23 March 2011
Japan's Nuclear Disaster Raises Concerns About Contamination of the Global Food Chain
By: William Lajeunesse, FoxNews
After the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster, radiation contaminated 3 million acres of farmland. Up to 9,000 died or will die from thyroid cancer after drinking milk laced with radioactive iodine, according to World Health Organization estimates.
The radiation leaks at Fukushima don’t come close to that of Chernobyl. Still, Japanese officials admit their food chain is also contaminated with harmful levels of radiation, in some cases up to 90 miles from the nuclear site.
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Posted by Pinar Aybar at 3:39
14 March 2011
Genetic technology boosts food production
By: Don, Curlee, Visalia Times-Delta
It looks like genetic technology will be responsible for the next big increase in food production, just in time to meet the world's exploding populations.
At least that's the way a Ph.D. candidate at the University of California and his professor see it. They have completed a study showing that genetically engineered plants also are resulting in farming practices that create less carbon dioxide than traditional farming methods.
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Posted by Pinar Aybar at 2:50
12 January 2011
Drought-tolerant maize gets US debut
By: Jeff Tollefson, NatureNews
When the planting season arrives later this year, farmers in the United States will have a new way to safeguard their crops from drought. Last week, DuPont subsidiary Pioneer Hi-Bred International, headquartered in Johnston, Iowa, announced plans to release a series of hybrid maize (corn) strains that can flourish with less water. The seeds will compete with another maize strain unveiled last July by Swiss agribusiness Syngenta. Both companies used conventional breeding rather than genetic engineering to produce their seeds.
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Posted by Pinar Aybar at 4:06
07 January 2011
Berkeley Economic Consulting Experts Join The Brattle Group
By: PR NewsWire
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Posted by Pinar Aybar at 5:40
17 December 2010
State’s Cap and Trade Program
By: Wyatt Buchanan, San Francisco Chronicle
The California Air Resources Board has approved the creation of the nation’s first broad-based program to put a cap on greenhouse gas emissions and to begin charging large emitters for the excess carbon dioxide they put in the air.
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Posted by Pinar Aybar at 1:37
07 December 2010
HIV Prevalence in Africa Explained by "Marital Shopping"
By: Marina Adshade, Big Think
There are two facts about HIV that are difficult to reconcile. The first fact is that the transmission rate of the disease is extremely low; the risk of being infected from an person who has the disease through vaginal intercourse is about one in a thousand or 8-12% per-partner-year.* The second fact is that the disease has an extremely high prevalence among heterosexual women in Sub-Saharan Africa; 40% of pregnant women in Botswana and 25% in South Africa are infected with the disease.
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Posted by Pinar Aybar at 2:15
29 September 2010
ARE ranked among the best in the nation in the National Research Council Study
The National Research Council released its rankings of graduate education programs and for the first time agricultural and resource economics was a field of study ranked in the survey.
Programs were evaluated on the basis of twenty characteristics including the number and significance of research publications, financial support, graduate student qualifications and outcomes, diversity, etc. Programs were not assigned a single rank, but as falling somewhere within a range of ranks, such as between 1st and 6th, in recognition of the uncertainties that surround any attempt to rank programs by quality.
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Posted by Pinar Aybar at 9:28
06 August 2010
Was Today’s Poverty Determined in 1000 B.C.?
By: Catherine Rampell, The New York Times
The recent finding that economic success in life is largely determined by what you learned in kindergarten has proven contentious (at least among our readers). So what if I told you that economic success was instead determined by what your ancestors did more than a millennium ago?
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Posted by Pinar Aybar at 5:04
13 May 2010
In Memoriam: ARE Alum David Edward Buschena
Last week I lost a dear friend, collaborator, and one of our most beloved alumni as Dave Buschena past away after a valiant struggle with cancer. I first heard about Dave when his professor at University of Minnesota and our alumni, Claudia Parliament, called me to recommend him for our graduate program. She described Dave as “super bright, hard working, and a really nice guy that really cares about agriculture and the world.†This was an apt description. Dave took my first year class and even though he lacked in mathematical training, he caught on really fast and was one of the best students. I was teaching risk at the time and he would always approach me after class to ask me questions about risk management and what the theory implies for trading and farming. Many times I didn’t understand his questions and in most cases I couldn’t answer what he asked. It was clear to me that I was teaching risk, but he was managing risk. And indeed he was a practitioner of risk management, and he was a wonderful advisor to people who were interested in agricultural risk management.
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Posted by Eva St. Clair at 6:00
06 May 2010
CNR Homecoming 2010
510-642-6707 or donnachan@berkeley.edu.
Friday-Saturday, October 8-9, 2010
Come back to campus and enjoy all the festivities being planned for CNR alumni parents, friends and students.
Join us in the lovely Giannini Hall lobby and enjoy continental breakfast with Peets coffee, fresh pastries, and other refreshments during the State of the College Address by Dean J. Keith Gilless Giannini Hall Lobby 9:30a.m.
CNR Faculty & Alumni Homecoming Lectures
There are a variety of faculty lectures to choose from all across campus, including current CNR Faculty! This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about the wonderful research being done at CNR and the opportunity to ask questions during the interactive Q&A session following each.
Friday, October 8, 2010 11am
Banatao Auditorium,
Sutardja Dai Hall
Professor Peggy Lemaux, Plant & Microbial Biology
“Food, Famine and the Future of Farmingâ€
Friday,October 8 4:00-5:30 pm
Bancroft Hotel
2680 Bancroft Way
Neal Ewald '78, Green Diamond Resource Company
S.J. Hall Lecture
"Declaring Peace in Timber Country: Sustainable Forests in a Perpetual Businessâ€
Saturday, October 9 10:30 am
Alumni House
Professor Andreas Stahl, Nutritional Sciences & Toxicology
“Fat Chance:How exploring the mechanisms of cellular lipid uptake may change the ways we treat obesity related diseasesâ€
Saturday, October 9 1:30 pm
Banatao Auditorium Sutardja Dai Hall
Professor Kimberly Tallbear, Assistant Professor of Science, Technology and Environmental Policy
“'Our DNA is Your Property?' Reconfiguring Ethics in Genome Researchâ€
CNR Alumni Association Picnic
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Posted by Eva St. Clair at 5:43
04 March 2010
Former President Bill Clinton and Our Very Own Jenn Jehnsen
Photo by Peg Skorpinski
Jenn Jehnsen is a CNR Student majoring in Environmental Sciences. She is also minoring in Global Poverty and Practice via the Blum Center for Developing Economies.
She was given the opportunity of presenting a gift to former President Bill Clinton from the Blum Center for Developing Economices because she is a peer adviser for her minor, Global Poverty and Practice. She presented the gift after Clinton's speech on what global citizenship means. "It was really exciting to share that moment with president Clinton because he had
just talked about what global citizenship means, and I have been trying to
figure that out myself ever since my trip to Uganda. I also love that
President Clinton inspired us as young people, because we are the
generation that can bring change", says Jenhsen.
