Archaeologists working in eastern Jordan have announced its discovery of 20,000-year-old hut structures, the earliest yet found in that country. Along with materials found in the huts, the find suggests the area was once intensively occupied and offers a new perspective on how humans lived at the time.
Environment archive
Yosemite’s alpine chipmunks take genetic hit from climate change
February 19, 2012: Global warming has driven Yosemite’s alpine chipmunks to higher ground, prompting a startling decline in the species’ genetic diversity. The genetic erosion occurred in the relatively short span of 90 years, highlighting the rapid threat changing climate can pose to a species, and putting the alpine chipmunk on a trajectory toward extinction.
Advanced power-grid model finds low-cost, low-carbon future in West
February 9, 2012: The least expensive way for the Western U.S. to reduce greenhouse gas emissions enough to help prevent the worst consequences of global warming is to replace coal with renewable and other sources of energy that may include nuclear power, according to a new study by UC Berkeley researchers.
UC Berkeley grad student’s research spurred by Gulf oil spill 
February 8, 2012: Soon after the April 2010 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil platform killed 11 workers and spilled 5 million barrels of crude into the Gulf of Mexico, UC Berkeley graduate student Thomas Azwell packed his bags and headed to Louisiana. Azwell teamed up with researchers in the Gulf to develop marsh restoration technology that could impact remediation efforts nationwide.
The key to biofuel’s carbon footprint? Location, location, location
February 3, 2012: Determining the climate impact of using grass to make cellulosic ethanol depends on how and where it’s grown, processed and transported, according to a new study published in Environmental Research Letters. Key factors affecting the greenhouse-gas emissions of cellulosic ethanol production were the amount of soil carbon emitted or stored during growth of the grass, and greenhouse-gas offset credits for electricity exported to the grid by biorefineries, said the authors, who are UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory researchers at the Energy Biosciences Institute.
Study shows restored wetlands rarely equal condition of original wetlands
January 24, 2012: Half of all wetlands in the United States were destroyed during the 20th century, but a thriving restoration effort aims to recreate the marshes and other ecosystems lost. A new UC Berkeley study cautions, however, that restored wetlands may not recover to the condition of a natural, undamaged wetland for hundreds of years, if ever.
UCTC receives funding for new transportation research
January 19, 2012: The University of California Transportation Center (UCTC) on the UC Berkeley campus is overseeing a new research consortium of five other UC and four Cal State University campuses that just received a $3.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation and a matching amount from California’s Department of Transportation.
Grants for travel-free meetings extended
January 17, 2012: The campus’s Office of Sustainability is offering a small grant, funded by the Climate Action Fund, to promote the use of videoconferencing and web-based meeting tools as alternatives to in-person meetings that require travel by airplane. The program will run through March 2012 or until funds run out.
Diesel-truck emissions in Oakland fall sharply, study finds
January 17, 2012: Strict new emission standards for diesel trucks have reduced their emissions of unhealthy pollutants by half at the bustling Port of Oakland, says a team of researchers led by Rob Harley, professor of civil and environmental engineering. Writing in Environmental Science & Technology, Harley details improvements made as a result of aggressive new state regulations.
Biofuels, land and ethics
January 10, 2012: Growing dedicated energy crops on lands that won’t support food crops is one of the promises of emerging cellulosic fuels. The latest issue of the Energy Biosciences Institute magazine, Bioenergy Connection, looks at how much land is available, its energy-producing potential and which plants are the most promising alternatives. It also explores ethical questions involved in moving toward greater use of bioenergy.
Botanical art as ‘capturing a plant’s soul’ 
January 6, 2012: A camera can record a plant, but a botanical artist captures its soul, says botanical illustrator Catherine Watters in an audio interview with Paul Licht, director of the UC Botanical Garden. Works by Watters and other artists, along with classes and programs, will be featured at the Garden’s third-annual Plants Illustrated exhibition, Jan. 14 to Feb. 3.
Climate change and business research initiative gains traction
January 6, 2012: Environmentalists and corporations don’t always see eye-to-eye on climate change. But the Climate Change and Business Research Initiative has shown that the two sides’ objectives can not only co-exist, but be mutually beneficial. The program — connecting leaders from business, government, nonprofits — is run jointly by the law schools at UC Berkeley and UCLA.
People’s Park maintenance work underway
December 28, 2011:
Work crews are engaged in a maintenance project today (Wednesday, Dec. 28) in People’s Park, to make it more safe and sanitary.
Wildlife researchers want your old socks
December 19, 2011: Those old or unpartnered socks clogging up your sock drawer are wanted by a Berkeley-led team of wildlife scientists studying the rare and elusive Pacific fisher in its Sierra habitat. Meat-stuffed socks are catnip to the furry little weasels, and chewing through the socks keeps them around long enough to be photographed. The project goes through 2,000 socks a year, so the researchers are appealing for sock donations.
Can ‘carbon ranching’ offset emissions in California? 
December 12, 2011: Could cultivating dense fields of weeds help mitigate climate change by soaking up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere? Berkeley scientists Dennis Baldocchi and Whendee Silver are exploring that possibility in California’s agricultural heartland, the San Joaquin Valley. National Public Radio reports.
Climate change blamed for dead trees in Africa
December 12, 2011: Trees are dying in Africa’s Sahel, and human-caused climate change is to blame, according to a new study led by a scientist at UC Berkeley. Using climate change records, aerial and satellite images and field data, researchers found that one in five tree species disappeared in the past half-century. They attribute the tree deaths to the historic drops in rainfall and increased temperatures in the region.
Diesel fuel spill cleanup continues
December 11, 2011: Emergency crews by Sunday afternoon had removed hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel from Stanley Hall, where equipment failure on Saturday caused a diesel tank to overflow. The building was closed as the clean-up continued, but campus officials expected it to reopen by Monday morning, in time for the beginning of final exams.
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