left to Right: John Villasenor, UCLA; Ernie Allen, International Centre for Missing

& Exploited Children; Amanda Hess, Slate; Adrian Chandley, Microsoft; Cody Monk,

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Left to Right: John Villasenor, UCLA; Sarah Holland, Google; Lori Harnick, Microsoft; Jane Margolis, UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies; Todd Ullah, Los Angeles Unified School District

PUBLIC POLICY FOR INNOVATION IN THE DIGITAL AGELuskin Center panel series connects industry leaders, technology innovators, policymakers and journalists to explore digital

technology opportunities, challenges and potential policy solutions.

Preventing Technology-Facilitated Exploitation

Crowdsourcing, Paywalls and the Future of News

Creating a Digitally Fluent Workforce


CLIMATE CHANGE &COMPLETE STREETS Strengthening local governments’ capacity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and paving the way for resilient, healthy and sustainable communities.


WHITE HOUSE HIGHLIGHTS LUSKIN CENTER REPORT AS ADVANCING THE PRESIDENT’S CLIMATE DATA INITIATIVE

Jorge Madrid, senior partnerships coordinator,

Environmental Defense Fund

Los Angeles County is currently leaving around 98 percent of its solar capacity untapped. Achieving just 10 percent of its rooftop solar potential could create 47,000 jobs and slash nearly 2.5 mil-lion tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, according to a report by the Luskin Center that was supported by the Environ-mental Defense Fund (EDF) and highlighted in a White House announcement.

The “Los Angeles Solar and Efficiency Report” (LASER) is a da-ta-driven mapping tool designed to help communities identify opportunities to invest in projects that will save households mon-ey, create clean energy jobs and strengthen climate resiliency in vulnerable communities. Parcel-level analysis gives planners and property owners information about buildings and other spaces across L.A. County ripe for solar panel installation and energy ef-ficiency measures.

LASER also illustrates projected temperature increases, cur-rent environmental health risks and climate change vulnerabili-ty throughout the region. LASER then focuses on the 38 percent of L.A. County residents (3.7 million people) living in vulnerable communities (indicated in red in the preceding map) burdened by air pollution and other risk factors, as identified by the California Communities Environmental Health Screening Tool (CalEnvi-roScreen). Based on analysis of CalEnviroScreen data, the report highlights that fully 50 percent of the state’s most vulnerable pop-ulation lives in L.A. County. The State of California is expected to use the CalEnviroScreen to identify disadvantaged communi-ties for the purpose of prioritizing funding from the state’s Green-house Gas Reduction Fund.

The LASER project is a response to President Obama’s Climate Data Initiative, a call to action to leverage public data in order to stimulate innovation and collaboration in support of national

climate change preparedness. Alarming scientific findings from the National

Climate Assessment show that cli-mate change is already impacting all parts of the U.S.

Create about

47,000 local jobs

Reduce CO2 emissions equivalent to taking about

500,000 cars off the road

If L.A. County installed just

10%of its total rooftop capacity it could:


PARKLET TOOLKIT WINS NATIONAL AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION AWARD

Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, associate dean, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

1. California Senator Ricardo Lara

2. Cliff Rechtschaffen, senior advisor to Governor Brown; and

J.R. DeShazo, director, Luskin Center

3. Hector De La Torre, board member, California Air Resources Board

4. Colleen Callahan, deputy director, Luskin Center; and others

ADVISING POLICYMAKERS ON INVESTMENTS FROM THE GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION FUND

Images from the workshop “Investment Justice Through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund,” supported by The California Endowment:

California’s budget marks an historic investment in climate action. The budget, signed by Governor Brown in June of 2014, allocates $872 million in carbon cap-and-trade auction revenues to investment categories, like sustainable transporta-tion and clean energy. In subsequent years, the cap-and-trade program is expected to generate billions of dollars to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Senate Bill 535 (SB 535, de León) requires a minimum set aside for projects that provide ben-efits to disadvantaged communities in California.

Yet many policy implementation details have yet to be determined. To guide strate-gic investment decisions related to SB 535, the Luskin Center convened 150 experts and leaders from across California. The outcome of this event was a report propos-ing a systematic approach for implementing the investments. “Investment Justice Through the Greenhouse Reduction Fund: Implementing SB 535 and Advancing Climate Action in Disadvantaged Communities” contains recommendations for establishing a performance management approach to assess program and project investment options and track their results. The Luskin Center is now advising the California Environmental Protection Agency on this approach.

1

2

3

4

The American Planning Association (APA) gave the National Planning Achievement Award for Best Practice to UCLA’s “Reclaim-ing the Right-of-Way.” This toolkit provides inspiration and practical tips for creating “parklets”—small parks in urban areas from the conversion of parking spots and other underutilized spaces for cars into places for people.

The award is the latest in a string of honors for the toolkit, authored by Anastasia Loukaitou-

Sideris, Madeline Brozen and Colleen Callahan of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. Local and regional APA chapters had previously recognized the project.

“Reclaiming the Right-of-Way” is part of an effort, made possible by a grant from The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation, which also included installation of two par-klets in Los Angeles, and evaluation of those parklets’ role in their neighborhoods.