She spent the Summer of 2009 as an intern with the Uganda Village Project (UVP), working as a team leader for the "Healthy Villages Initiative". The Healthy Villages Initiative is an aims to take a grassroots approach to addresssing rural healthcare and public health in Uganda. Its main goal is to improve the provisions of healthcare and access to preventative health education to underserved populations in the Iganga District, one of the poorest districts in Uganda. "Through Healthy Villages Initiative, UVP targets the primary health risks of the region at the village level, working with the District Health Office (DHO) of Iganga, with Sub-County Officials, and with local Health Center Staff", describes Jehnsen. " UVP launched Healthy Villages in five 'pilot' villages during the summer of 2009, and will eventually expand to work
in a total of 70 chosen villages. All villages are based around the same
five health centers, and all fall into the bottom quartile in sanitation
and access to clean water".
Her team sold insecticide-treated mosquito nets at a subsidized price
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Posted by Pinar Aybar at 2:51
22 February 2010
Agricultural Potential of Haiti
In a bid to increase food stability and employment among the hundreds of thousands of Haitians who have fled to the countryside following last month’s devastating earthquake, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is calling for international donors to invest $700 million in Haiti's struggling agriculture sector.
The program, designed by Haiti's Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development, is scheduled to last 18 months. It is already racing against the clock as the planting season that yields 60 percent of the country's crops begins in March.
Deforestation, erosion and failure to rotate crops have also degraded much of Haiti's agricultural land over generations. Farmers make up about 60 percent of Haiti's population, but agriculture accounts for just 27 percent of the poor nation's GDP, according to the most recent State Department data. Even before the quake, more than 75 percent of the country's food was imported.
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Posted by Eva St. Clair at 6:01
02 January 2003
Nature's Filter: Wetlands Clean Selenium From Agricultural Runoff
by Sarah Yang
Berkeley - Researchers from the University of California have found a natural detox program for selenium-contaminated farm runoff in the form of wetland vegetation and microbes.
Results from a two-year study by UC Berkeley researchers show that man-made wetlands in the state's San Joaquin Valley were able to remove an average of 69.2 percent of the selenium in agricultural drainage water. More significantly, some plant populations showed remarkable promise at converting selenium into a harmless gas consisting primarily of dimethyl selenide. That means less of the selenium would end up in sediment or plant tissue.
The new study, published online Wednesday, Jan. 1, in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, follows previous research at the Chevron oil refinery in Richmond, Calif. The researchers found that wetland ponds built in Richmond could take out as much as 89 percent of the selenium from millions of gallons a day of refinery discharge, preventing it from reaching San Francisco Bay.
"We thought that if wetlands could filter selenium from oil refinery wastewater, then they could probably be used for agricultural runoff," said Norman Terry, professor of plant biology at UC Berkeley's College of Natural Resources and principal investigator of the study. "We're basically learning that some of the best, most efficient filters for pollutants can be found in nature."
Terry said the entire wetland ecosystem is acting as a bio-geo-chemical filter. "Everything is working in concert to take the selenium out of the drainage water," said Terry. "The extensive root system of the plants slows down the water flow so the selenium gets trapped in the sediment. The plants also provide a source of fixed carbon to fuel microbes, which metabolize the selenium into non-toxic gas. It is truly an amazing process."
The UC Berkeley research is part of a larger project funded by the UC Salinity/Drainage Program. The program involves researchers from the UC campuses at Berkeley, Davis and Riverside, and from the Tulare Lake Drainage District in Corcoran, Calif., who have been studying ways to provide irrigation for Central Valley farmers while mitigating ecological risks.
The toxic effects of selenium made headlines in 1983 when high levels from polluted farm water were found at the Kesterson national wildlife refuge in the San Joaquin Valley, part of the Central Valley. The soil on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley is naturally rich in selenium, which leaches into the shallow groundwater of the region. Excessive agricultural irrigation accelerates this leaching process.
A large quantity of selenium-polluted agricultural drainage water was being discharged into the reservoir in the early 1980s. The selenium was linked to severe deformities suffered by birds and other wildlife at the Kesterson refuge.
"Kesterson lacked proper environmental monitoring and management, so the selenium continued to build up, becoming concentrated over time through the food chain," said Zhi-Qing Lin, lead author of the study and former post-graduate researcher with Terry at UC Berkeley.
The discovery of selenium in the reservoir put the brakes on the construction of a drain that would have carried irrigation water from the Central Valley to the Delta. Farmers say the disruption of the irrigation drain, however, allowed salt to build up in the soil, leaving their land fallow.
The situation was bad enough that, last month, the federal government agreed to pay $107 million to San Joaquin Valley farmers for 34,000 acres of salt-poisoned farmland.
To test the effectiveness of wetlands in cleaning selenium out of agricultural drainage water, researchers from the UC Salinity/Drainage Program built 10 separate wetland ponds in the Central Valley at a site in Corcoran. The ponds, or "cells," contain a single plant species - such as cordgrass, saltmarsh bulrush and rabbitfoot grass - or a combination of plants. One pond was left unplanted as a control. Separate pipes brought water in and out of the ponds, which are roughly the size of two basketball courts.
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Posted by Eva St. Clair at 3:04
18 March 2004
Research Questions Efficacy of Fire Management Strategies in California Shrublands
by Sarah Yang
BERKELEY - The age of vegetation in California's shrublands does not strongly influence the probability of wildfires, finds a new study led by a researcher at the University of California, Berkeley. The findings challenge a basic assumption underlying fire management strategies used to prevent wildfires like the ones that swept through southern California in October 2003.
"If the goal is to save people's homes and avoid loss of life, then treating extensive portions of the landscape to create a mixture of young and old vegetation is not money well spent," said lead author Max A. Moritz, wildland fire specialist at the UC Center for Forestry's Fire Program. The center is based at UC Berkeley's College of Natural Resources.
Conventional wisdom has been that older shrubs have a higher percentage of dry, dead biomass that can more easily fuel intense wildfires, said Moritz. In addition, decades of fire suppression are believed to have allowed extensive stands of older vegetation to accumulate. As a result, fire management strategies have focused on various techniques to create an "age-patch mosaic" on the landscape because it is assumed that fire will not spread through younger stands of regenerating shrublands.
The findings of the study, reported in the March issue of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, break from a school of thought in fire management that incorporates treatments of extensive portions of the landscape, such as prescribed burns, to reduce fire risk.
In forested ecosystems that prehistorically experienced frequent, low-intensity surface fires, decades of successful fire suppression are typically blamed for allowing the accumulation of underbrush and medium-sized trees, particularly in the ponderosa pine forests of the southwestern United States. Many researchers believe that fire suppression has led to the formation of "ladder fuels" that now allow high-intensity fires to climb into the canopies of taller trees.
