CNR dean Keith Gilless comments in this article from The Hill on current fire conditions in the western US. "When you have a period of drought and suddenly you have a normal or better-than-normal winter, you will get a lot of fine fuel growth,” said Gilless. “The danger with the grasses, they will dry out regardless of how much rain [there is]. They’re going to get dry as heck by fire season, regardless of how wet the winter was.”
Washington Post | May 22, 2017
ERG professor Dan Kammen is featured in this Washington Post article on two new studies suggesting that carbon-capturing biomass plantations cannot singlehandedly solve the world's climate problems. Kammen says the findings correlate with previous studies. Biomass energy systems could be valuable, he says, "but only if the biomass is entirely sustainable." Ultimately, "the value of a biomass crop for meeting climate targets is non-existent."
PBS News Hour | May 20, 2017
ARE grad student Susanna Berkouwer is featured in this PBS News Hour piece on electricity access in Kenya, where the government aims to acheive universal access to electricity by 2020. Berkouwer is part of a team that surveyed 4,000 households in Kenya to measure the impact of electricity on people's lives - everything from health to education to employment.
Pacific Standard | May 19, 2017
ARE Ph.D. candidate Tamma Carleton has been chosen by Pacific Standard as one of the Top Thirty Thinkers Under 30. In her research, Carleton combines social and physical data with statistical models to assess how issues such as climate change and freshwater scarcity affect poverty and economic growth.
UCANR Green Blog | May 18, 2017
ESPM CE specialist and adjunct professor Adina Merenlender authored this post for the UC ANR Green Blog on increased visitation at parks and the impacts of human recreational activity on wildlife.
Vox | May 17, 2017
ERG professor Dan Kammen stars in this Climate Lab UCOP/Vox media collaboration video on nuclear energy technology. Kammen joins other nuclear energy experts in discussing new nuclear energy technology. Kammen noted that promising technologies include small modular reactors, which could have specialized uses.