Cyborg bacteria turn sunlight into useful chemicals
Chemists Peidong Yang and Kelsey Sakimoto have turned bacteria into efficient solar collectors to convert carbon dioxide into food for other bacteria producing fuels and chemicals
Climate policies study shows Inland Empire economic boon
According to the first comprehensive study of the economic effects of climate programs in California’s Inland Empire, Riverside and San Bernardino counties experienced a net benefit of $9.1 billion in direct economic activity and 41,000 jobs from 2010 through 2016.
Climate change causing suicides in India as crops fail
Climate change has already caused more than 59,000 suicides in India over the last 30 years, according to estimates in a study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) that suggests failing harvests that push farmers into poverty are likely the key culprits.
Study Maps Out Dramatic Costs of Unmitigated Climate Change in the U.S.
The poorest third of U.S. counties will likely lose up to 20 percent of their incomes, and regions such as the Pacific Northwest and New England will gain economically over the Gulf and Southern states, if climate change continues unmitigated through the end of the century.
On California, the drought and the ‘yuck factor’
Although hydrologists say California has emerged from its most recent drought, how cities get their water is weighing on the state’s experts — now more than ever.
New UC/Vox video series takes on climate change
The six-episode series Climate Lab explores global climate change and UC’s groundbreaking work to mitigate its effects.
Device pulls water from dry air, powered only by the sun
Imagine a future in which every home has an appliance that pulls all the water the household needs out of the air, even in dry or desert climates, using only the power of the sun.
Renewable energy has robust future in much of Africa
As Africa gears up for a tripling of electricity demand by 2030, a new Berkeley study maps out a viable strategy for developing wind and solar power while simultaneously reducing the continent’s reliance on fossil fuels and lowering power plant construction costs.
Climate change has the potential to alter natural selection, study finds
Changing rainfall and drought patterns likely play a key role in shaping natural selection among plants and animals in the wild, according to a study published today involving UC Berkeley scientists.
Woolly mammoths experienced a genomic meltdown just before extinction
As the population of woolly mammoths dwindled, the massive animals’ genomes experienced a mutational meltdown, pushing them closer to extinction, according to a study published today by researchers at UC Berkeley.
Fossil record should help guide conservation in a changing world
Scientists are joining lawyers, policymakers and writers to urge conservationists not only to save species, but also to preserve a diverse array of ecosystem structures and functions in the face of rising populations and changing climate.
Climate change could kill off parasites, destabilizing ecosystems
Photogenic animals, from polar bears to people, aren’t the only creatures under threat from global climate change. A new review led by UC Berkeley suggests the phenomenon threatens parasites with extinction, which could have big consequences for ecosystems.
Noise pollution from fracking may harm human health
Fracking creates noise at levels high enough to harm the health of people living nearby, according to the first peer-reviewed study to analyze the potential public health impacts of ambient noise related to fracking.
A Chain Reaction to Spare the Air
Jeffrey Long reported devising a new material that can capture and release CO2 at a lower temperature and in a much greater volume than present-day technologies.
Green light for Berkeley: Feds move on $11 million for S.F. transit innovation
The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the City of San Francisco and its partner UC Berkeley $11 million to fund six innovative projects aimed at reducing traffic congestion and creating a safer and more efficient transportation system.
Global warming hiatus disproved — again
A controversial paper published two years ago that concluded there was no detectable slowdown in ocean warming over the previous 15 years — widely known as t
Olga Kavvada, lead-author of ES&T article
The ES&T article is "Assessing Location and Scale of Urban Nonpotable Water Reuse Systems for Life-Cycle Energy Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emission"
Drones help monitor health of giant sequoias
Todd Dawson’s field equipment always includes ropes and ascenders, which he and his team use to climb hundreds of feet into the canopies of the world’s largest trees, California’s redwoods.
During last period of global warming, Antarctica warmed 2 to 3 times more than planet average
Following Earth’s last ice age, which peaked 20,000 years ago, the Antarctic warmed between two and three times the average temperature increase worldwide, according to a new study by a team of American geophysicists.
Institutional collapse, not guns and bombs, is most-cited cause of wildlife declines from war
In conflict zones, the most common killers of wildlife are not guns and bombs, but breakdowns in institutions, societies and economies, according to a study by researchers at UC Berkeley.
Clean vehicle rebates benefit wealthy, white Californians, study finds
Have you applied for and received a rebate from California’s clean vehicle incentive program? If so, odds are you live in a high-income neighborhood and not one with a majority Hispanic or African American population.
New Bacteria Groups, and Stunning Diversity, Discovered Underground
One of the most detailed genomic studies of any ecosystem to date has revealed an underground world of stunning microbial diversity, and added dozens of new branches to the tree of life.
Wildfire management vs. fire suppression benefits forest and watershed
An unprecedented 40-year experiment at Yosemite supports the idea that managing fire, rather than suppressing it, makes wilderness areas more resilient to fire, with the added benefit of resistance to drought.