This view of a direct link in an ecosystem between fire hazard and the time since the last fire appears to have been adopted in shrubland fire management without really being tested, said Moritz. The rationale for shrublands was that suppressing smaller fires promoted the accumulation of older, contiguous stands of more flammable vegetation. Fire management strategies therefore included methods such as small, prescribed fires as a way to initiate the growth of new vegetation that, theoretically, is less prone to burning.
"One problem is that the model of fire hazard for some forests is not necessarily appropriate for the shrublands of southern California, which are characterized by periodic, high-intensity fires," said Moritz. "There has been ongoing debate in fire management about whether the age and spatial patterns of fuels are really an important constraint on the development of large shrubland fires. Our study provides evidence that different strategies should be used for the different ecosystems."
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Posted by Eva St. Clair at 0:23
06 May 2004
College Recognizes Outstanding Faculty and Staff
by Steve Birndorf
Berkeley—Gordon Rausser, Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ARE) and Former Dean of CNR received The CNR Citation, at the inaugural CNR Awards ceremony on the east lawn of Giannini Hall on May 6th. The Citation, now in its third year, honors an individual, couple, or group that has made important contributions to the College and its programs, and is the highest honor bestowed by the College.
“Gordon’s service to the College has been demonstrated in all areas: teaching, research, outreach, administration, and fundraising. For his vision and dedication to the College, he clearly deserves our highest recognition,†said Dean Ludden, who presented the award. “Professor Rausser has had a profound impact on the College and helped to chart the course we are on today.†ARE chair, Tony Fisher, who led the nomination effort, noted the praise from colleagues at Berkeley and around the world.
Dr. Rausser served as Dean of the College from 1994-2000 and chair of his department, Agricultural and Resource Economics, on two separate occasions. He has served as senior economist on the President’s Council of Economic Advisors and subsequently as chief economist of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
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Posted by Eva St. Clair at 9:39
09 December 2009
What Can Be Accomplished from the Copenhagen Conference?
Reprinted from the Los Angeles Times
by Prof. David Roland-Holst
Because it respects no borders, the atmosphere is the ultimate public resource. Yet until now, air quality and climate have been thought of as matters of only local or national interest. That is changing. We now know that all of our striving for prosperity is altering the climate.
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Posted by Eva St. Clair at 8:31
23 November 2009
Tom Graff: A practical environmental visionary
By Professor David Zilberman, Agricultural and Resource Economics
As the world is preparing for a big environmental summit in Copenhagen, knowing that an agreement is very unlikely, it’s become apparent how difficult it is to reach an environmental agreement that can stick and change the course of history. People that can bring about such agreement are really rare, and last week we lost one of them, Tom Graff.
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Posted by Eva St. Clair at 0:53
05 May 2005
CNR Awards Ceremony and Reception
May 5th, 3:00-5:00
Alumni House (Bechtel and Toll rooms)
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Posted by Eva St. Clair at 1:41
05 May 2005
College Honors Two with CNR Citation
This month, the college honored two individuals for their extraordinary commitment and accomplishments in 2005. The CNR Citation, the highest honor of the college, was awarded for the first time to two deserving recipients, Iona "Rocky" Main and Helen Ullrich.
Rocky Main and her family were instrumental in creating and endowing the William Main Distinguished Visitor Program, an academic program that has made, and continues to make, significant contributions to the study of forest and natural resources management. Main has made her impact elsewhere on campus, as well. She has served as a trustee of the University Library, a leader of her alumni class, and a benefactor of the popular "Lunch Poems" series.
Many of her nominators stressed Main's personal supportiveness of faculty and recognized that, as one supporter put it, she "has sustained a grace and civility that helps us to appreciate the very best in our institution."
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Posted by Eva St. Clair at 1:37
22 May 2005
Fall 2005 Commencement Address by Chief Oren Lyons
On May 22, Chief Oren Lyons delivered the following commencement address to CNR's class of 2005.
Introduction by Executive Associate Dean Barbara Allen-Diaz
Commencement address by Chief Oren Lyons
INTRODUCTION by Executive Associate Dean Barbara Allen-Diaz
It is a great pleasure for me to introduce Oren Lyons, our Commencement Speaker today. Oren Lyons is Faithkeeper and Chief of the Turtle Clan of the Onondaga Nation of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. Chief Lyons is Professor of American Studies at State University of New York at Buffalo.
We are honored today to have the opportunity to hear Chief Lyons speak. He was raised in the traditional lifeways of the Iroquois on the Seneca and Onondaga reservations in northern New York State. He served in the U.S. Army. He graduated from Syracuse University of Fine Arts where he immediately began a long career in commercial art and became a well known American Indian artist.
Since returning to the Onondaga in 1970, Professor Lyons has been a leading advocate for American Indian causes, both nationally and internationally. He has participated in meetings of indigenous peoples held in Geneva under the auspices of the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations; he serves on the Executive Committee of the Global Forums of Spiritual and Parliamentary Leaders on Human Survival; and he is a principal leader in the traditional Circle of Indian Elders which is a council of grassroots leadership of major Indian Nations of North America.
Chief Lyons has spoken widely about spirituality, environment, natural laws, human rights and the ethics of authority. He has received numerous honors and awards, including an honorary doctor of law from Syracuse University.
In addition, Chief Lyons has been a lifelong Lacrosse player, a game that was invented by the Iroquois people. He was All-American in Lacrosse and inducted into the Lacrosse National Hall of Fame in 1993.
Oren Lyons perhaps has set the stage best of all for all of you graduating here today when he said, "When we walk upon Mother Earth, we always plant our feet carefully because we know the faces of our future generations are looking up at us from beneath the ground. We never forget them."
Please join me in welcoming Oren Lyons, professor and Chief of the Turtle Clan of the Onondaga Nation.
ADDRESS by Chief Oren Lyons
(Chief Lyons greeted the audience in his native language.)
I said thank you for being well. That’s our greeting. I am Onondaga, I am from the Haudenosaunee, called the Iroquois and I am also of the Family of the Wolf. And so I greet you. In my initial greetings, it is our protocol to extend our first greetings and respect to the original peoples of this land here: Pomos, Yuroks, and Chumash and others. They are the original landholders of where we stand and it is our protocol first to greet them and to honor them.
And my second greeting is to the Graduation Class of 2005, at this great university in the College of Natural Resources. My greetings to you and what you represent. You are like my grandchildren. (When you get to be my age, everybody is your grandchild.) So I greet you.