Businesses along the CicLAvia route in June 2013 experienced a 10 percent bump in sales on the day of the event, found a study from the Luskin School. The increase was greater among those businesses that engaged with CicLAvia participants, such as with a vending ta-ble or music. These “active participant” businesses saw their sales increase an average of 57 percent.

The study gives business owners, resi-dents and CicLAvia participants tips on how to make the most of the unique interactions that happen during the event. CicLAvia is a free-public event

that brings thousands of participants to select streets on certain Sundays, cre-ating a car-free, park-like environment for Angelenos and visitors to enjoy.

Approximately 150,000 people on foot, bikes and skates experienced iconic Wilshire Boulevard as part of the CicLAvia event on June 23, 2013.

Researchers from the UCLA Luskin School’s Complete Streets Initiative surveyed a representative sample of brick-and-mortar businesses along the route, comparing sales revenue and foot traffic on CicLAvia Sunday and a

Sunday earlier that month.

Primary funding from the study came from the UCLA Center for Civil Soci-ety and was conducted in partnership with CicLAvia Inc. and the Los Angeles Sustainability Collaborative.

CICLAVIA BRINGS BENEFITS TO BUSINESSES

Climate policies that encourage greater density along transportation corridors may have the unintended conse-quence of greater exposure to roadway air pollutants for people who live in those areas. In a study funded by the California Air Resources Board, UCLA and UC Riverside researchers are monitoring air pollution levels in such en-vironments with varying traffic, meteorological and built environment conditions.

Future data analysis will inform transportation planners how to design transit-oriented development to mitigate air pollution exposure.

IDENTIFYING URBAN DESIGN AND TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES THAT REDUCE AIR POLLUTION EXPOSURE

Madeline Brozen, program manager, Complete Streets Initiative, UCLA Luskin School

Members of the research team with project manager Lisa Wu (left)


Supporting the transition to electric-drive and alternative fuel vehicles.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES &ALTERNATIVE FUELS

10 2014 • UCLA LUSKIN CENTER FOR INNOVATION

Brett Williams, program director, Electric Vehicles & Alternative Fuels Initiative, Luskin Center

Dec

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200,000

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As part of a legislative briefing in Sacramento hosted by the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Luskin Center provided insights about EV market dynamics that will shape future California policy. Brett Williams of the Luskin Center pre-sented the prices of 15 PEV models arranged in order of their “net of subsidies price”—the manufacturer’s suggested retail

price (MSRP) minus the federal tax credit (in green, in below graph) and the California rebate (in red). Three vehicles cost less than $20,000 on this basis, seven between $20,000 and $30,000, two between $30,000 and $40,000, and three over $60,000. Federal and state incentives cover between six to 40 percent of MSRP.

PLANNING FOR FUTURE PEV POLICY DEVELOPMENT

PEV MARKET ANALYSIS:THE FIRST THREE YEARS

A new era of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) is well underway. After three years on the market, roughly 220,000 light-duty PEVs have been sold in the U.S. Sixteen major models are current-ly on the market. Plug-in hybrids at this point tend to be reasonably-sized sedans and typically are priced in the low-to-mid $30,000 range.

THE GROWING PEV MARKET

$100,000

$40,000

$50,000

$60,000

$70,000

$80,000

$90,000

$10,000

smart

electric Coupe

Chevy Spark 1L

T

LEAF S

500 Elettrica

Focus Electric

Chevy Volt

Prius Plu

g-InFit

EV

C-Max Energ

i

Fusion Energ

i SE

Accord Plu

g-in

RAV4 EV

Model S

60kWh

Cadillac ELR

Panamera

S E-Hybrid

$20,000

$30,000

$

37%35%

31%28% 26%

13%

27%17% 16%

13%

20%

14%12%

6%

40%

incentive/MSRP (%)

U.S. tax credit

CA CVRP

Discountedprice

PLUG-IN ELECTRIC VEHICLE PRICES (BASE MSRP) AND INCENTIVES(Feb. 2014, in order of increasing discounted price)

Monthly U.S. Sales

U.S. Cumulative Sales

CA Cumulative (est)

National Sales:Cumulative 2014: 54,791Cumulative 2011-2014: 223, 110June: 11, 493

California Sales:Cumulative 2001-2014: 92, 866M

on

thly

U.S

. Sal

es

Cum

ulat

ive

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s

11INNOVATION.LUSKIN.UCLA.EDU

Overnight charging at home is expected to be the most cost-effective and prevalent way to refuel PEVs, especially for those living in single-family residences. The picture is more complex, howev-er, for residents of multi-unit dwellings (MUDs). The Luskin Center is a leader in analyzing MUD charging, including characterizing regional housing and parking stock, calculating infrastructure cost recovery and PEV fueling costs, and recommending public policies to facilitate charging in MUDs.

The economics of workplace charging also involve many questions important to address in order to advance zero-emission transportation. To this end, Brett Williams and J.R. DeShazo of the Luskin Center co-authored “Pricing Workplace Charging: Financial Viability and Fueling Costs.” This paper will be included in an upcoming Transportation Research Board publication.