Development Engineering awarded $3 million from National Science Foundation
NSF has awarded $3 million to UC Berkeley’s Development Engineering program to create new models for training graduate students to find innovative solutions to food, energy and water challenges in developing countries.
Climate refuges identified for endangered snow leopards
A new study of snow leopards’ habitat has found that just one-third of their current range will be a refuge from climate change by 2070.
Climate change could be a greater threat to tropical frogs than deforestation
Changes in climate and land use are expected to reduce the livable area for tropical frogs because these species will increasingly encounter temperatures hot enough to harm their behavior, reproduction and physiology.
Report outlines how to make equity part of California’s low-carbon economy
A new report presents a climate policy equity framework to help California decision-makers reduce greenhouse gas emissions while promoting economic, social and environmental equity.
How robotic floats coaxed secrets of climate change from the ocean
After 10 days at sea, the research vessel Oceanus is back in port and the team of Berkeley Lab and Berkeley scientists is back on dry land assessing the results of their mission.
City of San Francisco and UC Berkeley to continue collaborating on ‘smart cities’
This is year’s bid by San Francisco and UC Berkeley to win the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Smart City Challenge failed, but the momentum continues.
Researchers find climate change already playing major roles
A new study demonstrates that while the effects of future climate change will be significant, the social and economic impacts of our current climate today are often just as severe.
Follow ocean-going robots, and their scientists, for 10 days at sea
What’s life like aboard a scientific research vessel plying the California coast deploying robots to unlock important data about climate change?
Warming world may put most cities off-limits for summer Olympics
Climate change could constrain the Olympics going forward and not just because of rising sea levels.
To improve Beijing’s air quality, cut household fuel use too
China’s plans to curb Beijing’s health-damaging air pollution by focusing on restricting emissions from power plants and vehicles may have limited impact if household use of coal and other dirty fuels is not also curtailed, according to a new study.
California is new headquarters for smart manufacturing institute
On June 20, at a conference of global business leaders in Washington, D.C., President Obama announced the creation of a new $140 million Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CESMII), to be headquartered at UCLA, with a Berkeley-based regional center.
Climate change could trigger tropical evacuations, researchers advise
Global warming by just 2 degrees Celsius is likely to force some tropical plant, animal and human populations to relocate hundreds of miles from their current homes this century.
Cities can be building blocks of sustainability, says UC Berkeley study
While cities currently are the major contributor to global climate change, they could become the building blocks of sustainability, according to UC Berkeley researchers.
An Energy Strategy that Can Take the Heat
Water and energy are tightly linked in the 21st century. Per Peterson’s research seeks to develop water-saving ways of cooling energy plants, both nuclear and solar.
Hazards and opportunities in the pipeline
Environmental engineer David Sedlak explores the serious water treatment, supply and security challenges we face, and proposes how to meet them.
Rising seas: A new look at resilient infrastructure
We know that our changing climate will bring rising sea levels to the Bay Area. But do we know how to handle it?
The search for smarter energy and water strategies
Ashok Gadgil is refining an affordable water treatment technology to produce fresh drinking water from brackish water, one of many projects supported by CERC-WET.
How a network of sensors can help California's water system
Berkeley engineering grad student Ziran Zhang and engineering professor Steven Glaser put on their snowshoes and headed into the hills recently to take a close look at the snowpack high in the Sierra.
Climate Change is Here. Now What?
On March 24, Berkeley Lab’s Bill Collins, an internationally recognized expert in climate modeling and climate change science, updated the Science in the Theater audience on what we know about climate change.
Making waves: Turning ocean power into electricity
Ocean waves have vast energy potential. The Electric Power Research Institute estimates the total wave energy resource along the United States coastline at 2,640 terawatts per year. One terawatt can supply more than 93,000 typical U.S. homes with power annually.
The critical zone: Studying where all of life happens
Science isn’t generally considered an extreme sport, but you wouldn’t know that by watching researchers in the Eel River Critical Zone Observatory scale hundred-foot-tall trees and wade through rushing rivers.
‘Lasers Rewired’: Scientists Find a New Way to Make Nanowire Lasers
Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley scientists adapt next-gen solar cell materials for a different purpose.
Arpad Horvath co-authors report on graywater
Arpad Horvath was part of a committee of knowledge experts convened by the Water Research Foundation to conduct a study of alternative water sources.
The state, the drought and El Niño: It’s complicated
Just last year, researchers were saying there was no end in sight for California’s recent drought. But things are looking up. El Niño has swept into the Golden State and is breathing life back into the area.
El Niño has effects all the way to the edge of the atmosphere
The warm El Niño conditions affecting weather around the Pacific Ocean are also affecting conditions in space, according to UC Berkeley scientists.
Study finds climate change will reshape global economy
The average person will suffer economic harm, often dramatic harm, by 2100 if climate change continues on its current course, new research shows.
DOE selects UC Berkeley to lead U.S.-China energy and water consortium
UC Berkeley, in partnership with UC Irvine and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, was awarded a five-year, multi-million dollar international research consortium that tackles water-related aspects of energy production and use.