Climate Break

What Does Extreme Heat Do? Since the pre-industrialized era, the global temperature has increased by about one degree Celsius. Although one degree may not seem significant, the consequences are increases in the intensity of heatwaves and drier conditions. In addition, in dense urban settings buildings trap and absorb this heat and cause even a higher area of heat relative to surrounding areas. The...

Extreme Heat: More Dangerous Than We Think? Extreme heat , one of the adverse consequences of climate change, exacerbates drought, damages agriculture, and profoundly impacts human health. Heat is the top weather-related killer in the United States, contributing to deaths that arise from heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular diseases. As temperatures are projected to increase, so will t...

Wildfires and climate change: a brief overview  North America is no stranger to wildfires. As of August 15, 2024, 29,917 fires this year have burned more than 5.2 million acres, according to the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. While this year’s number of wildfires is below the annual average of 35,691, the yearly acres burned is above the average of 3.8 million acres of the past 10 years. While...

The aviation industry and climate change: what are contrails?   A 2022 IPCC report found that direct GHG emissions from the transport sector accounted for 23% of global energy-related CO2 emissions in 2019. Road vehicles accounted for 70% of direct transport emissions, while 1%, 11%, and 12% of emissions came from rail, shipping, and aviation, respectively.  As the mounting effects of climate chan...

What is COF 999? UC Berkeley chemistry professor Dr. Omar Yaghi recently led a study which has the potential to be revolutionary in reducing the quantity of carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere. “Covalent organic framework number 999,” or COF 999, is a yellow, powder-like material that has billions of tiny holes. Inside of these holes, researchers in Dr. Yaghi’s lab have installed molecular un...

What is methane?  Methane (CH4) (the primary component of “natural gas”) is the second most important greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide. Around 60% of global methane emissions come from human activities in three main sectors: energy production (oil, gas, and coal), agriculture (livestock and rice), and waste (landfill and waste water). Energy production accounts for about 35% of anthropogenic me...

The Benefits of Recycling Wind Turbines While wind energy is renewable and non-polluting, the wind turbines themselves can create pollution problems. Now, scientists are creating wind turbines that can be made with less energy, but also create less waste because they can be recycled. This, of course, reduces impacts on the waste stream and provides a sustainable alternative to current wind turbine...

What is Chaos Wheat? Wheat varieties that are resilient to climate change are sometimes referred to as "chaos wheat." An initiative of King Arthur Baking Company–an emerging leader in the creation of chaos wheat–and Washington State University's Breadlab is aiming to create wheat blends, such as King Arthur's Regeneratively-Grown Climate Blend Flour, composed of unique wheat varieties bred for res...

The Rise in EV Adoption The US electric vehicle (EV) market is expected to reach a revenue of $95.9 billion this year, with a projected annual growth rate of 12.61% over the course of the next four years. By 2035, California and twelve other states are planning to achieve 100% zero-emission new vehicle sales, calling upon local governments to assist in the EV transition to ensure equitable access...

Electric Heat: A Hot Topic in Chicago In cold winter months, many people have to rely on fossil gas to heat their homes and power cookstoves. Yet all-electric appliances, including heat pumps to heat homes, are quickly becoming a cheaper alternative over the long term, though they often entail higher upfront costs compared to gas appliances. In Chicago, the switch from natural gas to electricity i...

Pumped Storage Hydropower as a Climate Solution Pumped storage hydropower, also known as water batteries, are often used as a means to store excess renewable energy. For example, solar and wind may generate more energy than is needed during certain times of the day and less than what is needed at other times.  As a result, water batteries are extremely useful as a way to store and release energy d...

The Role of Public Universities in the Fight Against Climate Change Public universities like UC Berkeley have played a major role in developing climate solutions, from innovation in labs to policy initiatives. In order to create positive change in the climate space, science requires funding, which universities can provide. Further, universities, of course, educate, train, and interact firsthand wi...

