http://newscenter.berkeley.edu News from the University of California, Berkeley Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:00:58 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://www.kqed.org/a/forum/R201306060930 http://www.kqed.org/a/forum/R201306060930#comments Tue, 11 Jun 2013 16:45:59 +0000 Public Affairs http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=35086 After two years of sparse rains, California fire officials say the 2013 wildfire season has started a month early and that the fires so far have been stronger than usual. Max Moritz and Bill Stewart, Cooperative Extension specialists with the College of Natural Resources, discuss the future of California wildfires in light of climate change, on KQED radio's "Forum" program.]]> http://www.kqed.org/a/forum/R201306060930/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/06/04/with-global-warming-will-iguanas-grow-as-big-as-komodo-dragons/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/06/04/with-global-warming-will-iguanas-grow-as-big-as-komodo-dragons/#comments Wed, 05 Jun 2013 00:00:18 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34982 Based on fossils in the Museum of Paleontology, scientists have identified a giant vegetarian lizard that roamed South Asia 40 million years ago, suggesting that plant-eating lizards can grow larger in warmer periods - and perhaps in our planet's warming future.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/06/04/with-global-warming-will-iguanas-grow-as-big-as-komodo-dragons/feed/ 0 https://www.llnl.gov/news/newsreleases/2013/Apr/NR-13-04-03.html https://www.llnl.gov/news/newsreleases/2013/Apr/NR-13-04-03.html#comments Wed, 17 Apr 2013 17:17:31 +0000 Carol Ness http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34452 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.]]> https://www.llnl.gov/news/newsreleases/2013/Apr/NR-13-04-03.html/feed/ 0 http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/news/2013/04/perfect_storm_of_climate_chang.php#more http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/news/2013/04/perfect_storm_of_climate_chang.php#more#comments Tue, 09 Apr 2013 15:22:52 +0000 Sarah Yang http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34367 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. ]]> http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/news/2013/04/perfect_storm_of_climate_chang.php#more/feed/ 0 http://www.law.berkeley.edu/14906.htm http://www.law.berkeley.edu/14906.htm#comments Fri, 08 Feb 2013 18:40:32 +0000 Public Affairs http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=33994 New book by Andrew Guzman, Overheated: The Human Cost of Climate Change, predicts a grim future for billions of people in this century.]]> http://www.law.berkeley.edu/14906.htm/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/12/19/year-in-review-2012/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/12/19/year-in-review-2012/#comments Wed, 19 Dec 2012 18:21:27 +0000 Public Affairs http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=33594 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.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/12/19/year-in-review-2012/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/12/12/cloud-forest-trees-drink-water-through-their-leaves/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/12/12/cloud-forest-trees-drink-water-through-their-leaves/#comments Wed, 12 Dec 2012 20:45:06 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=33671 Using water flow sensors and plastic "leaves" that sense wetness, UC Berkeley biologists have discovered that trees living in tropical mountaintop cloud forests drink through their leaves as well as their roots. Todd Dawson and Greg Goldsmith of integrative biology note, however, that studies show that the clouds are disappearing because of climate change.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/12/12/cloud-forest-trees-drink-water-through-their-leaves/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/11/21/scientists-look-to-hawaiis-bugs-for-clues-to-origins-of-biodiversity/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/11/21/scientists-look-to-hawaiis-bugs-for-clues-to-origins-of-biodiversity/#comments Wed, 21 Nov 2012 20:12:17 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=33117 The Hawaiian Islands are a perfect laboratory for learning how plants and animals colonize new ecological niches, since every time a volcano sticks its head above the waves, life invades. A new $2 million grant from the NSF will allow UC Berkeley researchers to study how insects and spiders explore new niches and create new biodiversity on the newest of the islands, Hawaii.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/11/21/scientists-look-to-hawaiis-bugs-for-clues-to-origins-of-biodiversity/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/10/11/usaid-chief-lauds-blum-center-as-a-model-in-search-for-global-solutions/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/10/11/usaid-chief-lauds-blum-center-as-a-model-in-search-for-global-solutions/#comments Thu, 11 Oct 2012 21:50:13 +0000 Kathleen Maclay http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=33204 USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah visited campus and encouraged students to join the search for open source solutions to pressing global problems.