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California Institute of Environmental Design & Management (CIEDM), Arcadia, CA (2026)

10/18/2026

CIEDM Campaigns for Protection of Marine/Coastal Heritages @ Arcadia Ecohome --

On October 12, the California Fish and Game Commission (CFGC) took an action to approve two new California Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) on the Central Coast of the Golden State of California along the Pacific Ocean’s 1,100-mile coastline. These two new MPAs are tribally led prop, osals and both are critical ocean habitats for unique marine wildlife. The CFGC votes are timely as we coastal and marine conservation community in California is celebrating the 2026 Indigenous Peoples’ Day (IPD) on October 12, National Wildlife Refuge Week (NWRW) on October 11-18, and the first National Marine Sanctuary Day (NMSD) on October 23, during the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, 2021–2030.

As a UN Ocean Decade supporter, a member of UNESCO-IOC’s Ocean Literacy Community, Ocean Literacy Research Community, Blue Thread network and OceanExpert registry roster, and a participant in GenOcean Campaign, we conservation scientists at the California Institute of Environmental Design & Management (CIEDM) based in Southern California are thrilled to learn the CFGC’s approval and celebrating the good news with our 12-day action program for IPD, NWRW and NMSD 2026 spanning from October 12 to 23. In addition to cleanups of the Arcadia Ecohome’s Ocean Friendly Garden so as to reduce stormwater and plastic pollution in local waterways and the downstream Pacific Ocean and coasts, the CIEDM program is focused on campaigning activities to raise public awareness of the three national observances and the two California MPAs.

In the case of the two MPAs, IPD is very much relevant because both of them are proposed and co-sponsored by local tribes, sharing relevant information of the two MPAs, and NWRW and NMSD are relevant because they are also useful tools of forming protected and conserved districts, similar to the MPAs in California and elsewhere.

The two newly approved marine protected areas are the Mishopshno State Marine Conservation Area and the Point Sal State Marine Conservation Area off the Santa Barbara County coast. These mark the first successful MPA proposals put forward by California Native American tribes in the state's network of marine heritage conservation. For campaign engagement purposes, CIEDM initiated a capacity building action by a case study of the cultural significances of the two MPAs. The study reveals the following findings, and we are spreading them online to share the knowledge and raise awareness:

Mishopshno State Marine Conservation Area:
- Chumash Heritage Connection: The area is named after Mishopshno, a historic and thriving Chumash village renowned for building tomols (traditional plank canoes) that historically connected the mainland coast with the Channel Island communities.
- Cultural Stewardship: The designation honors generations of Chumash stewardship, marine management, and ancestral ties to the coastline.
- Ecological & Cultural Synergy: It protects vital kelp forests, a 1.6-mile-long rocky reef, fish populations, and nurseries that have sustained indigenous fishing practices and spiritual connections to the ocean for centuries.

Point Sal State Marine Conservation Area:
- Ancestral Waters: Situated off Point Sal in Guadalupe/Santa Barbara County, the site protects sensitive coastal and offshore waters historically utilized and managed by local tribes.
- Larval Protection & Resource Renewal: The headland and ocean currents within this zone protect fish larvae and marine life, helping restock the broader regional coast—supporting traditional ecological balance and resource persistence.
- Tribal-State Co-Management: The approval represents a major step forward in honoring tribal sovereignty and integrating indigenous ecological knowledge into California's marine protection network.

10/15/2026

CIEDM Grassroots Campaign for in – The Case of Polar Bears

The second full week of every October marks the annual National Wildlife Refuge Week in the US for celebrating America's National Wildlife Refuge System, a network of public lands, and for promoting wildlife conservation and outdoor recreation.
Speaking of wildlife conservation, climate change and the shrinking cryospheric frozen water and sea ice pose an existential threat to many wildlife calling cryosphere home. The threat takes place across the cryosphere at both the North and South Poles. For example, populations of emperor penguins in Antarctica at the South and polar bear in Arctic at the North are declining primarily because warming climate is shrinking both Antarctica and Arctic and thus habitats for the species.

In the case of polar bears’ shrinking population, the latest news about the climate threat appears on a Roar Wildlife News reported on 12 October 2026 and titled ”Polar Bears In Decline: The Latest Figures”. The news revealed that the latest available official estimate for Western Hudson Bay, Canada, is alarming -- 618 polar bears estimated in 2021, down from 842 in 2016, a 27% decline in five years; and the population is now estimated to be roughly half its size in the 1980s.

As a conservation scientist and educator at the California Institute of Environmental Design & Management (CIEDM) voluntarily serving as an Expert of the UNESCO CRYOSPHERE Decade (the UN Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences, 2025-2034) Working Group 5, Amplify the Impact of Cryospheric Science, a Partner of the UN International Year of Glaciers' Preservation,
and a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Climate Action Commission and Commission on Education and Communication, along CIEDM serving as a Partner of IUCN Nature For All Initiative, I’m compelled to spread the news and sharing my writeup for fulfill part of my community service roles at UNESCO and IUCN.