What is Energy-as-a-Service? Most current energy technologies burn fossil fuels and emit carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming.  Adopting low and zero-carbon technologies is one way to reduce emissions, but barriers such as high upfront and maintenance costs have impeded the adoption of these technologies.  Energy as a Service (EaaS) is a pay-for-performance model in which customers...

Climate change and household financial well-being  The increase in climate-related disasters, such as floods, wildfires, and heat waves, has created serious financial burdens on households across the country. Since 1980, the world has seen a fivefold increase in the number of billion-dollar natural disasters. 2018 to 2022 alone saw an estimated $617 billion in damages from climate and weather rela...

Brewing a Greener Future Ever wonder where your used coffee grounds go after they’ve been completed? Probably not. But at South Dakota State University, researchers are turning them into something entirely unexpected: plastic. Not just any plastic, but a biodegradable alternative to oil and gas-based plastics that dominate the industry today. This innovative approach not only tackles the issue of...

What is the Waverley Street Foundation? The Waverley Street Foundation, founded by Laurene Powell Jobs in 2016, aims to attack climate related issues through funding community-led programs, leading to community action against climate change. The Waverley Street Foundation specifically funds programs related to renewable energy and regenerative agriculture, as these sectors have an immense impact o...

Introduction People with disabilities are disproportionately affected by climate change; however, they have been traditionally excluded from conversations about national plans and responses to climate change. Including the disabled community in decision making is key to addressing potential harms and designing effective, inclusive solutions.  Disabled Community Disproportionately Affected Many stu...

Modern HVAC Systems' Reliance on Refrigerant  In 2020, nearly 90% of homes used air conditioning systems in the United States. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are used by both homeowners and businesses alike, with their usage only expected to rise as climate change increases global temperatures. Refrigerant , a chemical compound that is capable of transitioning from liquid...

What does a zero-emission vehicle really mean? Clean transportation policies promoting sustainability have progressed over the years and have become even more important, both because transportation represents the largest portion of greenhouse gas emissions and because climate change has been accelerating at unprecedented rates. The public is likely more familiar with zero-emission cars, but zero-e...

How Can Coral IVF Fight Coral Bleaching? As ocean temperatures increase due to climate change, an emergent crisis known as coral bleaching is on the rise. Coral bleaching poses the largest threat to coral reefs, which are some of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. Coral reef habitats occupy less than one percent of the ocean floor, but constitute more than 25% of all marine life, providing...

The Benefits of Restoring Aquatic Ecosystems For over a century, native salmon populations in California have been adversely impacted by human activities such as mining, dam building, and overfishing practices, often leading to the loss of critical habitat and  decreased genetic diversity. With additional environmental stress from climate change , such as rising surface temperatures and changes in...

Reconductoring power grids to boost energy efficiency The expansion of renewable energy has resulted in a heightened need for greater transmission capacity of the electrical grid. Unfortunately, permitting and cost allocation have been large hurdles to the potential of rapid expansion to meet future demand. As an alternative, large-scale reconductoring of advanced conductor systems has been propos...

What are public utility commissions (PUCs)?  In the transition to clean energy, state public utility commissions (PUCs), which regulate electric, gas, telecommunications, water and wastewater utilities, play an increasingly important role in achieving energy efficiency, enabling renewable energy, and implementing policies for greenhouse gas emissions reduction. PUCs  play a pivotal role in determi...

How Sustainable Wood Helps Mitigate the Impact of Climate Change Sustainable wood refers to the use of mass timber , which involves smaller pieces of wood that are dried and glued together in a perpendicular, crosswise pattern to form large slabs. This process can incorporate a closed-loop system that repurposes wood , promoting a circular practice that minimizes wood waste and reduces landfill us...

How Climate Change Puts the Agriculture Industry at Risk Since the Industrial Revolution, our soils have lost between twenty and sixty percent of their carbon levels as a result of agricultural practice exacerbated by more common and more extreme droughts and floods resulting from climate change. Farmers have witnessed their crops endure mass devastation as a result of these unprecedented environm...