Then my next greetings are to the Chancellor of this University and to the Dean who has done so well, and to the faculty and staff and all of the visiting colleagues, and to these professors that work so hard for this particular day. This is our day as well as yours. It’s an accomplishment. You are like our children. We want to see you off. To all of my colleagues who are here, I extend my greetings to all of you and to your work. What is our work? Our work is instruction, our work is education, inclusively, large, inspired. And our work is to keep education a passion, as was mentioned by one of the student speakers. Passion, of course, is important and we don’t want to stifle that.
When the Haudesonauee meet, whether it is a large gathering or a small gathering, we have several greetings. I think it is apropos that I tell you what these greetings are. It begins with the people. When we meet, and these are called The Words Before All Words, we give these greetings. We say to all the people gathered, “We are grateful and happy to see you healthy and gathered here.†We also think about all of the people who are not here, who cannot be here for whatever reason, and then we think about the peoples of the world as they go about their business. And we think how wonderful this is. So we put our minds together as one, and we give a big thanksgiving for all the peoples of the world.
Then we look at Mother Earth and we say this is our mother and we give a big thanksgiving for our mother, with all our love, because that is what mothers gather: great love. And we look at Mother Earth and we think of how she supports us, helps us survive and keeps all life going. How wonderful, powerful, all enduring is our Mother the Earth and we give a thanksgiving for the earth itself.
And then we move to everything that grows on the earth, from the grasses to the medicines to the bushes. We think of all of this and what they do for the earth and how they support us. And we put our mind around the world and we try to see all of these places and we give a thanksgiving for all of the growing things of the earth.
Then we move to the trees, our grandfathers. I was so pleased that we came under the shade and shelter of these powerful elders that surround us here. These are our relations. Look how you gather in their shade, how you keep cool. Look how clean the air is and look about. These trees are listening. They hear what we have to say when we have a thanksgiving. They are listening. So we give a big thanksgiving for all of the trees of the world. We acknowledge their work and we acknowledge their leader which is the maple, the great chief of the trees.
Then we move on to everything that moves about and runs about in the forest with four legs. And we think about them and how they sustain us and how they are related to us and how we depend upon them, and how they have supported our life for so long and provided our identities. (I am a wolf.) We give thanksgiving for all of these 4-footed creatures for they sustain us and we are dependent.
And then we move to what lives in the trees and flies above—all of the birds. How powerful they are! How the song of a wren can lift our hearts when we’re down. They wake us in the morning, they plant seeds, they sing to us, they move about. They are messengers. And the leader, the great eagle, flies closest to the Creator and carries our word. We revere his feathers, we revere the hawks, we revere the hummingbird. These are our relatives and we give a big thanksgiving for them.
And then we move on to the waters of the earth, from the very beautiful springs to the seas. Anybody that has seen a spring and looked at that crystal-clear water and can see everything on the bottom knows it’s beautiful and pure. And that’s the way we want your minds to be, as pure as those crystal springs. Do not pollute your minds! Do not throw dirt into that spring. That’s your mind. Keep it clean. Keep it pure so that you can see. From those springs, we go on to thank the streams, the rivers, the lakes and the mighty oceans themselves, these great waters. The first law of life is water. We are water. We are born in water, we are water. Without it, there is no life. So we give a big thanksgiving as we put our minds together for all of the waters of the earth.
Continue reading "Fall 2005 Commencement Address by Chief Oren Lyons" » | Permalink
Posted by Eva St. Clair at 1:19
23 May 2005
Conference: California Forest Futures 2005
Forests provide a wealth of public benefits - water, wildlife, wilderness, wood and a well-balanced climate. Yet, many in our state are unaware of how greatly we depend on forest goods and services. Even more are unaware of the dangers facing California's forests today. Losing more and more forests to development is a crisis of historic proportions we must work together to solve.
California Forest Futures 2005 is a two-day conference that will examine the forces dramatically re-shaping our forest landscapes and explore the strategies and actions necessary to secure an economic and ecologically rewarding future.
Topics include:
* making California's forest industry more competitive in a global market while simultaneously protecting forests
* adapting “smart growth†principles to lessen the impact of rural development
* developing new, ecological-based revenue streams from carbon sequestration, water flows and habitat
* expanding the use of working conservation easements to preserve the private forest infrastructure
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Posted by Eva St. Clair at 1:10
02 June 2005
CWH now jointly administered by CNR and SPH
A recent celebration announced the partnership between the School of Public Health and the College of Natural Resources as co-directors over the Center for Weight and Health.
On Thursday, June 2, CNR Dean Paul Ludden and Stephen Shortell, dean of the School of Public Health, announced a new partnership between the schools to jointly administer UC Berkeley's Center for Weight and Health.
The Center for Weight and Health co-sponsors the largest nationwide conference on childhood obesity, the California Childhood Obesity Conference, and provides the most comprehensive resource on the subject though its extensive research.
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Posted by Eva St. Clair at 1:01
07 June 2005
Recent Awards
In case you missed May's CNR Awards Ceremony, you should know the college honored two friends with the CNR citation, and also recognized several staff and faculty.
* * *
Congratulations to Beth Boyer, Justin Brashares and Per Palsboll, all of whom recently received Junior Faculty Research Grants from the Committee on Research.
* * *
Andy Jackson received the Ruth Allen Award from the American Phytopathological Society for "outstanding, innovative research contributions."
* * *
Bob Buchanan was honored with the Stephen Hales Prize, the highest award of the American Society of Plant Biologists; he also recently received the highest award bestowed by his alma mater, Emory and Henry College.
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Posted by Eva St. Clair at 0:51
05 July 2005
ARE Update Quarterly July/August 2005
The latest ARE Update Quarterly Newsletter is now available.
Contents include:
1. "Diamond Walnut Growers."
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Posted by Eva St. Clair at 0:45
01 August 2005
UC gives tips for coping with heat stress
by Pam Kan-Rice
The heat-related death of a man harvesting peppers in Kern County last month is a tragic reminder of the dangers of heat stress.
To help reduce dangers of becoming overheated, a University of California Cooperative Extension specialist has produced a heat-stress information card for farmworkers that explains in English and Spanish how heat-related illnesses develop and how to avoid them.
Download a fold-up heat stress information card in English and Spanish (PDF)
More references about heat stress are available here.
Although the advice is directed at farmworkers, it is useful to anyone who works in the heat.
UC Berkeley-based agricultural personnel management specialist Howard Rosenberg warns that excess heat can impair the body even before a person feels ill. Symptoms of heat stress may include general discomfort, loss of coordination and stamina, weakness, poor concentration, irritability, muscle pain and cramping, fatigue, blurry vision, headache, dizziness, nausea, confusion, and unconsciousness (see "Heat illness symptoms and first aid" sidebar).
Although some of the heat that people have to deal with at work comes from the sun and ambient air, most heat is generated by their own bodies, Rosenberg says. "At rest the body produces little heat, but at work it demands more energy and faster metabolism, which greatly increases internal heat production," he explains.