OVERCOMING ECONOMIC BARRIERS TO ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING AT WORKPLACES AND APARTMENTS


The Luskin Center has provided the major analytics required to understand and plan for PEV demand as well as driving and charging behavior in the six-county southern California region. This year the Luskin Center produced the “South Bay Cities PEV Deployment Plan” and the “Western Riverside PEV Deployment Plan” as sub-components to the “Southern California PEV Readi-ness Plan and Atlas” (DeShazo et al, 2012). Commissioned by the Southern California Association of Governments in conjunction with the South Coast Air Quality Management District and the South Bay Cities and Western Riverside councils of governments, the documents present guidelines for prioritizing PEV planning efforts as well as maps of PEV registrations and travel patterns at the sub-regional level to guide local decision making.

Jacki Bacharach, executive director, South Bay Cities Council of Governments

Rick Bishop, executive director, Western Riverside

Council of Governments

LEADING PLUG-IN ELECTRIC VEHICLE PLANNING IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND ITS SUB-REGIONS

DEVELOPING OUR WORKFORCE FOR ELECTRIFIED TRANSPORTATION

How should California develop its workforce and ed-ucational curriculum to support the growing market for electric vehicles, charging infrastructure and smart grids? This was the question addressed by the “Trans-portation Electrification Curriculum Development” report and workshop, led by the Luskin Center with funding from Edison International and Southern Cali-fornia Edison (SCE).

Robert Graham, manager, Plug-in Vehicle Readiness Program, SCE

Edward Kjaer,

director, Electric Transportation Department, SCE


A challenge that California faces is designing a policy to be both equitable and efficient when compelling customers, who are looking for a car, to choose a plug-in electric vehicle. With funding from the California Air Resources Board, the Luskin Center has explored proposed designs for PEV rebates that include both means-tested eligibility and price caps to improve on the effectiveness of the existing rebate policy. This re-search, led by Dr. DeShazo of the Luskin Center and Tamara Sheldon of UC San Diego, shows how California rebate dollars could result in increased PEV sales by redressing the currently less equitable policy.

DESIGNING EQUITY AND EFFICIENCY INTO PEV REBATES

The California Energy Commission has funded a consor-tium, led by the Los Angeles County Economic Develop-ment Corporation and including the Luskin Center, to es-tablish a Southern California Center for Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicle Technology. This center will serve the counties of Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura. The objective is to make the region a sustained hub for the development, design and production of lower-emission technologies, thus creating jobs and tax revenues that will result from a thriving advanced transportation cluster.

CALIFORNIA ENERGY COMMISSION FUNDS CONSORTIUM ADVANCING ALTERNATIVE FUELS AND VEHICLES

Chairman Mary Nichols, California Air Resources Board

Tamara Sheldon, doctoral student researcher, UC San Diego

Bill Allen, president & CEO, Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation

JoAnne Golden-Stewart, director of public policy, Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation

Cumulative California PEV Registrations Through May 2014

Tesla Model S

Toyota Prius

Nissan Leaf

Chevy Volt

Ford Fusion

Fiat 500 Other PHEV

Other BEV

PEV Make and Model

Num

ber

of P

EVs

05,

00

010

,00

015

,00

020

,00

0

CUMULATIVE CALIFORNIA PEV REGISTRATIONS THROUGH MAY 2014


Left to Right: Governor Jerry Brown; J.R. DeShazo, director, Luskin Center

GOVERNOR’S SUMMIT ON ZERO EMISSION VEHICLES

SCAQMD LEADS DEVELOPMENT OF FAST CHARGING

The California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research has developed guidelines for how cities and counties can reduce permitting, zon-ing, parking and other barriers to the adoption of plug-in electric vehicles. The Luskin Center assisted by sharing lessons learned from its award-winning “Southern California Plug-in

Electric Vehicle Readiness Plan,” and Dr. DeShazo led plan-

ning workshops for the effort.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) is leading an effort to ensure southern California has adequate fast charging stations sup-porting freeway travel across the region. In support of their efforts, the Luskin Center is using its PEV travel demand models to identify promising loca-tions for these stations.

Ronald E. Davis,general manager, Burbank Water and Power

Leslie Goodbody, Sustainable Transportation

Technology Branch Emissions Compliance, Automobile

Regulations & Science Division, California Air Resources Board

Matt Miyosato, assistant deputy executive officer, SCAQMD

BURBANK INNOVATES WITH CURBSIDE CHARGING

SUPPORTING CALIFORNIA AIR RESOURCES

Burbank has received a California Energy Commission grant to explore the bene-fits of curb-side charging for multi-unit dwellers and shoppers. The Luskin Cen-ter is using its PEV travel demand models to identify promising locations for these curb-side stations.

The California Air Resources Board has formed an Office of Infrastructure in the ef-fort to tackle the challenge of installing and financing PEV infrastructure. In support, the Luskin Center shared insights with this office from our financial analysis of various in-frastructure market scenarios.