In fact, polar bears are protected species under international and the US status. Our study finds that on the IUCN Red List, the polar bear is classified as Vulnerable, meaning the species faces a high risk of extinction in the wild if threats like habitat loss continue. In the US, there are following two protection status for the species:
- Endangered Species Act (ESA): The US Fish and Wildlife Service listed the polar bear as a threatened species in May 2008 due to the ongoing loss of Arctic sea ice from climate change.
- Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA): Polar bears are protected as marine mammals, which bans the hunting, capture, killing, or harassment of the species, with an exception for traditional harvest by Alaska Native peoples.

While the protective status are useful for protecting species, they are not very helpful to stop the population decline. My google search about the issue of population decline shows that the key factors causing the decline are as follows:
1. Loss of Sea Ice Habitat: Satellite and scientific data published in The Cryosphere show that sea-ice-covered days have declined by 7 to 19 days per decade across 17 of the 19 Arctic subpopulations, with spring melt happening earlier and autumn freeze-up happening later.
2. Prolonged On-Land Fasting: Bears rely on sea ice as a platform to hunt seals. Shorter ice seasons mean extended weeks on land without adequate food, leading to a negative energy balance.
3. Reduced Body Condition and Mass: Bioenergetic models—such as research published in Science—show measurable physical declines, including lower adult body mass, shorter body lengths, and smaller 1-year-old cub weights.

This writeup presents CIEDM’s local supports and participations in the celebration of the relevant observance -- National Wildlife Refuge Week (NWRW) on October 10-17, and our campaign for raising awareness of National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) playing a critical role for habitat conservation in Cryosphere and elsewhere. The refuges are protected public lands and waters specifically set aside to conserve and restore fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats. Currently, there are 16 US NWRs located within the cryosphere and all 16 of these refuges are located in the State of Alaska, where ecosystems or cryospheric conditions—such as permafrost, glaciers, arctic tundra, and seasonal sea ice—dominate the landscape and are protected. Together, these 16 refuges span over 76 million acres, making up approximately 78% of all land within the entire US NWR System. In other words, the Refuges are an important domestic mechanism to for protecting cryospheric wildlife and their habitats.

10/14/2026

CIEDM Actions for E-Waste and Zero Waste Awareness Campaigns @ Arcadia Ecohome --

As in past years, CIEDM provides local supports and participation in the 2026 Zero Waste Month throughout October and International E-Waste Day on October 14. Being a Member of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Green Forum’s Chemicals and Waste Management Community of Practice and Zero Waste International Alliance's Zero Waste Google discussion group, on this E-Waste Day I'm taking on the CIEDM action program including a “Fast Tech” campaign for raising public awareness of need to proper process of the small electronics that are often overlooked as regular household waste.

The campaign is registered with WEEE Forum as CIEDM's activities in supporting the global observance, and for outreach and network building. Through social media and community outreach, we highlight items such as charging cables, headphones, adapters, small electronic accessories and other end-of-life electronics that can’t go in the regular trash and should be responsibly recycled rather than thrown away. Specifically, many fast-tech items contain hidden lithium-ion batteries and the responsible way for recycling is to remove the batteries from the items for separated disposal process items that can’t go in the regular trash.

On top of online campaign, we check the Los Angeles County Household Hazardous and Electronic Waste (HHW/E-Waste) Collection Program’s E-waste and batteries collection events, and physically inspect the E-waste items, used batteries and light bulbs temporarily stored in the Arcadia Ecohome's Recycling Collection Center for environmental and fire safety considerations and pack them ready for disposal in a nearby convenient location.

10/12/2026

Campaigns for Awareness of Low Water Level Impacts on Clean Power Generation: The Case of Colorado River Dames ---

Introduction to the CIEDM Campaigns -
As a member of ’Community of Learning and Water Action Network of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), I’ve published an article on the subject in August 2026 on UNCCD Water Knowledge Hub’s Communities, as part of the California Institute of Environmental Design & Management (CIEDM) participation in the 2026 global and national celebrations of World Water Week (WWWeek) and National Hydropower Day (NHD) 2026 observed in August, to campaign for raising public awareness and actions in water conservation. This writeup is extending and continuing the CIEDM campaign as we celebrate the 2026 Global Hydropower Day (GHD) observed on October 11 and National Clean Energy Action Month through October.
It aims to raise public awareness of these two observances at a critical time of low water level crisis currently taken places in many waterways and water bodies around the globe, especially those play the role of clean energy generation via hydropower infrastructure. The campaign maintains its focus with the case study of two largest reservoirs in the US along the Colorado River, the most significant river in the arid region of American Southwest.

