Climate change news is often quite depressing, with frequent stories on the science and ever-worsening impacts. What gets lost in this otherwise important coverage is the amazing and inspiring tales of innovation and solutions happening all around us, in every sector and walk of life. That’s why Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the … Continue reading »
Can We Take Steps Towards Sharing Water Better in California?
We just returned from a drive up and down the San Joaquin Valley. Being reared on a California almond and water ranch, I have a long-standing interest in water and California agriculture. Consequently, I always view our trip as an opportunity to read the pulse of California’s water situation. This year the landscape was fresh … Continue reading »
Learning about Sustainability, Bioeconomy, and Circularity while Enjoying Argentina
I have been fascinated by Argentina since I was young. I learned that it was one of the most advanced countries in the world at the beginning of the 20th century; Buenos Aires is beautiful and has a large boulevard like Paris; they dance the tango; are crazy about soccer (what they call football). So, … Continue reading »
Want to address climate change? Start with your sandwich
As COP27 met this month, the looming effects of climate change are again in the headlines. Devastating wildfires, hurricanes, droughts and sea level rise now affect more than 6 in 10 Americans within their local communities. Billions of dollars have been committed through the Inflation Reduction Act and various state measures, including California’s most recent … Continue reading »
Urgent need for moratorium on deep-sea mining
The mining companies’ justification for deep-sea mining is based on a big lie
Rediscovering our Roots as a Land-Grant, Agricultural Experiment Station University and Fostering its Potential
In 1862, during the midst of the Civil War, Congress had a bold vision. They passed the Morrill Act which provided land grants to states to establish colleges of agriculture and mechanical arts to teach practical agriculture, science, military science and engineering. It was on this foundation that the University of California was launched. And, … Continue reading »
The Inflation Reduction Act charts a pro-climate, pro-worker path
The IRA will help build a high-road green economy, creating good jobs and clear pathways into them
California can do better than carbon neutrality by 2045
The California Air Resources Board has released a draft of the state’s blueprint for combating climate change that will guide California’s policy for years. Despite the stakes for Californians, and although my research indicates the state could actually become carbon negative by 2030, the draft proposal would delay reaching carbon neutral until 2045. The barriers to a target of 2030 are political, not technical.
Striking a balance between climate despair and magical solutions
The path to contending with our environmental challenges lies between paralysis and hopeful bliss
The Solace and Inspiration of Berkeley’s Nature
Growing up in New England, I distinctly remember as a child my kind neighbor showing me her yellow marigolds and teaching me about flowers. When it comes to flowers, marigolds are – in retrospect rather fittingly – a humble flower. They are fairly subdued in their beauty and not particularly extravagant or unusual. They don’t … Continue reading »
What Putin’s war in Ukraine means for our global climate crisis
This could be the time when fighting climate change and national security are on the same page. De-fossilization helps the climate and denies Putin’s Russia the ability to pay for the war.
Women in Energy: A Powerful Case for Inclusion
March brings the annual celebration of Women’s History Month. What started as a week of activities sponsored by the Sonoma school district in 1978 expanded to a national commemorative month by order of Congress in 1986. That same year saw a remarkable two-day Congressional hearing on “Ozone depletion, the greenhouse effect and climate change.” As … Continue reading »
Overcooling of offices reveals gender inequity in thermal comfort
Our appetite for cooling is growing — air conditioning represents the fastest-growing source of energy use in buildings, with cooling energy tripling between 1990 and 2016. In our latest study, we found that part of this energy demand is wasted on excessive cooling of offices.
On Natural Climate Solutions: The Multi-Faceted Role of Restored Wetlands in the Bay Area
Ecosystems have the potential to act as Natural Climate Solutions by taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and storing it in the form of plant stems, roots, and soil organic matter. The more popular forms of Natural Climate Solutions include planting trees and restoring endemic, deep-rooted, perennial grasslands. To be effective, these Natural Climate … Continue reading »
Here’s how Biden can help conserve 30% of U.S. land by 2030
The ambitious goal to save land area equaling more than twice the size of Texas could help slow climate change and save valuable biodiversity
Biden’s priority should be to work with China on climate change
China and America share will suffer the same devastations from a warming planet, and share a common responsibility as the two largest producers of global greenhouse gases.
Towards an equitable microgrid policy
The 2020 fire season has already started, and we cannot repeat the mistakes of past fire seasons. PG&E recently pled guilty to 84 counts of manslaughter after 84 people were killed when a derelict PG&E transmission line sparked the 2018 Camp Fire. The 2019 fire seasons saw widespread public safety power shutoffs (PSPS events), most … Continue reading »
Green in black and white: It’s time to show up
My favorite opening line from any Earth Day speech ever was this: “Today, black and white, yellow and brown, we are all green.” The speech was delivered three decades ago; the place was Times Square; and the speaker was David Dinkins, New York City’s first (and to date, only) African-American mayor. How I wish his … Continue reading »
A Green Stimulus to recover from the COVID Recession
A Green Stimulus to recover from the COVID Recession Daniel Aldana Cohen and Daniel M Kammen The COVID-19 epidemic is ravaging our tattered health care system and shredding our economy. In the past month, over 20 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits, compounding the fear that unemployment could breach 32% absent massive public action. This … Continue reading »
What Are The Benefits Of Phasing Out California’s Oil & Gas Production?
It might seem obvious that phasing out oil and gas production in California would benefit the climate. But the reality is much more complicated, in terms of emissions, economics and even geopolitics. CLEE just released the report Legal Grounds with policy options to reduce in-state production, but the question of how much a phase out … Continue reading »