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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
Deborah Berke awarded new Berkeley-Rupp Prize for advancing women in architecture, contributing to sustainability 
September 10, 2012: Deborah Berke, a New York City-based architect known for her design excellence and commitment to architectural innovation, is the first recipient of the College of Environmental Design’s inaugural Berkeley-Rupp Architecture Professorship and Prize.
In mice, having multiple partners breeds more robust immune system
September 5, 2012: UC Berkeley post-doc Matthew MacManes studied two related species of deer mice – one monogamous, the other promiscuous – and found that mice with more sexual partners had more robust immune systems. This was reflected in their ability to ward off bacterial infections, but also in their genes: they had more diversity in the genes that control the immune system than did the other mice.
Primitive-plant uber-geek’s heart belongs to lycopods
September 4, 2012: Prehistoric life has captured Jeff Benca’s imagination since childhood, and bizarre plants since his early teens, when he bought his first Venus flytrap. A young scientist with a mature passion, Benca, 24, is now a Berkeley Ph.D. student in integrative biology, studying primitive plants and what they can tell us about mass extinctions and climatic changes in deep time.
NSF awards $3.4 million to train students in “green chemistry”
August 29, 2012: The Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry has been awarded a $3.4 million training grant by the National Science Foundation. The grant will train five to six Ph.D. students annually for five years in the principles of green chemistry and the design of clean energy technologies.
Citizens key in helping spot species in need of federal protection
August 16, 2012: Eric BIber, professor at the UC Berkeley School of Law, co-authors a study reviewing citizen-initiated petitions to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for listings under the Endangered Species Act. The study authors found that citizen groups do as well or better than the federal agency in spotting species at risk, and that without their help, many species would be left unprotected.
Studies shed light on why species stay or go in response to climate change
August 15, 2012: Two new studies by UC Berkeley scientists provide a clearer picture of why some species move — and where they go — in response to climate change. One found a dramatic decline in populations of a mountain ground squirrel, except where humans lived. Another paper finds that precipitation is an underappreciated driving force for species’ response to climate change.
Chevron fire in Richmond prompts shelter-in-place orders
August 6, 2012:
A fire at the Chevron refinery in Richmond on Monday, Aug., prompted officials to order nearby residents to shelter in place after the blaze sent black smoke billowing over parts of the East Bay.
New report IDs ways for state water system to adapt to climate change
August 3, 2012: The Center for Law, Energy and the Environment has drafted a new report that describes how California allocates water and identifies changes that would help the current system adapt to climate change.
‘Greener and greener’ Li Ka Shing Center wins LEED Gold
August 2, 2012: A recently opened five-story building on the campus’s western edge has been officially certified LEED Gold. The Li Ka Shing Biomedical and Health Sciences Center is the 10th UC Berkeley building to earn high marks from the U.S. Green Building Council, and brings the campus’s LEED-certified space to more than 1 million square feet.
State taps UC researchers for expertise on climate change impacts
August 1, 2012: Some 15 UC Berkeley researchers were among scores of California experts who submitted papers to the California Energy Commission detailing how climate change will impact the state on the local and regional level.
New Energy Biosciences Building opens at UC Berkeley
August 1, 2012: Almost five years into its 10-year program to develop new energy alternatives using biological tools and methods, the Energy Biosciences Institute is moving its UC Berkeley headquarters and research labs into a modern new building. The western branch of the $500 million public-private collaboration will be housed in a five-story, 113,000-gross-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility.
Despite global amphibian decline, number of known species soars
July 30, 2012: Publicity over the past 25 years about the decline of amphibians worldwide has led to an explosion of research on the causes and exploration to find new species. AmphibiaWeb now counts 7,000 amphibian species, up from 5,000 a mere 12 years ago.
Future of California high-speed rail looks green
July 26, 2012: A comprehensive life-cycle assessment by transportation researchers gives the green seal of approval for California’s high-speed rail project. The analysis comes on the heels of a state Legislature vote authorizing $8 billion for initial construction, set to begin in 2013, of the high-speed system.
Mountain lion with cubs sighted along eastern edge of campus
July 24, 2012: A mountain lion and two cubs have been seen several times in the past month in the area near Stern Hall, the Greek Theatre and Gayley Road. UCPD has issued an alert to the campus community, and tips on how to avoid them and protect yourself if you should encounter one.
Campus still a great place for birds despite century of changes 
July 23, 2012: The bird population on the Berkeley campus has remained surprisingly diverse over the past 100 years, showing that it’s possible to create a green wildlife haven within a dense urban area, researchers say.
Poolla, Cairns awarded Bosch energy grants
July 17, 2012: The Bosch Energy Research Network has awarded chemical engineering professor Elton Cairns and mechanical engineering professor Kameshwar Poolla up to $150,000 over two years for research to reduce energy consumption and environmental impact. The awards are among seven announced July 17 after BERN reviewed 121 applications from five U.S. research universities.