The Story of Colorado River and Its Key Reservoirs -
The Colorado River is a vital 1,450-mile waterway in the United States West starting in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and flowing to the Gulf of California in Mexico. The main water source for the River is winter snowpack in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, where the river originates in Rocky Mountain National Park. Ranked as the 5th-longest river in the US, the transboundary river crosses five states: Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California, plus Wyoming and New Mexico in its wider basin. It supplies water and power to 40 million people and millions of acres of farmland across the seven states and Mexico.
However, in recent years, the River system has been experiencing a severe water shortage. Major reservoirs like Lake Mead and Lake Powell are at critically low levels -- hovering around 27% capacity, as of August 2026, and 26% at Lake Mead and 21% at Lake Powell as of early October. The main causes of the shortage are:
• Historic Drought: A multi-decade mega-drought in the American West has drastically reduced natural water flows.
• Shrinking Snowpack: Less winter snow in the Rocky Mountains means less spring runoff feeding the river.
• High Evaporation: Hotter weather causes more water to evaporate from the system's major reservoirs.
• Over-Allocation: The 1922 compact for river water allocation to the stakeholders for 40 million people has divided more water than the river actually produces.

Anchor Stem Dams for Hydropower Generation -
Regulated by 15 main-stem dams and hundreds on tributaries the River system’s two largest structural and economic anchors are the Hoover Dam and the Glen Canyon Dam
• Hoover Dam - Located on the Nevada-Arizona border, it stands 726 feet tall, creates Lake Mead, and provides vital flood control, municipal water, and hydroelectric power for the Lower Basin states.
• Glen Canyon Dam.- Located in Page, Arizona, this 710-foot-tall concrete arch-gravity dam forms Lake Powell and regulates Upper Basin water deliveries.
The Colorado River generates hydroelectric power through these two main-stem dams, producing thousands of gigawatt-hours of clean energy annually. This electricity is distributed via regional power grids to millions of residents, rural communities, tribal lands, and municipal areas across the American Southwest.

Impacts of Low Water Levels on Power Generation -
Low water levels generally threaten electricity generation at dams along the river. The current lowest water level at Lake mead & Lake Powell along the Colorado River significantly affects power generation. The low water levels in Lake Powell and Lake Mead reduce the head pressure needed to spin hydroelectric turbines. This cuts total electricity output from major facilities like Glen Canyon Dam and Hoover Dam, threatening cheap peak energy for the western grid and forcing utilities to source costly replacement power.
• Lower Output Capacity: Reduced water volume and lower surface elevations decrease the force and flow through the dam turbines.
• Approaching Minimum Power Pools: Lake Powell is nearing the critical elevation threshold where water drops too low for turbines to function, threatening a complete halt to its hydropower generation.
• Reduced Flexibility: Hydropower plants act as fast-responding resources to balance unexpected spikes in grid demand; diminished water levels restrict this crucial grid-regulation capability.

Super El Nino Could be the Solution to Hydropower Generation -
With the current climate conditions of continuous drought and extreme heat in the US Southwest and the Super El Niño, an intense warming and wet phases of the equatorial Pacific Ocean, have been forming up, the current threats to Colorado River’s capacity in hydropower generation, in our opinion, would be released at least temporarily, after this coming winter with projected wet weather patterns.

10/10/2026

Happy World Migratory Bird Day, October Big Day / Global Bird Weekend, and Urban Wildlife Conservation Day 2026!
As nature lovers and birders at CIEDM participating in the celebrations of these timely coinciding and goal-sharing campaigns through this weekend for protecting wild birds & other species and their habitats, as registered to have a World Migratory Bird Day 2026 event, we are taking a bird walk at and around the Arcadia Ecohome Microforest, a Certified Wildlife Habitat. The walk also serve as a BioBlitz for carrying out our participation in citizen/community science projects such as e-Birds and Project Phoenix, hosted by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County where the Ecohome Microforest is located in. In addition, I standup and signup with BirdLife International’s petition calling to “keep your ”. I’m spreading this posting and my actions today as part of our local grassroots’ support to the global and national observances for raising public awareness of and take actions for the campaign messages.

10/10/2026

CIEDM Actions for NatureHood & NeighborWoods at and around Arcadia Ecohome Microforest --

Happy Thrive Outside Day and National Walk to a Park Day 2026 on this coming Saturday, October 10!