To cool itself, the body first increases blood flow toward the body surface. This reduces the flow available to carry oxygen and nutrients to the muscles, brain and other internal organs, which in turn impairs strength, diminishes alertness and accelerates fatigue.
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Posted by Eva St. Clair at 0:41
01 August 2005
Student Resource Center gets new computers
The College of Natural Resources’ Student Resource Center located in 260 Mulford recently acquired ten new computers, replacing older computers that did not meet University security standards.
The new computers not only meet security standards, but also provide faster and more powerful computing.
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Posted by Eva St. Clair at 0:40
22 August 2005
Cal Still No. 1 National Public University
by Michelle Maitre
Magazine ranks Berkeley top public university, 20th among all colleges in country
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY has again ranked as the nation's best public university in U.S. News and World Report's annual list of top colleges.
The magazine's "America's Best Colleges" rankings, released today, are based on a formula that includes graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, peer review and other factors. UC Berkeley has held the top public spot for several years, occasionally tying with the University of Virginia.
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Posted by Eva St. Clair at 0:37
05 September 2005
Jobs & Internships
Institute for International Public Policy: Sophomores
California Wilderness Coalition Policy Intern
Institute for International Public Policy (open to underrepresented minority)
The IIPP Fellowship program provides students with specially designed education and training experiences critical to entry and advancement in international affairs careers. Students are recruited from across the nation and apply as sophomores to participate in a multi-year sequence of summer policy institutes, study abroad, intensive language training, internships, and graduate study, complemented by career development services along the way. UNCFSP is aided in the student recruitment effort by its institutional partners and distinguished selection panels comprised of practitioners, academics, graduate school admissions directors, foundation executives, and IIPP alumni.
Applicants must meet the following eligibility requirements: Sophomore student, enrolled full-time at four-year (baccalaureate) institution; U.S. citizen or permanent resident (documentary support required)
Minimum 3.2 grade point average (on 4.0-scale) Strong interest in international affairs
CALIFORNIA WILDERNESS COALITION
Job Announcement
JOB TITLE: Policy Intern
ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND:
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Posted by Eva St. Clair at 0:32
30 September 2005
Networking 101: Students mix with alumni in environmental fields
Networking events can really help students with their career choices, and those who attended the Environmental Alumni & Students Mixer on Sept. 30 certainly got their share of information and resources.
Continue reading "Networking 101: Students mix with alumni in environmental fields" » | Permalink
Posted by Eva St. Clair at 0:29
14 November 2005
In Memoriam: Professor Jenny Lanjouw
Jean O. Lanjouw, associate professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley, died of cancer on Nov. 1, within just a few months of learning of her diagnosis. She died in Washington, D.C., where she shared a home with her husband and two children. She was 43.
Continue reading "In Memoriam: Professor Jenny Lanjouw" » | Permalink
Posted by Eva St. Clair at 9:36
03 November 2009
Discussing the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act
Professor Michael Hanemann of ARE discusses S.1733, the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, on KPFA's "Letters to Washington."
Continue reading "Discussing the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act" » | Permalink
Posted by Eva St. Clair at 1:56
01 November 2009
A New ARE Study Projects Growth Dividend from Comprehensive National Climate Policy
As the U.S. Senate debates clean energy and climate legislation, a new economic analysis finds that strong federal policy could stimulate both employment and income growth across the national economy. The new study was conducted by the University of California in collaboration with University of Illinois and Yale University and provides an in-depth, state-by-state examination of the impacts of three pillars of federal legislation: energy efficiency, renewable energy and limits on carbon pollution.
“This report shows that stronger federal energy and climate policies are compatible with economic growth,†said the report’s lead author David Roland-Holst, Adjunct Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UC Berkeley. “Those who say we cannot afford to take action now may not understand the opportunity we stand to lose by not acting. By revenue, energy is the world’s largest industry, yet traditional energy use patterns have created unsustainable carbon liabilities that threaten all of us. The next great knowledge-intensive sector will arise in an emerging multi-billion dollar global clean energy market. To participate in this technology breakout, we need policies that price carbon risk responsibly and create appropriate incentives for investors and innovators.â€
Continue reading "A New ARE Study Projects Growth Dividend from Comprehensive National Climate Policy" » | Permalink
Posted by Eva St. Clair at 2:04
17 September 2005
CNR Celebrates 75th Anniversary of the Construction of Giannini Hall
On September 16, 2005, the College of Natural Resources celebrated Amadeo Peter Giannini's foresight and his generosity to the University of California and to agriculture in California and throughout the world.
Continue reading "CNR Celebrates 75th Anniversary of the Construction of Giannini Hall" » | Permalink
Posted by Eva St. Clair at 0:34
21 October 2009
Toward a More Integrated Social Science
By Professor David Zilberman
I got a kick out of learning that Eleanor Ostrom and Berkeley’s Oliver Williamson won the Nobel in Economics. I had a similar response when the Psychologist, Dan Kahneman, won the prize. These are important steps in the expansion of economics and establishing an integrated social science based on rigorous logical thinking and empiricism. This integrated new social science will provide insight on how people think and interact and how to improve the human condition.
Continue reading "Toward a More Integrated Social Science" » | Permalink
Posted by Eva St. Clair at 8:45
28 September 2009
1.9 Million New Jobs Could Be Created by Climate & Energy Bills Being Considered by Congress
by Professor David Roland-Holst, ARE
A new analysis by ARE economists at University of California, Berkeley finds that the pollution reduction and energy efficiency measures contained in the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) – already passed by the U.S. House of Representatives -- could create between 918,000 and 1.9 million new jobs, increase annual household income by $487-1,175 per year and boost Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by $39 - $111 billion by 2020.
Continue reading "1.9 Million New Jobs Could Be Created by Climate & Energy Bills Being Considered by Congress" » | Permalink
Posted by Eva St. Clair at 2:13
02 September 2009
Homecoming at CNR 2009
Come back to Cal on October 2-4! You can register online and then check out who's coming.
Be sure to check out these fascinating lectures by CNR professors:
Friday, October 2
"Evolutionary Biology of Fungi: Human Pathogens"
John Taylor, Professor of Plant and Microbial Biology
9:30-10:30 am
Banatao Auditorium, Sutardja Dai Hall
Some fungi specialize as parasites of animals, including humans. Two such species, Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioides posadasii, cause valley fever, a potentially fatal flu-like illness that mostly affects rural residents in the Southwest. This seminar will focus on how we have found genes that show evidence of natural selection and might be important to preventing or treating the disease.
