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The Blum Center’s Rebecca Peters, whose classroom work and field research focus on issues of water security, management and equity, is one of 62 “exceptional college juniors” nationwide selected as 2013 Harry S. Truman scholars.
Environment archive
Racial minorities live on the front lines of heat risk, study finds
May 14, 2013: Some racial groups are more likely to bear the brunt of extreme heat waves because of where they live, finds a new UC Berkeley study. The study highlight racial disparities at a time when the frequency and intensity of extreme heat waves is expected to increase with climate change.
Meet future veterinarian (or zookeeper) Amanda Wong
April 29, 2013: Aspiring veterinarian (or zookeeper) Amanda Wong is VP of the Cal Pre-Vet Club. In an interview with DugDug, “a blog for pets,” the Berkeley junior talks about her stint as a zoo volunteer, teaching visitors about horned frogs and golden eagles — and other experiences with animals so far.
Berkeley named one of America’s ‘Bicycle Friendly Universities’
April 25, 2013: The Bicycle Friendly University program recognizes institutions of higher education for promoting and providing a more bicycle-friendly campus for students, staff and visitors.
10 years’ progress in getting to green 
April 19, 2013: Over the past decade, environmentally minded students have championed an ambitious effort to green UC Berkeley. From aggressive climate action to organic dining options and a zero-waste goal, campus sustainability today has an army of participants and deep institutional support.
Haas faculty turn to crowdfunding for solar light research in Uganda
April 19, 2013: Three Haas professors are bypassing traditional grants and going straight to crowdfunding to raise money for a study on how to get people in rural Uganda to replace dangerous kerosene lanterns with life-changing solar lamps.
Scientists discover new materials to capture key greenhouse gas
April 17, 2013: Scientists at UC Berkeley and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have discovered new materials that can soak up methane, a substantial and growing driver of global climate change.
New report: California lags in fracking regs
April 12, 2013: A new report on fracking in California warns of potentially irreversible contamination of surface and groundwater near oil drilling sites, unless the technique is carefully monitored and controlled. “Regulation of Hydraulic Fracturing in California: A Wastewater and Water Quality Perspective” is an independent analysis produced by Berkeley Law scholars.
Experts sound alarm over “perfect storm” in African Sahel
April 9, 2013: The African Sahel, beset with impacts from climate change and the most rapidly growing population in the world, could descend into large-scale drought, famine, war and terrorist control if immediate steps are not taken, according to a new report by experts from UC Berkeley and the African Institute for Development Policy.
Rising temperature difference between hemispheres could dramatically shift rainfall patterns in tropics
April 2, 2013: UC Berkeley climatologist John Chiang, geography graduate student Andrew Friedman and colleagues from the University of Washington found that changes in the temperature difference between the Northern and Southern hemispheres during the 20th century were linked to catastrophic changes in tropical rainfall. As the difference rises, the tropics could see future rainfall disruptions.
Berkeley alum, Class of ’50, still ‘Running Wild’
April 2, 2013: Dayton Hyde, 88, has been a cowboy, a rodeo clown, a rancher, a photographer, a non-fiction author, a novelist, a poet and a conservationist. And now he’s the star of a new documentary.
Making living matter programmable
March 26, 2013: A dozen of the pioneers of synthetic biology gathered on campus March 25 to discuss the revolutionary potential of “programming life,” which some compared to the digital revolution. The event was co-hosted by SynBERC and Discover magazine.
Building a better trash can
March 19, 2013: A spate of workplace injuries, along with too much landfill, prompted Berkeley staff and students to go back to the drawing board. Their unique trash and recycling receptacles are now making their debut on campus, along with a one-of-a-kind electric trash-collection vehicle.
Connected Corridors aims to up efficiency of existing roadways
March 18, 2013: Connected Corridors, a project led by engineering profs Alex Bayen and Roberto Horowitz, is developing technologies to help Caltrans gather and analyze traffic data. A goal of the research: to make existing roadways more efficient, rather than launching new highway-construction projects.
In Richmond, a hands-on approach to energy tech
March 13, 2013: Just three miles from the site of the future Richmond Bay Campus, the Northern California Workshop for Energy Technologies underscored the need for partnerships, and featured a keynote address from former Michigan governor (and current Berkeley faculty member) Jennifer Granholm.
Research News Brief
March 12, 2013: A new study published in Ecology Letters analyzing 23 crops from 14 countries shows that diversified, organic farming boosts the abundance and diversity of pollinators. Animal-pollinated food products account for about one-third of the calories in the human diet, and upwards of 90 percent of some critical micronutrients, like vitamins A, C and E.