ADVANCING EV CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE

Interstate Travel

LOCATION CHARGE TIME PRICE LEVEL DRIVER

Entertainment/Shopping/ Recreation

Work/TransitParking/Airport

At Home

$$$$

$$$

$$

$

FastCharging

Waiting

Parked

Parked

SleepingParked

L2/3

L1

L1

Source: Adapted from (Stanek 2011)

Travel

Public

Workplace

Residential

Pyramid of PEV Charging Priorities


CITY OF ARCADIA MOVES TOWARD A CLEANER FLEET

METRO EXPLORES PERSONAL RAPID TRANSPORTATION

LUSKIN CENTER JOINS THE CALIFORNIA PLUG-IN ELECTRIC VEHICLE COLLABORATIVE

After several years of productive engagement between California Plug-in Electric Vehicle (PEV) Collaborative leadership and J.R. DeShazo and Brett Williams, the Luskin Center submitted a formal application for membership to the organization. The application was accepted earlier this year, placing the Center at the table with a dynamic group of leading PEV stakeholders,

including elected and appointed officials, automakers, utilities, infrastructure providers, en-

vironmental organizations, re-search institutions and others.

Commissioner Carla Peterman, California

Public Utilities Commission; and chairman, CA PEV

Collaborative Christine Kehoe, executive director, CA

PEV Collaborative

The Luskin Center provided a grant to a team of public pol-icy graduate students (photo to the left) supporting the City of Arcadia’s move toward cleaner transportation. The re-searchers analyzed the feasibility of transitioning the city’s non-safety vehicle fleet from conventional vehicles to alter-native fuel vehicles (AFVs). Their report makes recommen-dations for incorporating AFV technologies and policies into its general plan. The project’s results and approach to evaluating AFV options could also help inform other cities.

With the 405 Freeway one of the most congested in the country, Los Angeles Councilmember Paul Koretz looked to UCLA to help analyze innovative approaches to ease this congestion. The Luskin Center provided a grant to a team of Public Policy students tasked by the Councilmember to assess personal and group rapid transit system options. Imagine small pod cars operating on exclusive right-of-way guideways. While not without real challenges, case studies from across the globe offer some hope that innovative strate-gies such as these could perhaps be possible for L.A.’s future.

Left to Right: Dustin Foster, Nika Ghiyasi, Jae Lee, Anthony Ojelabi

5 counties (Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego,

Alameda, Santa Clara) have:

Left to Right: Gabriela Cardozo, Debbie Iamranond, Vicky Hsu, Janet Cuanas

only

50% of California’s

households

70% of California PEV

registrations


Progressing health and environmental safety assessment.

NANOTECHNOLOGY


As nanotechnologies transform industries as diverse as medicine to consumer products, how can their safety be assured? To address this question, the UC Center for En-vironmental Implications of Nanotechnology (UC CEIN) was established in 2008 and is a world-class research facility that focuses on the responsible

use and safe implementation of nanotechnology. This academic year the National Science Foundation, in conjunction with

the U.S. EPA, awarded $24 million to support UC CEIN’s commitment to nanomaterial safety testing. The new cooperative funding agreement brings the NSF and EPA’s total commitment to UC CEIN’s research and outreach agenda to $48 million over 10 years.

Left to Right: David Avery, André Nel and Timothy Malloy of UC CEIN on Capitol Hill to discuss the importance of alternative testing strategies for safe implementation of nanotechnology

UC CEIN AWARDED $24 MILLION TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF NANOMATERIAL SAFETY TESTING

FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND CONSENSUS STATEMENT ON USE OF ALTERNATIVE TEST STRATEGIES FOR NANOMATERIAL SAFETY ASSESSMENT

Traditional toxicity testing relies on whole ani-mal testing, which can be expensive and lengthy. Alternative strategies—among them rapid cellu-lar screening and computer modeling—could be part of a new approach to effectively and efficient-ly assess the safety of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs), as well as traditional chemicals.

The journal ACS Nano recently featured an article that provides the groundwork for the integration of alternative testing strategies. The article grew out of a workshop hosted by the UC CEIN that brought together international leaders in nanotechnology to explore the societal challenges posed by the new wave of ENMs and to discuss opportunities for developing a new predictive paradigm for toxicity testing. This first-of-its-kind consensus statement details how alternative strategies could be used to benefit decision-making about safety and to create a new method for assessing the health and envi-ronmental effects of ENMs. Co-authors included members of UC CEIN, the Luskin Center, as well as other academic, government and industry rep-resentatives.

Arturo Keller, associate director, UC CEINAndré Nel, director, UC CEIN


To determine the uses and likely expo-sures of nanoscale materials, some coun-tries are beginning to mandate the regis-tration of nanoscale materials. André Nel, Tim Malloy, Elina Nasser, Dave Avery and Elizabeth Beryt co-authored an edi-torial discussing the possible implications of France’s new registry of nanoparticle substances. The French registry requires

all entities to file a declaration if they manufacture, import or distribute at least 100 grams per year of a nanoparticle sub-stance. The impact of the French Regis-try will provide important insights into the next steps that governments around the globe may take to obtain information about the commercial applications and safety of nanoscale materials.

