Climate Break

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 mechanical textile recycling? Mechanical textile recycling is a process by which used textiles, particularly those made with natural fibers such as cotton, wool, and linen, are broken down into their individual fibers and then spun into yarn or fabric for reuse in the production of new textiles.  Textile recycling has the potential to reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions associated wi...

What is Community Choice Aggregation? Community Choi ce Aggregation (CCA) is a system that allows local governments to purchase power directly from an energy supplier other than the existing utility. This means that while the existing utility continues to deliver the power, the CCA buys and generates the power itself , potentially from renewable sources. CCAs continue to pay fees to the existing u...

Climate Change and the Law of the Sea Sea level rise due to climate change will directly impact at least 70 countries, many of them small, low-lying island nations. Though their contribution to climate change is very little, they face some of its worst consequences. This is not a new issue, and tension has been building since the late 1980s. In 1989, the Maldives, an island nation in the Indian Oc...

Food Waste is a Global Problem with a Big Carbon Footprint One-third of all food produced is wasted every year – approximately 1.3 billion tons . The UN Environment Program estimates that 3.3 billion tons of CO2 are emitted annually from the resources used to produce wasted food. In the United States alone, 133 billion pounds of edible food, valued at $161 billion , is wasted every year.  Replate’...

Steel Production Globally, 1.9 billion metric tons of crude steel were produced in 2022. Over the past 15 years, the global demand for steel production has nearly doubled, as this versatile product can be found in nearly all modern infrastructure such as buildings, ships, vehicles, machines, and appliances. Conventionally, steel is made from iron ore (the world’s third most produced commodity by v...

Mobilizing Investors to Build a More Sustainable Global Economy As the effects of climate change rise in prevalence, all facets of the global economy will be affected. In order to address many of the global environmental crises of today, such as biodiversity loss and extreme drought, entrepreneurs are looking into sustainable investment initiatives as a tool for change. Sustainable investing is a...

What is carbon mineralization? As defined by the U.S. Geological Survey , “carbon mineralization is the process by which carbon dioxide becomes a solid mineral, such as a carbonate…The biggest advantage of carbon mineralization is that the carbon cannot escape back to the atmosphere.” This generally occurs by injecting carbon dioxide underground into certain rock formations so the carbon dioxide t...

Methane in the Atmosphere: A Serious Risk Many of the solutions we often hear about when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions revolve around reducing carbon emissions, as carbon dioxide (CO2) is the primary greenhouse gas emitted by human activities. Methane, however, is the second most common greenhouse gas, emitted through agricultural practices, landfill waste, coal mining, and oil and...

Impacts of Heat Waves on Human Health Across the United States, climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of heat waves. A heat wave is defined as a persistent period of high temperature days. Although unusually hot days are a natural part of day-to-day variations in weather, heat waves are becoming more common alongside the rapidly accelerating climate crisis. In major cities acros...

The Current State of US Energy Consumption The United States consumes vast amounts of energy and spends enormous amounts of money every year to fuel our economy, business, and lifestyle. The US accounts for 4% of the world’s population, yet uses 16% of the world’s total energy. The production and consumption of energy are major drivers of global climate change, hazardous air pollution, habitat des...

Staying Educated About Climate Change As climate change intensifies, the heightened frequency of natural disaster weather-related events is quickly becoming the new reality. Whether it be prolonged wildfire seasons in Northern California or destructive hurricanes off the Florida coast, citizens across the country are beginning to bear the burden of a changing climate. For those of us yet to experi...

What are “Resilience Hotspots”? Technology and high-tech solutions are not the only responses to climate change. Nature can also be a powerful form of climate resilience. Resilience hotspots are small pockets of nature that, when restored and maintained, act as barriers to climate impacts. For instance, wetlands can insulate shores from storm surges and trees can provide shade in urban heat island...

Induction-Range Stoves: Gas stoves have recently been in the news as a source of harmful pollutants in the home and generators of greenhouse gas. The adoption of energy-efficient induction-range stovetops could offer a solution. Induction cooktops use electromagnetism to generate heat from directly within cookware, preventing the levels of energy loss seen in conventional gas or electric cooktops....

Climate Change and Anxiety: Some Data  Climate or “eco” anxiety refers to people feeling distressed about climate change and its impacts on our ecosystems, the environment, and human health and well-being. It is rooted in a deep existential dread concerning the future of the planet. Symptoms include feelings of grief, loss, anger, sadness, and guilt, which in turn can cause jitteriness, nervousnes...

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...

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...

A New Sustainable Culture Through the rise in pop culture, climate change awareness has increasingly been integrated into the entertainment industry. Particularly in the Black community, multimedia cultural campaigns are used to increase interest in environmental movements with the use of light-hearted, fun content. Artists, musicians, and influencers are leveraging their platforms to highlight th...

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 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...

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...

In 2018, nearly one-third of the 39 million tons of waste in California landfills was compostable organic material. Organic material – food and agricultural waste – releases methane, a very potent greenhouse gas, as it decomposes. As a result, California’s Short-Lived Pollutant Reduction law, SB-1383 , targets such food waste by establishing methane reduction targets and takes aim at food insecuri...

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...

What is “place-based” climate change communication? Climate change can feel overwhelming and impersonal when discussed on a global or national scale. Place-based communication works to make climate change feel relevant to local communities and individuals. Issues that impact local communities and have connections to climate change, such as waste, energy, and food initiatives are often good places...

What is electric vehicle (EV) retrofitting and why does it matter?  ‘EV retrofitting’ refers to the process of converting a gas-powered vehicle into an electric vehicle by replacing its gas engine with a battery pack.  The battery pack is designed to fit within the vehicle’s chassis—the structural frame to which its wheels, suspension, engine, and other components are attached.  Typically, the bat...