The State of California has been steadfast in battling climate change and has passed several pieces of legislation including the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 which established a comprehensive program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from all sources throughout the state. California is at the forefront of working towards 100-percent renewable energy by 2045. Siva Gunda, the Vice Chair of the California Energy Commission, and Wade Crowfoot, the Secretary of California Natural Resources A...
Jul 18, 2022•51 min
The 2022 Carbon Sequestration Symposium at California State University, Bakersfield, focuses on engaging the community, industry, policymakers, and academia in the topic of carbon sequestration. According to several studies, Kern County has been identified as a prime location for the geological sequestration of carbon dioxide. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Roger Aines, Ph.D., and Kim Mayfield, Ph.D., discuss efforts underway to capture and store carbon dioxide as a viable option to mi...
Jul 15, 2022•37 min
The United States Southern Command's (USSOUTHCOM) is responsible for providing contingency planning, operations, and security cooperation for Central and South America, and the Caribbean. USSOUTHCOM is one of the eleven unified combatant commands in the Department of Defense. While regional security is an important aspect of its mission, climate change is having an affect on its area of responsibility. Climate change is impacting our national security and the security of our partners and allies....
Jul 07, 2022•42 min
In California, the car is king. Most travel is conducted by car across all socio-economic groups and has been incentivized by massive government investment in roads, infrastructure, and sprawling land use developments. Will gas-fueled cars continue to dominate the roads or do we need an alternative transportation future? How can we redesign our transportation system to reduce chronic traffic congestion, promote healthier environments, reduce the cost of travel, and provide greater mobility betwe...
Jul 05, 2022•59 min
Spanning nearly 63 million square miles from California to China, the Pacific Ocean is by the far the largest of the world's ocean basins. The Pacific contains more than half of the free water on the planet and is the deepest ocean on Earth. Climate change impacts are being felt around the globe, but what do we do about it? Much of the ocean is still waiting to be explored, but human activities like industrial fishing, deep-sea mining, and fossil-fuel burning are changing it in significant ways....
Jun 29, 2022•1 hr 23 min
Using carbon dioxide removal (CDR) strategies to mitigate climate change is a land-intensive endeavor. To capture one gigatonne of CO2 through direct air capture requires a facility & energy production footprint of at least hundreds, but potentially tens of thousands of square kilometers. To capture one gigatonne of CO2 via reforestation requires about 862,000 square kilometers of arable land (nearly the size of the Kalahari Desert). We currently release about 40 gigatonnes of CO2 into the a...
Jun 28, 2022•16 min
Soil - that mixture of degraded bedrock, decomposing organic matter, and microorganisms that nourish the root systems of plants and trees - holds 4x more carbon than vegetation. By changing how we manage our soils, we can increase the rate of CO2 trapping from the atmosphere into the soil carbon bank, while at the same time enhancing the agricultural productivity of a region. Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Professor of Soil Biogeochemistry at University of California, Merced, is a global leader in th...
Jun 22, 2022•30 min
Humans now annually add more biologically available nitrogen to the Earth’s land surfaces than do all natural processes. For 3 billion years, available nitrogen had been the major limiting currency for life on Earth. The recent human disruption of the global nitrogen cycle is causing major environmental harm, including water and air pollution, marine dead zones, 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and species extinctions. Three major ways to solve this nitrogen problem are: (1) much more eff...
Jun 11, 2022•17 min
Climate economists have created a value called the "social cost of carbon" in order to better understand the cost/benefit relationship of climate policies and regulations. The social cost of carbon is the cost to society from damages caused by a ton of CO2 emissions. This value is difficult to quantify, with factors such as future societal wealth and global climate damages (such as species extinction) that are impossible to know. Series: "Sustainable California" [Science] [Show ID: 38046]
May 30, 2022•9 min
In order to reach global net-zero emissions by 2050, we must remove CO2 from the atmosphere as well as prevent further emissions. Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) can be accomplished naturally -- through forests, soil sequestration, or mineralization -- and technologically. In fact, we will need both natural and technological CDR methods to get to net-zero. So what methods exist that remove carbon from the atmosphere? What are their respective costs, how do they compare, and which are already on the...
May 30, 2022•14 min
Humans have adapted to meet their water needs across disparate environments over time using behavioral adaptations. Yet, as temperatures rise and freshwater sources become depleted, it is critical to understand 1) how populations modify their environments to meet their water needs, and 2) the consequences of these anthropogenic - or human caused changes - on the environment and further on human health. This talk will provide an overview of different global water challenges and focus on a couple ...
May 21, 2022•15 min
California is a pioneer in researching the impacts of and solutions to climate change. Getting to carbon neutral - or net zero carbon emissions - is key to curbing our increasingly warming planet. Dr. Roger Aines of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory talks with Climate Now's James Lawler about the latest research on ways to capture carbon. Series: "Sustainable California" [Public Affairs] [Science] [Show ID: 37993]
May 06, 2022•28 min
The ocean is enormous, indeed so large that for centuries we assumed that there was nothing we could do to substantially harm it. Unfortunately, we now know that this is not true. We are having success on some fronts, such as saving species from extinction, protecting ocean waters, fishing more sustainably, and restoring damaged ecosystems by replanting critical species and reducing pollution. Even actions on land, such as removing dams from rivers and rats from islands, can make an important di...
Mar 28, 2022•15 min
Conservation is common to all societies which learned to live within ecosystem limits. In breaking the evolutionary and biological straight-jackets constricting other species, we became the ultimate multi-niche free-ranging species. Our rise to global conquest and ecological emancipation from nature through domestication and manufacturing expanded conservation for survival to saving whales, elephants, the Acropolis and Mona Lisa. The universal rules for overcoming a tragedy of the commons locall...