FRENCH REGISTRY OFFERS INSIGHT INTO FUTURE NANOTECHNOLOGY REGULATION

Nanotechnologies present significant reg-ulatory, societal and ethical challenges. At the “Second Annual Conference on the Governance of Emerging Technologies: Law, Policy and Ethics,” Elizabeth Beryt of the Luskin Center and UC CEIN pre-sented on whether endorsement (or lack of endorsement) of new testing meth-ods by validation authorities impacts the achievement of the goals put forth in the National Research Council Report enti-tled “Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century: A Vision and a Strategy.”

Alternative testing strategies are an im-portant component to determining the safety of nanotechnologies and other ma-terials. Thus, it will be crucial to have in place a system of validation that supports the adoption of alternative testing strate-gies by government agencies.

THE ROLE OF VALIDATION IN THE ADOPTION OF NEW TESTING METHODS

Elizabeth BerytNanotechnology policy fellow

Elizabeth conducts research focused upon existing and po-tential governance policies re-lating to engineered nanoma-terials. The research integrates policy concerns and opportu-nities with emerging science and industry practices. Special attention is given to advances in toxicity testing and their use in decision-making. Elizabeth holds a J.D. from the UCLA School of Law and a B.S. in Mathematics from UC Irvine.

Tim Malloy, professor of law, UCLA

HOW SMALL IS

A single-walled carbon nanotube is

1 nanometerin diameter

A red blood cell is

7,000 nanometers

across

The head of a pin is

1,000,000 nanometersacross

SMALL?


CRITICAL ASPECTS OF SUSTAINABLE NANOTECHNOLOGY

Engineered nanomaterials are in a wide range of products and applications. To ensure that potential harm does not exceed the benefits of nanotechnolo-gies, it will be important to research, develop and use nanotechnologies in a sustainable manner. The “Second Sus-tainable Nanotechnology Organization (SNO) Conference” brought together experts on the subject of nanotech-nology and sustainability to address life cycle assessment, green synthesis, green energy, industrial partnerships,

environmental health and safety, and the overall sustainability of engineered nanomaterials. The conference in-cluded participation by Luskin Center partners from the UC CEIN including André Nel, Tim Malloy, Arturo Keller, Hilary Godwin and Elizabeth Beryt, who presented on the interdisciplinary nature of nanotechnology, and the po-tential tools and methods to assess and prevent negative implications of the technology.

EXPLORING THE REGULATORY ASPECTS OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

There are significant gaps in informa-tion concerning the environmental health and safety impacts of chemicals. The role that a new predictive toxi-cology testing paradigm could play in regulatory decision-making is uncer-tain especially in regards to emerging technologies, such as nanomaterials. At the “First Annual Conference on the Governance of Emerging Technologies: Law, Policy and Ethics,” Elizabeth Beryt presented on the potential for alterna-

tive testing strategies to be used in the context of the Toxic Substances Con-trol Act. The specific legal-institutional context will drive the integration of al-ternative testing strategies into the reg-ulation of new and existing chemicals. Thus, it is important to consider the possible incorporation of alternative testing strategies by regulatory agencies in the context of the specific action that the testing strategy will be used.

Hilary Godwin, professor of environmental health sciences, UCLA

Rubin Li, post-doctoral scholar at the UC CEIN and SNO Conference poster winner (center)

NANOTECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS &

PRODUCTS

Consumer Products

Energy/Environment

Food/Agriculture

Drug-Delivery

Techniques

SMALL?


SUSTAINABLE ENERGYDeveloping strategies to spur renewable energy and energy efficiency in California.


LADWP’S ROOFTOP SOLAR PROGRAM DELIVERING PROMISED RESULTS

Los Angeles’ groundbreaking rooftop solar energy program is delivering on its promise to bring cost-effective, clean power to tens of thousands of Los An-geles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) customers, and is ready for a significant expansion that would bring even greater benefits to Angelenos, according to a Luskin Center report commissioned by the Los Angeles Busi-ness Council. Under the feed-in-tariff (FIT) program, the design of which was informed by previous research from the Luskin Center, electric power gener-ated by solar rooftop installations on office and retail buildings, warehouses and apartment complexes is sold to the LADWP for use by its residential and business customers. J.R. DeShazo and Alex Turek of the Luskin Center

evaluated the initial two phases of the program, representing about 40 megawatts (MW) of

solar power. These two allocations received a total of 256 program applications, many from applicants whom the researchers in-terviewed. The study concluded that the “FIT 100” is on track to deliver 100 MW of

carbon-free energy by 2015, enough to pow-er more than 21,000 homes annually.

FURTHER TAPPING LA’S VAST SOLAR POTENTIAL COULD REAP HUGE BENEFITS FOR CITY’S DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES

A significantly expanded commercial rooftop solar program in Los Angeles would create thousands of new jobs and spur hundreds of millions of dollars in new investment, with particular benefit to residents living in traditionally under-served neighbor-hoods, according to a joint UCLA/USC study conducted on behalf of the Los Angeles Business Council Institute.