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/10/11/usaid-chief-lauds-blum-center-as-a-model-in-search-for-global-solutions/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/09/24/cal-energy-corps-poster-session/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/09/24/cal-energy-corps-poster-session/#comments Mon, 24 Sep 2012 19:21:23 +0000 Roibín Ó hÉochaidh http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=32994 More than 30 Berkeley undergrads shared experiences, adventures and insights from their summer internships during the second annual Cal Energy Corps symposium at the David Brower Center Thursday.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/09/24/cal-energy-corps-poster-session/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/09/10/new-prize-awarded-to-recognize-sustainability-women-in-architecture/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/09/10/new-prize-awarded-to-recognize-sustainability-women-in-architecture/#comments Mon, 10 Sep 2012 11:00:43 +0000 Mary Cocoma http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=32848 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.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/09/10/new-prize-awarded-to-recognize-sustainability-women-in-architecture/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/08/15/climate-change-range-shift/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/08/15/climate-change-range-shift/#comments Wed, 15 Aug 2012 10:01:05 +0000 Sarah Yang http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=32594 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. ]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/08/15/climate-change-range-shift/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/08/01/state-taps-uc-researchers-for-expertise-on-climate-change-impact/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/08/01/state-taps-uc-researchers-for-expertise-on-climate-change-impact/#comments Tue, 31 Jul 2012 23:11:46 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=32547 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.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/08/01/state-taps-uc-researchers-for-expertise-on-climate-change-impact/feed/ 0 http://the-scientist.com/2012/07/01/growing-better-biofuel-crops/ http://the-scientist.com/2012/07/01/growing-better-biofuel-crops/#comments Mon, 02 Jul 2012 22:33:25 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=32332 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.]]> http://the-scientist.com/2012/07/01/growing-better-biofuel-crops/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/06/12/hindcasting-helps-scientists-improve-forecasts-for-life-on-earth/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/06/12/hindcasting-helps-scientists-improve-forecasts-for-life-on-earth/#comments Fri, 08 Jun 2012 23:37:46 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=31820 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.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/06/12/hindcasting-helps-scientists-improve-forecasts-for-life-on-earth/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/06/12/climate-change-global-fire-risk/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/06/12/climate-change-global-fire-risk/#comments Tue, 12 Jun 2012 07:01:40 +0000 Sarah Yang http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=29805 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.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/06/12/climate-change-global-fire-risk/feed/ 0 http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/06/191830.htm http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/06/191830.htm#comments Thu, 07 Jun 2012 16:50:38 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=31779 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.]]> http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/06/191830.htm/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/06/06/scientists-uncover-evidence-of-impending-tipping-point-for-earth/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/06/06/scientists-uncover-evidence-of-impending-tipping-point-for-earth/#comments Wed, 06 Jun 2012 17:10:46 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=31035 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.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/06/06/scientists-uncover-evidence-of-impending-tipping-point-for-earth/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/05/27/computer-model-pinpoints-prime-materials-for-efficient-carbon-capture/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/05/27/computer-model-pinpoints-prime-materials-for-efficient-carbon-capture/#comments Sun, 27 May 2012 17:00:29 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=30332 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.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/05/27/computer-model-pinpoints-prime-materials-for-efficient-carbon-capture/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/05/03/scientists-core-into-clear-lake-to-explore-past-climate-change/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/05/03/scientists-core-into-clear-lake-to-explore-past-climate-change/#comments Thu, 03 May 2012 16:15:08 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=23523 One of the oldest lakes in the world, Clear Lake has deep sediments that contain a record of the climate and local plants and animals going back perhaps 500,000 years. UC Berkeley scientists are drilling cores from the sediments to explore this history and fine-tune models for predicting the fate of today's flora and fauna in the face of global warming and pressure from a growing human population.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/05/03/scientists-core-into-clear-lake-to-explore-past-climate-change/feed/ 0