Mar 16, 2022•18 min
Through the lens of the study and impact of aerosols, Vicki Grassian argues that collaboration, innovation, and implementation are the only way forward for successful science and a healthy society. She addresses the role of research institutions, traditional science boundaries, and the need for interdisciplinary work. Series: "Exploring Ethics" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 37402]
Dec 28, 2021•43 min
The impacts of climate change and the urgency to act have not gone unnoticed in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The Institute of the Americas (IOA) has released a policy white paper entitled, Nationally Determined Contributions Across the America: A Comparative Hemispheric Analysis in an effort to better assess progress made to date by countries across the Americas in delivering on their climate commitments. The white paper provides a timely snapshot of progress made, while also highlight...
Oct 31, 2021•1 hr
The ocean provides a bounty of essential life-supporting services. Yet, a changing climate and increasing human uses are altering marine ecosystems and their ability to continue to provide this wealth of essential services. Off the coast of California, we are lucky to have one of the worlds longest-running marine observation programs, the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI), which has continuously and comprehensively sampled the marine environment off the California...
Jul 28, 2021•48 min
The Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS) – part of the national U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) – works to collect, integrate and deliver coastal and ocean observations in order to improve safety, enhance the economy, and protect the environment. SCCOOS serves a diverse stakeholder community of managers and planners, operational decision-makers, scientists, and the general public. Join SCCOOS Executive Director Clarissa Anderson as she describes how SCCOOS te...
Jun 27, 2021•58 min
Climate scientist Julie Kalansky discusses how drought in California and Nevada is a common occurrence, with the attendant water restrictions and threat of severe wildfires bringing the reality of climate change into sharp focus. Future climate projections for the region suggest a trend toward more extremes, including more severe and prolonged drought as well as exceptionally wet years. Learn about the science of drought and how the Scripps-based California Nevada Climate Applications (CNAP) pro...
Jun 02, 2021•44 min
As the climate warms across the globe, California is faced with adapting to a range of climate-related challenges - from drought to increased wildfire activity, to more extreme rain events. Many of these climate change phenomena work in concert to trigger catastrophic events such as post-wildfire debris flows like the one that devastated Montecito, California in January 2018. Join Scripps meteorologist Nina Oakley to learn how research is helping us understand, anticipate, and prepare for these ...
May 08, 2021•52 min
Local fishermen, surfers, and beachgoers know that ocean temperatures off California's coast vary, often expectedly, but sometimes unexpectedly. Join Scripps oceanographer Katherine Zaba to learn how scientists deploy innovative ocean technology to monitor and understand ocean warming phenomena, like marine heatwaves and El Niño events, that affect California's coastline. Series: "Jeffrey B. Graham Perspectives on Ocean Science Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 36728]
Apr 14, 2021•56 min
This presentation examines how the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries have created climate emergencies that have threatened global food production, human health, and soil health. Experts explore the ubiquitous presence of chemicals in our food supply and the significant, cumulative impacts of extreme heat, pesticides, herbicides, and GMOs on agricultural communities, as well as the promise of regenerative agriculture. Series: "Osher WISE: Well-being and Integrative Science for Everyone" [H...
Apr 05, 2021•1 hr 30 min
California's precipitation regime is the most volatile in the country. These large natural swings between drought and extremely rainy years make water resource management in California notoriously difficult. Global climate change is expected to exacerbate the volatility by decreasing the frequency of regional precipitation while increasing its intensity. Join meteorologist Alexander Gershunov to learn about the mechanisms behind these projected changes, their anticipated impacts on California, a...
Mar 10, 2021•1 hr
Mahnoosh Alizadeh is an Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the UC Santa Barbara. Alizadeh’s research is focused on designing scalable control and data analytic frameworks and market mechanisms for enabling sustainability and resiliency in societal infrastructure systems. Series: "Institute for Energy Efficiency" [Science] [Show ID: 36796]
Mar 02, 2021•15 min
Chandra Krintz is a professor of Computer Engineering at UC Santa Barbara. SmartFarm is a research project that investigates the design and implementation of an open source, hybrid cloud approach to agriculture analytics for enabling sustainable farming practices. Series: "Institute for Energy Efficiency" [Science] [Agriculture] [Show ID: 36803]
Mar 01, 2021•19 min
Debra Perrone is an Assistant Professor of UCSB’s Environmental Studies Program. Deb integrates research methods from engineering, physical science, and law to inform water sustainability and policy. Series: "Institute for Energy Efficiency" [Science] [Show ID: 36804]
Feb 27, 2021•15 min
David Erne leads smart grid research for the California Energy Commission’s Energy Research and Development Division. In this role, he manages a portfolio of research initiatives to improve electric system reliability and resilience for customers. Series: "Institute for Energy Efficiency" [Science] [Show ID: 36797]
Feb 27, 2021•16 min
Raj Yavatkar is Chief Technology Officer at Juniper Networks. He leads and executes the company’s critical innovations and products for intelligent self-driving networks, security, Mobile Edge Cloud, network virtualization, packet-optical integration, and hybrid cloud. Series: "Institute for Energy Efficiency" [Science] [Show ID: 36798]
Feb 26, 2021•20 min
John Bowers is a Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering at UC Santa Barbara. He is interested in energy efficiency and the development of novel low power optoelectronic devices for the next generation of optical networks. Series: "Institute for Energy Efficiency" [Science] [Show ID: 36801]
Feb 25, 2021•9 min
Katharine Schmidtke is Director of Sourcing for ASICs and Custom Silicon at Facebook, the world’s largest social network and one of the five largest hyperscale-datacenter operators in the world. In this role she directs sourcing strategy for Facebook’s inference and video transcoding ASICs, and next generation interconnect technology. Series: "Institute for Energy Efficiency" [Science] [Show ID: 36799]
Feb 24, 2021•19 min