The report “Sharing Solar’s Promise: Harnessing LA’s FIT to Create Jobs and Build Social Equity” calls for the LADWP’s current feed-in tariff pro-gram, also known as CLEAN LA Solar, to be expanded from 100 to 600 megawatts,

and to include incentives for solar develop-ers and property owners to focus much of that growth in low-income communities where solar potential is among the most

promising in the city. According to the report, over 40 percent of

the current CLEAN LA So-lar project applications are

located in these solar equi-ty “hot spots,” where rooftop solar capacity is high and so is the need for economic and

environmental investments.


Anh Wood, program manager, LADWP

Manuel Pastor, director, USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity

Mary Lesliepresident, Los Angeles Business Council

Under the leadership of Mary Leslie, the Los Angeles Business Council is one of the most respected business advocacy organizations in California and has developed a national reputa-tion as a catalyst for innovative policy in renewable energy and other fields. The LABC led a citywide coalition to support the creation of the CLEAN LA Solar feed-in tariff program, the largest rooftop solar buyback pro-gram in the United States. The Luskin Center is proud to have contributed research to inform this program, kicking off what is now five years of collaboration with the LABC.


LADWP ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS ENERGIZE JOB CREATION

A Luskin Center study finds that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is efficiently energizing job creation in Los Angeles through its energy efficiency programs. LADWP’s diverse portfolio of energy efficiency programs create 16 job-years per million dollars invested in Los An-geles County and have the potential to create over a quarter billion dollars in economic output at current funding levels. Forecasting through 2020, the Luskin Center study finds that LADWP energy efficiency programs would create nearly 17,000 job-years in Los Angeles County.

The study “Efficiently Energizing Job Creation in Los Angeles” helped inform LADWP’s decision to pursue the goal of achieving a 15 percent reduction in electricity consumption through energy efficiency efforts in Los Angeles. With

the recent adoption of this plan by the LADWP board and expected increased funding for energy efficiency, the job creation benefits discussed in the study will be further increased.

The 18 programs researched in this study generally come in two varieties —incentive/rebate based or direct install—and deal with new construction

as well as retrofits of existing building stock. Beneficiaries of these energy efficiency efforts are broad ranging, including low-income and life-line cus-

tomers, other residential customers, and commercial and industrial customers.

BUILDING A GREENER LA: ENERGY EFFICIENCY POLICIES FOR EXISTING BUILDINGS

Marcie Edwards, general manager, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP)

David Jacot, director of energy efficiency, LADWP

Alex Turek, project manager, Luskin Center

Michael Samulon, research analyst, Luskin Center

Los Angeles is considering a series of energy ef-ficiency policies. The Luskin Center supported a study, commissioned by the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office and conducted by graduate researchers, to specifically inform an energy disclosure bench-marking policy. This policy would mandate the disclosure of annual energy use for large existing buildings. Eighty four percent of all buildings in Los Angeles predate California’s first energy effi-ciency building codes, and most energy efficiency programs do not target older buildings. Accord-ingly, it is important to consider how improved information availability, incentives and regulation can improve the efficiency of existing buildings.Left to Right: Yuka Matsukawa, Saira Gandhi, Amanda Morrall


Every Breath You Take, Every Dollar You’ll Make: The Long-Term Consequences of the Clean Air Act of 1970

W. Reed Walker, UC Berkeley

Household Demand for Low Carbon Public Policies: Evidence from California

Matthew Kahn, UCLA

The Lightbulb Paradox: Evidence from Two Randomized Experiments

Hunt Allcott, New York University

The Demand for Energy-Using Assets Among the World’s Rising Middle Classes

Catherine Wolfram, UC Berkeley

Forecasting the Cost to Firms of Climate Policy Using Prediction Markets and Lobbying Records

Kyle Meng, Columbia University

Commercial and Industrial Demand Response Under Mandatory Time-of-Use Electricity Pricing

Katrina Jessoe, UC Davis

Designing Effective Plug-in Electric Vehicle RebatesTamara Sheldon, UC San Diego

Effortless Perfection: Do Chinese Cities Manipulate Air Pollution Data?

Junjie Zhang, UC San Diego

The Economics of Attribute-Based Regulation: Theory and Evidence from Fuel-Economy Standards

Koichiro Ito, Boston University

Vehicle Scrappage and Gasoline PolicyMark Jacobsen, UC San Diego

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ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY ECONOMICS SEMINAR SERIES


Advancing technological, economic and policy solutions to develop underutilized local water systems.