The health benefits of NatureHood are well presented by a Forbes article titled “Why Spending Time Outdoors Is Good For Your Physical And Mental Health” published on 22 September 2026. Written by Jamie Hailstone, it reveals that scientifically investigated nature's health benefits reveals that exposures to green spaces, like a park or tree-lined street, significantly improve mental and physical well-being, supporting immune function and resetting circadian rhythms. It confirms the National Arbor Foundation’s findings from its NeighborWoods® Month Survey in October 2017 that trees grow happier and healthier communities.
Because of those scientific findings, we tree planters and community foresters at the California Institute of Environmental Design & Management (CIEDM) has voluntary served as an advocate for the following interrelated concepts for healthy communities:
1. NatureHood, a community and environmental concept focused on connecting people with the natural spaces, parks, backyards, and urban green areas right where they live, and
2. NeighborWoods, a collaborative urban forestry and tree-planting program run by various cities and non-profit organizations across the US to expand local tree canopies, provide free trees to residents, and build community green spaces.
We are supporting and participating in these two national observances of and that take place on the same day and share the goals of encouraging people going outside, walk in green spaces, and contact nature. Specifically, being a member of the UNDP Nature for Life Hub’s Learning For Nature CoP, I'm taking on following actions:
1. In-person actions as the site steward of the Arcadia Ecohome Microforest, a Certified Wildlife Habitat made of 500+ trees, to rewild and naturalized its landscapes and ecosystems, and
2. Online actions to raise public awareness of the two national campaigns for contacting and embracing nature at our doorsteps by planting trees and building green communities around our homes, as part of our grassroots' supports and participation in the two campaigns.

10/08/2026

CIEDM Actions for Clean Air and Energy Efficiency @ Arcadia Ecohome --

Happy California Clean Air Day (CCAD) and National Energy Efficiency Day (NEFD) 2026!

October 7 marks both CCAD and NEFD. For several years, CIEDM has been a proud participant/partner of both observances that timely fall on the same day of a year and connected in contents. For example, both clean air and energy efficient affect public health. We all know that air pollution is harmful and its impacts on human health include cardiovascular damage, respiratory disease, and neurological risks, and burning fossil fuels to generate energy contributes to an array of such health problems. Energy efficiency directly cleans both outdoor and indoor air by cutting down on fossil fuel combustion and emissions. By that, reducing energy demand through efficiency measures cuts demand for polluting fossil fuels. By using less fossil fuels, we’re also cutting down on harmful air pollution.

As in past years, for 2026, we clean air and energy efficiency advocates at California Institute of Environmental Design & Management (CIEDM) are taking local grassroots actions to support and take part in both health related observances on October 7. We’ve engaged the following grassroots actions:

1. Take Pledge with the Coalition for Clean Air, and registered an event for ;
2. Kickoff a CIEDM month-long program in clean air, clean energy and energy efficient activities as part of our participations in Project Green Challenge (PGC), National Energy Awareness/Efficiency Month and National Clean Energy Action Month throughout October;
3. Hold a cleanup and maintenance of the Arcadia Ecohome Microforest, made of 500+ trees, so as to enhance its capacity of filtering and cleaning air, and sinking carbon and heat, to improve air quality and cool the air for the neighborhood and for ourselves living in the Ecohome;
4. Engage an online campaign to raise public awareness of the special days and their significance, and also to share what we do as grassroots in the community; and
5. As part of the online campaign, post this write-up in form of a blog, event or other terms to share our story via my dashboards/hubs on websites of the UN World Health Organization, American Lung Association and Environment America.

10/06/2026

CIEDM Actions for Art & Architecture @ Arcadia Ecohome --

We grassroots at the California Institute of Environmental Design & Management (CIEDM) are kicking off our local supports and participation in National Arts and Humanities Month and Los Angeles' Architecure Month 2026 today, World Architecture Day observed on October 5.

Through the month we are taking (1) in-person actions to check, clean, and fix if needed, all environmental art installations we have created and displayed in the Arcadia Ecohome and its Microforest, an award wining building and landscapes, and (2) online actions to share our environmental art works and to raise awareness of , , and , on social media such as the FB group of Art, Architecture, Place & Cultural Heritage Around the World.

Photo caption: A functional landscape art in the Ecohome Microforest' Desert Oasis, titled "The Great Southwest" to reflect a vast, culturally rich region defined by its deserts, plateaus, red rocks and the Colorado River.

10/05/2026

Today, October 4, 2026, marks No Disposable Cup Day. We recyclers at the California Institute of Environmental Design & Management (CIEDM) are taking (1) online actions to spread relevant news for raising public awareness of No Disposable Cup Day which kicks off our grassroots supports and participation in Zero Waste Month 2026 throughout October at the Arcadia Ecohome, and (2) in-person actions of repurposing used paper and plastic cups & containers that we collected as shielding covers over growing fruits in the Ecohome's backyard food forest, as shown below, in order to protect the fruits from damages by criters such as squirrels.

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