"The Buzz on Bees: Why We Need Them for Our Health"
Claire Kremen, Associate Professor, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management
Bechtel Engineering Center Sibley Auditorium
2:00 - 3:00 pm
Continue reading "Homecoming at CNR 2009" » | Permalink
Posted by Eva St. Clair at 1:58
25 August 2009
Regulatory Woes Blocked Flow of Agbiotech Innovations
Regulatory changes enacted a decade ago appear to be responsible for dramatically slowing the flow of quality-improving agricultural biotechnology innovations to a mere trickle, reports a team of agricultural economists and biotechnology experts.
Findings from the study, published in the August issue of the journal Nature Biotechnology, suggest that the slowdown may have lasting social welfare costs, such as the delay of nutritional improvements, production efficiencies and environmental protections.
"One of the great frustrations in the agricultural biotechnology community has been the failure of many new products with enhanced quality traits -- such as nutritional content, ripening control and processing attributes -- to reach consumers and processers," said Gregory Graff, an agricultural economist now at Colorado State University.
Continue reading "Regulatory Woes Blocked Flow of Agbiotech Innovations " » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 6:34
21 April 2009
ELP Alumna wins Goldman Environmental Prize
Working to reduce the impact of Bangladesh’s exploitative and environmentally-devastating ship breaking industry, leading environmental attorney Syeda Rizwana Hasan spearheaded a legal battle resulting in increased government regulation and heightened public awareness about the dangers of ship breaking.
Hasan is a 2003 alumna of CNR's renowned Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program, which provides mid-career professionals and policymakers from around the globe with an opportunity to interact with UC Berkeley faculty engaged in up-to-date research and policy analysis on sustainable environmental management.
Continue reading "ELP Alumna wins Goldman Environmental Prize" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 3:27
15 March 2009
Professor Max Auffhammer honored with 2009 Distinguished Teaching Award
Maximilian Auffhammer, assistant professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics and International and Area Studies, has received the Distinguished Teaching Award for 2009.
Continue reading "Professor Max Auffhammer honored with 2009 Distinguished Teaching Award" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 0:58
30 January 2009
Green Perspectives: David Roland-Holst
In a recent conversation with Green Technology magazine, Professor David Roland-Holst, co-author of two key reports on green economic policies, discussed workforce creation, federal stimulus money and governmental policymaking.
Continue reading "Green Perspectives: David Roland-Holst " » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 7:14
12 December 2008
Study Underscores Impact of Court Imposed Water Pumping Restrictions
A study prepared by Berkeley Economic Consulting, under the direction of David Sunding, professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics, outlines the statewide economic and water supply implications of ongoing water pumping restrictions imposed by federal courts in California to protect the Delta smelt. In early December, 2008, environmental and sport-fishing groups filed suit to force the complete and total shutdown of delta water pumping operations.
According to the study, statewide economic impacts can exceed $1 billion per year during drought years such as those currently facing the state, and may well exceed $3 billion should the state enter a prolonged dry period. Additionally, the report documents the severe water supply implications of the Court's orders. Even during average and wet periods the Court imposed restrictions exacerbate ongoing drought conditions by limiting the ability of water managers to replenish water storage facilities and groundwater reserves. The net result is a significant additional blow to the state economy and a greatly reduced ability to respond to severe drought and other emergencies.
Continue reading "Study Underscores Impact of Court Imposed Water Pumping Restrictions" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 5:56
18 November 2008
The staggering cost of climate change quantified for California
Hot on the heels of a report demonstrating the economic opportunities available to California if it invests in policies to address climate change, ARE adjunct professor David Roland-Holst has released a new study showing the enormous costs to the state posed by global warming.
About $2.5 trillion of real estate assets in California are at risk, with a projected annual price tag of between $300 million and $3.9 billion, according to the report.
Continue reading "The staggering cost of climate change quantified for California" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 1:27
20 October 2008
Green Policies in California Generated Jobs
From the New York Times: "California’s energy-efficiency policies created nearly 1.5 million jobs from 1977 to 2007, while eliminating fewer than 25,000, according to a study to be released Monday."
The study, conducted by David Roland-Holst, an economist at the Center for Energy, Resources and Economic Sustainability at the University of California, Berkeley, found that while the state’s policies lowered employee compensation in the electric power industry by an estimated $1.6 billion over that period, it improved compensation in the state over all by $44.6 billion.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/20/business/20green.html
Continue reading "Green Policies in California Generated Jobs" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 3:04
23 September 2008
Michael Hanemann receives European Lifetime Achievement Award in Environmental Economics
W. Michael Hanemann, professor of agricultural and resource economics, has received the 2008 European Lifetime Achievement Award in Environmental Economics.
From the prize selection committee:
Continue reading "Michael Hanemann receives European Lifetime Achievement Award in Environmental Economics" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 0:58
11 September 2008
Award-winning paper prescribes how to improve upon Kyoto
Larry Karp, professor of agricultural and resource economics, and Jinhua Zhao, an economist at Iowa State University (and Berkeley ARE Ph.D.) were recently named winners of the Harvard Project on International Climate Agreements research paper competition.
As reported in Breakthroughs last year, their paper proposes a design for a successor to the Kyoto Protocol.
Continue reading "Award-winning paper prescribes how to improve upon Kyoto" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 6:23
21 August 2008
The Risks of Outsourcing Climate Action
A policy paper by University of California Berkeley economist David Roland-Holst says that greenhouse gass "offsets," a popular strategy for meeting carbon emissions, should play only a limited role in cap-and-trade programs.
Continue reading "The Risks of Outsourcing Climate Action" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 1:04
19 August 2008
Senior leadership changes at CNR
Several changes in CNR's senior leadership go into effect with the new semester.
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Continue reading "Senior leadership changes at CNR" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 9:50
18 July 2008
Regents' vote formalizes appointment of J. Keith Gilless as CNR's Dean
The UC Board of Regents has approved the appointment of six new deans for the University of California, Berkeley, following highly competitive searches and the recommendation of UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau. The Regents' action on Thursday (July 17) at UC Santa Barbara cleared the appointment of Professor J. Keith Gilless as Dean of the College of Natural Resources.
Gilless has been serving as interim dean since Paul Ludden accepted the position of provost and vice president for academic affairs at Southern Methodist University in 2007.
Continue reading "Regents' vote formalizes appointment of J. Keith Gilless as CNR's Dean" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 9:02
27 May 2008
Addressing Global Hunger & Poverty through Agricultural Development
Continue reading "Addressing Global Hunger & Poverty through Agricultural Development" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 5:59
22 April 2008
The Tiger Effect
Want to play golf like Tiger Woods? The trick may be to play against him. A study conducted by Agriculture and Natural Resources Ph.D. candidate Jennifer Brown has shown that golfers may actually play better when pitted against a superstar like Woods. Brown analyzed over twenty thousand golf matches and factored in weather and course conditions to determine that golfers played an average of one stroke better when facing off against Woods.
