ERG doctoral student Zeke Hausfather comments in this LA Times article on a newly published analysis that reconciles different climate change data sets and confirms dominant human influence in long-term warming. Hausfather, who was not involved in the paper, noted that the analysis offers a holistic explanation of all the research that has been chipping away at the "climate conundrum."
WaterDeeply | April 27, 2017
ESPM professor Scott Stephens is featured in this WaterDeeply article on California's massive number of dead trees - an estimated 102 million according to a US Forest Service aerial survey in November 2016. Stephens discusses prescribed burning as a potential management strategy for the enormous fire threat posed by the dead trees, but notes that there has never been prescribed burning on this sort of scale before.
Daily Californian | April 25, 2017
ESPM undergrad Allegra Saggese is featured in this Daily Californian article on the expansion of Alameda County's existing reusable bag ordinance to retail stores and restaurants. Saggese, outreach coordinator for the Berkeley Student Food Collective, noted that waste reduction is the starting point to changing lifestyles, adding that the "financial incentive is really important, and it definitely changes consumers' minds."
The New Yorker | April 23, 2017
ERG professor Dan Kammen is quoted in this New Yorker article on the March for Science. As an employee of the State Department, Kammen had been working with governments in Africa and the Middle East on climate and renewable-energy issues. Kammen noted that he had joined the march because "for me it should be a no-brainer that science is a good thing."
Wall Street Journal | April 22, 2017
PMB grad student Daniel Westcott is featured in the Wall Street Journal's review of some scientists' motivations to participate in science activism, including the March for Science. Westcott gave his perspective, noting that he feels there is a growing "disregard" for science that he finds "disheartening," especially when he considers his career prospects. He believes that many people's lack of interaction with scientists is part of the problem, and that many see researchers as "weird." To correct those stereotypes, he says that he and some of his Berkeley colleagues are organizing visits to community events, such as farmers markets, to talk casually with neighbors about their work.
The Chronicle of Higher Education | April 21, 2017
ERG professor Dan Kammen is quoted in this Chronicle of Higher Education article on why he traveled to Washington for the March for Science this past weekend. Kammen, who is a coordinating lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and a science envoy for the U.S. State Department, noted that he thinks the march’s success will be measured by the number of people who attend, and by the opportunities it creates for scientists and engineers to start conversations with the news media and to meet their representatives in D.C.
Daily Californian | April 13, 2017
ERG professor Dan Kammen and grad students Julia Szinai, Ian Bolliger (M.S. '16), and Noah Kittner (M.S. '15) are featured in this Daily Californian article on federal research funding and how the presidential budget could impact graduate students.
Civil Eats | April 10, 2017
ESPM Ph.D. candidate Maywa Montenegro is highlighted in this Civil Eats article on gene editing technology like CRISPR and the potential impacts on big agriculture. Montenegro describes CRISPR/Cas9 as a kind of Swiss army knife with the potential to be paradigm-shifting. But, she adds that, for that reason, it calls for a lot more scrutiny and regulatory oversight