Afghanistan EPA official among environmental leaders at UC Berkeley program
July 9, 2012: Abdul Wali Modaqiq, deputy director general of Afghanistan’s National Environmental Protection Agency, joins dozens of environmental officials from around the world at the Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program, held every summer at UC Berkeley. The course emphasizes global solutions to sustaining natural resources.
Bancroft Library’s Regional Oral History Office looks for Bay Bridge accounts that span the years
July 9, 2012: Interviewers at the Bancroft Library’s Regional Oral History Office (ROHO) are betting there are just as many cool stories to tell about the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as about its colorful cousin.
U.S. could quadruple biofuel use in 25 years, experts say
July 2, 2012: UC Berkeley scientists Chris Somerville and Heather Youngs of the Energy Biosciences Institute argue in The Scientist that within 25 years, the U.S. could scale up biofuel production to meet 30 percent of the nation’s demand for liquid transportation fuel, four times the current contribution.
Berkeley a triple-winner at sustainability awards
June 29, 2012: UC Berkeley won triple honors for its efforts to go green at the 2012 California Higher Education Sustainability Conference.
Students make their energy expertise felt in Washington
June 28, 2012: Fifteen Berkeley Law and other UC Berkeley graduate students traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu and present renewable energy portfolios that they’d designed for a class project. Afterward, observers said the students’ ideas could inform the national debate on renewable energy development.
UC Berkeley installing first CO2 sensor network in Oakland 
June 27, 2012: Using inexpensive detectors that can fit inside a shoebox, UC Berkeley chemists are installing carbon dioxide and other air pollution sensors in 40 sites around Oakland to explore how detailed, neighborhood-by-neighborhood information can help communities monitor greenhouse gas and other harmful emissions.
Hindcasting helps scientists improve forecasts for life on Earth
June 12, 2012: Scientists at UC Berkeley have launched a unique program, the Berkeley Initiative in Global Change Biology, to use hindcasting – “predicting” what happened during past episodes of climate change – to improve the reliability and accuracy of computer models that forecast how plants and animals will adapt to a changing planet.
Analysis of global fire risk shows big, fast changes ahead
June 12, 2012: Climate change is widely expected to disrupt future fire patterns around the world — with some regions, such as the western U.S., seeing more frequent fires within the next 30 years, according to a new analysis led by UC Berkeley researchers in collaboration with an international team of scientists. The study used 16 different climate-change models to produce one of the most comprehensive projections to date of how climate change might affect global fire patterns.
Distinguished rural sociologist of 2012: Louise Fortmann
June 11, 2012: The Rural Sociological Society has named Louise Fortmann, a professor in UC Berkeley’s Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, as the 2012 Distinguished Rural Sociologist.
Let it burn: Prescribed fires pose little danger to forest ecology, study says
June 11, 2012: UC Berkeley-led research is giving the green light to fighting fire with fire. An analysis of controlled burns and mechanical thinning nationwide did not find substantial ecological harm from fuel-reduction treatments used to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires. And with a rise in wildfires predicted in many parts of the country, researchers say more treatments are needed to manage this risk.
A worldwide first: Berkeley steps up to the plastic-waste challenge
June 7, 2012: Stepping up to the global challenge of trying to keep plastic out of the environment, UC Berkeley is the first university campus in the world to embrace the Plastic Disclosure Project. From disposable lab ware to chicken-nugget bags to Styrofoam packing, plastic makes up a big part of the campus’s waste stream, and this effort aims to help solve the problem.
Kammen to lead Fulbright scholars in addressing climate adaptation
June 7, 2012: The U.S. Department of State has chosen Daniel Kammen, professor of energy and resources, as the 2012-2013 Fulbright NEXUS Lead Scholar. Kammen will lead a group of Fulbright scholars focusing on science, technology and innovation; entrepreneurship; and sustainable energy related to climate change adaptation technologies.
Scientists uncover evidence of impending tipping point for Earth
June 6, 2012: UC Berkeley professor Tony Barnosky and 21 scientists from around the world argue in Nature magazine that planet Earth is frighteningly close to a tipping point that would send the globe into a state that could spell disaster for humans. The new Berkeley Initiative in Global Change Biology is focused on recognizing the signs of impending doom so that we can stop short of the precipice.
Computer model pinpoints prime materials for efficient carbon capture
May 27, 2012: To slow the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and thus slow climate change, electric power plants will eventually have to start capturing their carbon dioxide emissions and burying them underground. Chemist Berend Smit and colleagues are working with the power industry to find the best materials to capture and sequester carbon dioxide.
