Energy, Climate & Environment News

In a breakthrough that could lead to a new class of materials with functions found only in living systems, scientists have figured out a way to keep certain proteins active outside of the cell.

An oft-neglected layer of weathered rock underlying the soil on hillslopes could be a significant reservoir for water, providing critical moisture for trees during droughts, according to a new study.

Justin Brashares explores the social and cultural impacts of declining wildlife populations around the world, from fish to carnivores.

Call it “liquid sunlight.” With the right technology, the gas station of the future will make its own fuel directly from sunlight, in the process sucking up carbon and producing oxygen.

A new discovery by Berkeley researchers may soon bring us windows that automatically tint on a sunny day to block the heat while also generating electricity.

To drive through parts of the Sierra Nevada these days is to witness a morbid reminder of California’s extreme drought: Vast landscapes of standing dead trees, a brown tide sweeping across the green landscape.

Physicist Mary Ann Piette wants to address too much electricity from solar in the middle of the day and a sharp drop-off in the evenings and mornings by changing when Californians use energy.

Drones will play a key role in assessing the impact of highly variable water resources around the state thanks to a new $2.2 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

The proliferation of palm oil plantations throughout Southeast Asia has led not only to widespread deforestation but also to the proliferation of wildlife that destroy remaining forests, according to a new international study.

The planet is experiencing an unparalleled increase in greenhouse gas emissions accompanied by soaring population growth and resource extraction – almost all of it occurring within a single lifetime.

A research expedition tracked endangered tigers through the Sumatran jungles for a year and found tigers are clinging to survival in low density populations.

No place on the planet is truly isolated anymore, which means invasive species travel as easy as humans, hitchhiking on boats and planes with potentially devastating effects on the ecosystems they land in.

The first “big data” analysis of California’s native plants, using digitized information from more than 22 herbaria and botanical gardens around the state, provides some surprises about one of the most thoroughly studied and unique areas in the country.

Doctoral candidate Dan Hammer has been awarded the first-ever Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award for his work to make satellite imagery more accessible and understandable for journalists who are reporting on the environment. 

A new study suggests that many of the state’s birds are adapting to rising temperatures by breeding earlier than they did a century ago.