Berkeley-led consortium gets $3.4 million for transit research
March 5, 2013: The University of California Transportation Center, a consortium led by UC Berkeley, has received a $3.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for research into new multidisciplinary research in three key areas of interest surrounding transit development: environmental sustainability, economic competitiveness and livability.
Committed to cutting kilowatts, and heck on wheels
February 26, 2013: After staffing the campus’s myPower program by day, Erin Fenley dons quad speed skates, protective gear and the signature tie-dye T of Berkeley Resistance, a roller-derby team in a highly ranked all-female league. “You can’t do it timidly,” she says of the intense sport of choice for a “strange sorority of women from all over the world.”
Newts, up close and (very) personal 
February 11, 2013: For a front-row view of a biological spectacle, newt love, there’s no better spectator stand than the banks of the UC Botanical Garden’s Japanese Pool, and no better time than now. Docents are on hand at specified times to explain the life-cycle and mating rituals of these lively and fascinating amphibians.
New evidence comet or asteroid impact was last straw for dinosaurs
February 7, 2013: A team of scientists from the Berkeley Geochronology Center and UC Berkeley have determined the most precise dates yet for the dinosaur extinction 66 million years ago and for the well-known impact that occurred around the same time, and concluded that they were simultaneous. While the impact probably was not the sole reason for the dino die-off, it was likely the last straw.
KQED Quest profiles Kathy Ann Miller, herbarium’s seaweed expert
February 6, 2013: KQED Quest producer Sheraz Sadiq profiles Kathy Ann Miller, a curator and seaweed expert in UC Berkeley’s University Herbarium, in the video “Preserving the Forest of the Sea.” Sadiq says he was struck by Miller’s “enthusiasm and warmth, especially when describing her herbarium ‘home’ and its red, green and brown-hued precious occupants whom she has cherished for over 30 years.”
Study links air pollution to low birthweight babies
February 6, 2013: Pregnant women exposed to poor air quality are more likely to give birth to low birthweight babies, according to a study published today and described in the San Francisco Chronicle. UC Berkeley researchers and study co-authors Rachel Morello-Frosch and Bill Jesdale analyzed 1.7 million of the 3 million births in the study.
Research News Briefs
January 30, 2013: Research News Briefs: The star-nosed mole is helping researchers discover touch and pain receptors in humans. / The Keck Foundation is funding a project to insert tiny magnets into cells to make them easy to track with magnetic resonance imaging. / Feelings of awe make people more generous.
100 pitch in to reforest a bare hillside near Lawrence Hall
January 25, 2013: A forest-to-be of redwood trees and red-berried toyon shrubs sprouted on a hillside near Lawrence Hall of Science over the weekend, thanks to the hard work of 100 volunteers from the UC Berkeley campus and community. The project improves fire safety and sustainability in the Berkeley hills.
UC sustainability savings add up: $91M and counting
January 16, 2013: The University of California has saved $91 million in energy costs since 2004, and it expects even greater dividends ahead as it ramps up its sustainability practices.
New biomed center wins ‘go beyond’ sustainability award
January 14, 2013: The Li Ka Shing Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences has garnered a “Going Beyond Award” from the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories. The award recognizes the architect, engineer, builder, and project teams that best exemplify a whole-building approach to sustainable design.
Wild bees boost almond pollination by honey bees
January 10, 2013: Honeybees perform better when wild bees are around, at least when it comes to pollinating California almond crops, according to a new study co-authored by researchers at UC Davis and UC Berkeley. Native bees, such as bumblebees and carpenter bees, help increase the pollination efficiency of honey bees and the amount of fruit set. The findings illustrate the importance of pollinator diversity for the state’s $3 billion almond industry.
Less pavement, greater flower diversity lead to more bumblebee pollinators
December 24, 2012: In a study of California bumbebees, former Berkeley post-doc Shalene Jha, now at the University of Texas, and Berkeley professor Claire Kremen found that populations decreased when more land was paved, but increased with floral diversity. This suggests that farmers should plant flowering hedgerows and cover crops to encourage native pollinators.
Berkeley 2012 – the year in pictures
December 19, 2012: New faces, new vitality, reflection and celebration — 2012 brought all that, and more, to UC Berkeley. Here’s a glance back at the year, in pictures.
What do leeches, limpets and worms have in common?
December 19, 2012: As much as one-third of marine life, including clams, octupuses and worms, fall into a group called the lophotrochozoa, ancient creatues that originated more than 500 million years ago. Berkeley’s Daniel Rokhsar spearheaded a team that has now sequenced the genomes of 3 of these creatures, a limpet, a polychaete worm and a freshwater leech, to learn more about their evolution.