WATER SYSTEMS


Multifamily

Potable water demand

Graywater augmented water use

Graywater augmented water use

Potable water use

Single family

1,200

1,000

800

600

400

200

0

Avg

. dai

ly w

ater

co

nsum

pti

on

per

ho

useh

old

, L/

day

- ho

useh

old

SurplusOther water use

KitchenToilet flushingSinks, shower and laundryIrrigation

WATER ATLAS ADDRESSES CLIMATE RESILIENCE FOR VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES

TURNING A HOME’S GRAYWATER INTO A RESOURCE

Luskin Center researchers have used spatial analysis to map water vulnerable communities across Community Water Systems (CWS’s) serving Los Angeles County. Water vulnerable communities face severe challenges adapting to rising water costs, compromised water quality and drought scenarios. Water service boundaries were overlain on environmental health risk, mid-century temperature rise and community characteristic datasets, enabling researchers to characterize wa-ter vulnerability at the CWS level. This research project will be published as the “Southern Cali-fornia Water Atlas” along with a publicly accessible web-based mapping application. Henry McCann, project

manager, Luskin Center

The Luskin Center is developing a tool to evaluate the economic value of increasing water supply reliability from investment in local water supply projects, an often overlooked component of project evaluation. Using an avoided cost approach, researchers will estimate the cost of drought response at the utility and household scale. These metrics, along with the rising costs of imported water, will assist forward looking utilities in developing underutilized local water sources like recycled water.

VALUING THE BENEFITS OF IMPROVED RELIABILITY FROM LOCALLY DEVELOPED SOURCES OF WATER

Jeff Mosher, executive director, National Water Research Institute

Allison Faris, research analyst, Luskin Center

The severe drought in California underscores the need for water reuse strategies. UCLA researchers Zita L.T. Yu, J.R. DeShazo, Michael K. Stenstrom and Yoram Co-hen conducted a cost-benefit analysis of onsite graywa-ter recycling. Graywater—wastewater from handwash-ing, bathing and laundry—could be used after treatment for irrigation and toilet flushing. The researchers found that onsite graywater recycling could reduce potable water demand by 27% and 38% in single-family and multi-family homes, respectively. They also showed that low-cost treatment approaches for graywater recycling could provide many benefits to the City of Los Angeles.

This was underscored by a proof-of-concept study in West Los Angeles—led by the UCLA WaTeR Center with support from the Luskin Center—demonstrating the technical feasibility of using low-cost, onsite graywa-ter treatment systems in a residential home. Other wa-ter treatment technology developed by Professor Cohen and his colleagues is being piloted in California.

Left to Right: Yoram Cohen and Zita L.T. Yu in a backyard irrigated with treated graywater at the West L.A. study site.

POTENTIAL REDUCTION IN POTABLE WATER DEMAND ACHIEVABLE WITH ONSITE GRAYWATER RECYCLING IN L.A.


The Luskin Center has accepted membership in a coun-cil of over 400 urban water suppliers, environmental organizations and water policy researchers. This collab-orative advances water conservation practices at the util-ity-scale throughout California. Urban water suppliers provide annual data about their water sources, water de-

liveries, distribution and billing systems and implemen-tation of water conservation programs. As a member, the Luskin Center now has full access to these datasets and will facilitate queries to support the UCLA research community.

LUSKIN CENTER JOINS CALIFORNIA URBAN WATER CONSERVATION COUNCIL TO ADVANCE SO CAL WATER SUPPLY RESILIENCY RESEARCH

Building upon efforts to support the effective design and implementation of environmental justice programs, the Luskin Center provided a grant to Miriam Torres for the study “Engaging Disad-vantaged Communities in Resource Management: a Case Study Evaluation of a Planning Process in the Cities of Compton and Lynwood.” The study evaluated the planning process implemented with residents from disadvantaged communities to develop projects that meet Integrated Regional Water Management guidelines, creating lessons learned for future efforts.

ENGAGING DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES IN WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Miriam Torres, former student researcher, Luskin Center

McMahon: IMFs

ENSO IMFs

IPO IMFs

Intradecadal

Interdecadal

80% of variance

~ 20% of variance

(McMahon et al., 2008)

INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO MEASURING THE PERSISTENCE OF DROUGHT IN CALIFORNIA WATERSHEDS

Amber Kuss, Ph.D. candidate, is joining the Luskin Center to develop the Empirical Mode Decomposition technique for extracting complex signals, called intrinsic mode functions, from streamflow records in a California watershed.

THE COMING WATER CRISIS: SOLUTIONS AND STRATEGIES

Madelyn Glickfeld, director of the UCLA

Water Resources Group, IoES

Australia and the western U.S. share concerns over drought, making them ideal partners on water resource planning. UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability (IoES), International Insti-tute, Luskin Center and School of Law partnered with the Australian government to host a “U.S.-Aus-tralian Dialogue on Water—The Coming Water Crisis: Solutions and Strategies.” Conference segments considered coping techniques for arid environments, blueprints for better water management and new water sources for the future.

INTRINSIC MODE FUNCTIONS FOR NON-STATIONARY DATA



ETCETERA

CHARLES C. MANN ON THE FUTURE OF FOOD AND THE FUTURE OF FARMERS

J.R. DESHAZO PUBLICATION HONORS

The Association of the Environmental and Resource Economists recognized J.R. DeShazo and Trudy Ann Cameron for co-authoring “Demand for Health Risk Reductions,” awarded the best pa-per of 2013.

Dr. DeShazo and colleagues also pub-lished the study “Tropical Countries May be Willing to Pay More to Protect their Forests,” which identifies new strategies for tropical forest protection in the Proceedings of the National Acad-emy of Science.

