Can a Public University Fix a City’s Achilles Heel?
UCLA Is Mobilizing Its Brains and Its Muscle to Make L.A. Energy and Water Independent
Can a university really help make its home city 100 percent independent on water and energy?
In Los Angeles, we’re going to find out. UCLA, where I’ve spent almost 50 years on the faculty of the business school, has issued a Grand Challenge: “achieving sustainability in energy and water while enhancing ecosystem health in Los Angeles County by 2050.” And more than 150 faculty members, researchers, and other scholars making up an entity called Sustainable LA Grand Challenge have committed to helping the university—and our city—succeed.
That is a huge …