Continue reading "The Tiger Effect" » | Permalink
Posted by Stephanie Ludwig at 4:26
22 April 2008
Global Food Shortages: A Lasting Problem?
Notice a rise in the cost of a loaf of bread at the supermarket? You’re not alone. Overall, retail food prices in the United States have increased 4.4 percent in the last year. Other parts of the world have been harder hit and extreme food shortages have lead to riots and civil unrest.
Continue reading "Global Food Shortages: A Lasting Problem?" » | Permalink
Posted by Stephanie Ludwig at 4:02
10 March 2008
New analysis shows alarming increase in expected growth of China's carbon dioxide emissions
The growth in China's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is far outpacing previous estimates, making the goal of stabilizing atmospheric greenhouse gases even more difficult, according to a new analysis by economists at the University of California, Berkeley, and UC San Diego.
Continue reading "New analysis shows alarming increase in expected growth of China's carbon dioxide emissions" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 5:53
24 January 2008
Competing Against Superstars
This week, Slate.com's Joel Waldfogel considers "The Tiger Woods Effect -- How Tiger throws off golf's incentive structure:
"Strong competitors are generally thought to bring out the best in everyone, but what if the competition is so strong it makes the top prize feel out of reach? Can strong competition actually undermine a reward structure? A new study by Jennifer Brown of UC Berkeley provides an answer to this question by looking at the world of professional golf, with Tiger Woods playing the role of the strong competitor."
Continue reading "Competing Against Superstars" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 0:18
27 October 2007
Two CNR Scientists named fellows of AAAS
Two CNR faculty members have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Robert L. Fischer, professor of plant and microbial biology, was recognized "for distinguished contributions to the study of epigenetic processes through pioneering work on plant gene imprinting, DNA demethylation and Polycomb group proteins."
Richard B. Norgaard, professor of agricultural and resource economics and of energy and resources, was recognized "for path-breaking contributions to environmental and ecological economics and for improving the scientific content of public and policy discourse on sustainability and the future."
Continue reading "Two CNR Scientists named fellows of AAAS" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 1:12
23 October 2007
ARE Professor Co-Directs World Bank Report
by Sarah Yang, UCB Media Relations
A renewed focus on agricultural development is critical to successfully reducing global poverty and hunger, according to a new World Bank report co-authored by Alain de Janvry, professor of agricultural and resource economics and of public policy.
Continue reading "ARE Professor Co-Directs World Bank Report" » | Permalink
Posted by Eva St. Clair at 0:52
20 August 2007
Prof. Gordon Rausser will serve as editor of the new Annual Review journal in resource economics
Robert Gordon Sproul Distinguished Professor Gordon Rausser has been selected as editor of The Annual Review of Resource Economics for 2007-2011. The premier Annual Reviews have long focused on science but are now launching three Annual Reviews in economics. The others will be edited by Ken Arrow (General Economics) and Robert Merton (Financial Economics).
The Annual Review of Resource Economics will critically review and evaluate the most significant primary research literature in the key areas of the field: agriculture, environment, renewable resources, and exhaustible resources. Professor David Zilberman will also sit on the publication's editorial committee.
Continue reading "Prof. Gordon Rausser will serve as editor of the new Annual Review journal in resource economics" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 9:40
02 August 2007
ARE Faculty and Alumni Receive Honors
Several CNR faculty and alumni from the department of Agriculture and Resource Economics were honored with awards from the American Agricultural Economics Association at that group's 2007 annual meeting in July.
Professor David Zilberman and his co-editors were given the association’s Quality of Communication Award for their book on the regulation of GMOs, Regulating Agricultural Biotechnology.
Zilberman also received an award for Outstanding Article in the Review of Agricultural Economics for his article "Adoption of Bt Cotton and Impact Variability: Insights from India."
Continue reading "ARE Faculty and Alumni Receive Honors" » | Permalink
Posted by Stephanie Ludwig at 2:13
01 August 2007
China's Chance to Lead
This op-ed, by Assistant Professor Max Auffhammer and UCSD economist Richard Carson, originally appeared in the Washington Post on August 2, 2007.
Continue reading "China's Chance to Lead" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 3:20
20 May 2007
Commencement address by Dr. Florence Wambugu, CEO, Africa Harvest
Graduation day is a significant and memorable event in one's life time. It marks a transition from one phase of life to another. It is, therefore, an immense privilege for me to be here today, to celebrate with you this significant day for the graduands, faculty, administration and parents.
Continue reading "Commencement address by Dr. Florence Wambugu, CEO, Africa Harvest" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 2:00
17 May 2007
J. Keith Gilless named Interim Dean
Professor J. Keith Gilless has been appointed interim dean of the College of Natural Resources effective July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008. Gilless joined the faculty in1983 and is professor of Forest Economics and Management jointly in the departments of Environmental Science, Policy and Management and of Agricultural and Resource Economics. He is currently serving as the executive associate dean of the College and will succeed Dean Paul Ludden, who has accepted the position of provost and vice president for academic affairs at Southern Methodist University.
Continue reading "J. Keith Gilless named Interim Dean" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 9:58
09 April 2007
Professor David Zilberman and Board Member Jim Lugg Honored with CNR Citation
The College of Natural Resources Citation is CNR’s highest award and was created to honor groups or individuals who have made exceptional contributions to CNR. This year’s recipients are advisory board member Jim Lugg and Professor David Zilberman.
Jim Lugg, president of FreshExpress and an alum of CNR, has been a major supporter of the college. “Jim Lugg is one of the advisory board’s most active members, continuing on the executive committee following his chairmanship, as co-chair of the development committee,†writes nominator Kass Green. “He is always willing to participate in student events and lend his professionalism and expertise to the student experience. His love and enthusiasm for his profession are infectious.â€
Continue reading "Professor David Zilberman and Board Member Jim Lugg Honored with CNR Citation" » | Permalink
Posted by Stephanie Ludwig at 3:35
09 April 2007
Assistant Professor Auffhammer Receives CNR Young Faculty/CE Specialist Award
Assistant Professor Max Auffhammer may be a relative newcomer on the Berkeley campus, but he has already made a big difference. Auffhammer, who has taught at Berkeley since 2003, is the recipient of this year’s CNR Young Faculty/CE Specialist Award. He has a joint appointment in the department of Agriculture and Resource Economics and International Area Studies. Auffhammer has developed two new courses as well as a seminar for students completing their dissertation. His students say “Amazing Max is one of the best professors I’ve had at Berkeley; he’s down to earth, accessible, friendly, and funny.â€
Continue reading "Assistant Professor Auffhammer Receives CNR Young Faculty/CE Specialist Award" » | Permalink
Posted by Stephanie Ludwig at 3:28
06 April 2007
Increased production of biofuels might help farmers & address climate change, but it could inflate food prices
From the Associated Press:
Increased production of biofuels such as ethanol might help farmers' bottom lines and address climate-change concerns, but it could inflate food prices worldwide, warns a former White House economist.