SPECIAL JOURNAL ISSUE ON ASIAN AMERICAN & PACIFIC ISLANDER ENVIRONMENTALISM

The Luskin Center was a proud spon-sor of a special journal issue about en-vironmentalism in the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) commu-nities, published in the journal AAPI Nexus. Paul Ong, professor of Urban Planning, Social Welfare and Asian American Studies, is the journal’s se-nior editor.

By the time today’s UCLA undergradu-ates hit middle age, the world will hold almost 10 billion people. Dinner for the 10 billion, agronomists say, will be a huge challenge: we are running out of arable land, water supplies are stretched, and the advances of the “green revolu-tion” are fading. The Luskin Center was a sponsor of the UCLA Regents’ Lecture Charles C. Mann, who proposed a more sustainable future for food and farmers.

PAUL ONG RECEIVES DON T. NAKANISHI AWARD

Luskin Center Scholar Paul Ong is the 2013-14 recipient of the Don T. Na-kanishi Award for Outstanding En-gaged Scholarship in Asian American Studies at UCLA. Dr. Ong directs the Center for the Study of Inequality at the Luskin School.

J.R. DESHAZO APPOINTED TO EPA SCIENCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

U.S. EPA Administrator Gina McCa-rthy appointed Dr. DeShazo, director of the Luskin Center, to the EPA’s Environmental Economics Advisory Committee, through the Science Advi-sory Board.

The Robert and Patricia Switzer Foun-dation awarded a fellowship to Isella Ramirez MURP ‘14. This year Isella also contributed to the Luskin Cen-ter’s environmental justice work as a student researcher.

ISELLA RAMIREZ RECEIVES SWITZER FELLOWSHIP

The University of California Trans-portation Center and the Depart-ment of Urban Planning at the UCLA Luskin School gave Lisa Wu MURP ‘14 awards for best research design for her thesis. The thesis is part of a larger, ongoing project involving the Luskin Center to identify urban design and traffic management strategies that re-duce air pollution exposure.

LISA WU WINS AWARDS FOR BEST RESEARCH DESIGN

This year the Luskin Center employed 35 student researchers, provided re-search grants to another 15 graduate students and enhanced the education-al experience of many more through events that informed and connected students with public, private and civil society leaders. Examples of the grant recipients and their projects are high-lighted to the right.

Sean Kennedy Project: Eco-Certification of Natural Rubber

Loosine VartaniProject: Exploring Digital Communities in the Southern Caucasus

LUSKIN CENTER DIRECTLY SUPPORTED 50 UCLA STUDENTS IN THE 2013-14 ACADEMIC YEAR


RESEARCH SEMINAR SERIESSupported by the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and the Luskin Center

Why Should Environmental Scientists Talk to Economists?

Matthew Kahn

Addressing Climate Change: Regional Collaboratives

UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability

Stephanie Pincetl

Forest Recovery

UCLA Department of Urban Planning

Susanna Hecht

Climate Change, Public Health and Violence in Arctic Canada

UCLA Department of Political Science

Miriam Golden

Dare to be Trivial

Proteus Environmental Technologies

Anthony Michaels

Human Capital Strategy and Socially Responsible Business Practices

UCLA Anderson School of Management

Jason Snyder

The Who, the When and the How of Energy Conservation


Magali Delmas

Drought that has Altered Past Societies: What can they Tell Us About Today?

UCLA Department of Geography

Glen MacDonald

Environmental Protection Priorities and Challenges in South Asia


Xavier Swamikannu

Smart Connection of EV’s into the Electric Grid

UCLA Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Rajit Gadh

UCLA Department of Public Policy, UCLA Department of Economics

ADMINISTRATION

J.R. DeShazo, director

Colleen Callahan, deputy director

Susan Woodward, office manager

Elizabeth Beryt, nanotechnology policy fellow

Henry McCann, project manager

Benjamin Nguyen, student assistant

Michael Samulon, research analyst

Alex Turek, project manager

Brett Williams, program director, electric vehicles & alternative fuels

Christian Zarate, communications and events specialistProject Manager: Christian Zarate

Editors: Colleen CallahanSusan Woodward

Design: Chistian ZarateContributing Writers: Elizabeth Beryt

Elizabeth BieberColleen Callahan

Henry McCannBrett Williams

Lisa WuPhotography:

Mary Beth DeLucia PhotographyRich Schmitt Photography

Todd Cheney/ASUCLAReed Hutchinson Photography

Benjamin Nguyen


INNOVATION.LUSKIN.UCLA.EDU


INNOVATION.LUSKIN.UCLA.EDU3323 Luskin School of Public Affairs

Box 951656, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1656

1. Renee Luskin; Chairman Mary Nichols, California Air Resource Board; and Meyer Luskin

2. J.R. DeShazo, director, Luskin Center; and David Nahai, president, David Nahai Companies

3. California Senator Fran Pavley

4. Hasan Ikhrata, executive director, Southern California Association of Governments

5. Mary Leslie, president, Los Angeles Business Council

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LUSKIN CENTER ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS INCLUDE:

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Documents

Luskin center impact report 2014