"Worldwide, especially in developing countries ... food price increases are definitely something we're going to have to come to grips with," said David Sunding, who served on former President Bill Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers.
Sunding, an [agricultural resources and economics] professor at the University of California, Berkeley, spoke on March 26 to water experts at a conference at the University of Nebraska.
The combination of rising energy prices and the demand for corn, which is used to produce ethanol, will continue to drive up commodity prices, he said.
Corn prices have already begun to soar. A rush to turn more land into corn production could decrease supplies of other commodities, driving up prices of them as well.
The resulting higher market prices could then dampen the public's support for government subsidies that are designed to help farmers reap profits when markets are down.
Continue reading "Increased production of biofuels might help farmers & address climate change, but it could inflate food prices" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 8:28
14 March 2007
Does Early Daylight Savings Really Save Energy?
Thanks to Congress, the U.S. "sprang forward" three weeks early this year, and daylight savings time will last one week longer in the fall. The idea behind the switch is energy conservation.
But as reported here in January, two ARE researchers, doctoral students Ryan Kellogg and Hendrik Wolff, found that a similar switch in Australia didn't meet the mark. Now that the the bleary-eyed mornings and brighter evenings are upon us, their work is getting a lot more attention:
Daylight Savings Might Not Save Energy (Video - ABC News)
Continue reading "Does Early Daylight Savings Really Save Energy?" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 0:00
22 February 2007
Auffhammer's "Brown Cloud" study named "Paper of the Year" by PNAS
The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) has awarded the Cozzarelli Prize to ARE assistant professor Max Auffhammer and his co-authors for their 2006 paper showing that reductions of human-generated 
air pollution could create unexpected agricultural benefits in one of the world's poorest regions.
Auffhammer, along with co-authors from UC San Diego, analyzed historical data on Indian rice harvests and found that harvests would have been 20 to 25 percent higher during some years in the 1990s if certain negative climate impacts had not occurred.
Just six papers, out of the 3,300 research articles published in PNAS in 2006, were chosen for the Cozzarelli prize.
Continue reading "Auffhammer's "Brown Cloud" study named "Paper of the Year" by PNAS" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 4:50
19 January 2007
Relying on Berkeley research, California establishes groundbreaking carbon standard for fuels
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has issued an executive order calling for California to establish the world's first carbon standard for transportation fuels. (Read about it in the Governor's op-ed here.)
Relying on research by David Roland-Holst, adjunct professor in ARE, the governor writes:
Continue reading "Relying on Berkeley research, California establishes groundbreaking carbon standard for fuels" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 1:20
02 December 2006
Undergrad Matt Stuckey uses DNA to understand butterfly evolution in the Sierra
Matthew Stuckey, fourth year in Environmental Economics and Policy and Conservation Resource Studies, is researching how the butterfly Colias behrii colonized the Sierra Nevada.
Through mentorship with Professor George Roderick and graduate student Sean Schoville, Stuckey has been working on cloning nuclear genes to assess genetic variation within and among populations of C. behrii.
Roderick’s team is using genetics to understand how organisms have colonized new areas. SPUR funds have helped provide chemicals and lab supplies necessary for molecular cloning – a technique essential for Stukey’s research.
Continue reading "Undergrad Matt Stuckey uses DNA to understand butterfly evolution in the Sierra" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 0:49
17 January 2007
Across the board, CNR doctoral programs ranked among the top
The faculty of each of CNR's departments have been ranked among the top 5 in their fields, according to a new "Scholarly Productivity Index," with the Plant Biology program ranked #1 in the nation.
The rankings, assessed by the private company Academic Analytics, are based on measurements of faculty productivity in terms of publications, federal-grant dollars awarded, and honors and awards.
Data from the 2005 rankings -- which are not without their share of controversy -- were published and explained in depth in The Chronicle of Higher Education (available by subscription here).
UC Berkeley doctoral programs from within CNR received impressive rankings:
Continue reading "Across the board, CNR doctoral programs ranked among the top" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 1:30
11 January 2007
Springing forward may not help save energy
Springing forward may not help save energy, according to a study by two graduate students in Agricultural and Resource Economics.
From Bloomberg:
U.S. plans to cut electricity usage by lengthening daylight saving time may backfire, the report said. Lengthening daylight saving time by several weeks was included in energy legislation passed in 2005, with the goal of saving energy equivalent to 100,000 barrels of oil a day.
Extending daylight saving time may actually result in increased electricity demand as additional usage during morning hours cancels out the reduced demand in the evening, according to the Berkeley study. The paper analyzed electricity usage in Australia, which lengthened its daylight saving time by two months while hosting the 2000 Olympics.
Continue reading "Springing forward may not help save energy" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 5:40
11 January 2007
Illicit "market for trust" on eBay
Some eBay users are artificially boosting their reputations by buying and selling feedback on the Internet auction site, according to John Morgan, a professor at Berkeley's Haas School of Business, and Jennifer Brown, a doctoral student in Agricultural and Resource Economics.
Continue reading "Illicit "market for trust" on eBay" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 0:37
03 January 2007
Bringing carbon buyers and sellers to market
This editorial by Professor David Sunding appeared Dec. 28, 2006, in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's executive order to begin implementation of a market-based compliance program encouraging businesses to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions is clearly a step in the right direction toward cleaning our air of harmful carbon particulates. The next step is to make it financially attractive enough for businesses to comply with the program.
Continue reading "Bringing carbon buyers and sellers to market" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 0:23
05 December 2006
Reducing pollution could increase rice harvests in India
Reductions of human-generated air pollution could create unexpected agricultural benefits in one of the world's poorest regions, according to new research by Maximilian Auffhammer, assistant professor of agricultural resources and economics, and his collaborators.
Continue reading "Reducing pollution could increase rice harvests in India" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 1:06
30 November 2006
Tours begin of eco-friendly "green apartment"
Four Cal students living in a new "Green Apartment" demonstrate sustainable living. The apartment is the latest addition to an expanding effort by the Green Room Committee to educate the campus community about recycling, water and energy conservation and about purchasing decisions.
EEP major Desirae Early explains the "Green Apartment"
Continue reading "Tours begin of eco-friendly "green apartment"" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 4:04
21 August 2006
Not facing warming is costly
From a letter to the Sacramento Bee by Prof. Michael Hanemann:
Continue reading "Not facing warming is costly" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 3:50
17 August 2006
Report: Climate action will boost state economy
A new report delivered to state legislators and led by ARE Professor David Roland-Host says that returning California greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, as envisioned by pending global warming legislation, could significantly stimulate the state economy.
Continue reading "Report: Climate action will boost state economy" » | Permalink
Posted by Cyril at 1:51
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