News – Page 29

Water: California’s disappearing resource

Written on December 14, 2009.

The view from space is not pretty as satellites show California groundwater being pumped for irrigation in unsustainable quantities. Alan Buis, Jet Propulsion Laboratory Jennifer Fitzenberger, University Communications New space observations reveal that since October 2003, the aquifers for California’s primary agricultural region – the Central Valley – and its major mountain water source – the Sierra Nevada – have lost nearly enough water combined to fill Lake Mead, America’s largest reservoir....

Seeing fuels’ effects down the road

Written on November 16, 2009.

UCI computer model foresees effects of alternative transportation fuels. Jennifer Fitzenberger, University Communications It’s the year 2060, and 75 percent of drivers in the Greater Los Angeles area have hydrogen fuel cell vehicles that emit only water vapor. Look into Shane Stephens-Romero’s crystal ball – a computer model called STREET – and find that air quality has significantly improved. Greenhouse gas emissions are more than 60 percent lower than in 2009, and levels of microscopic...

Climate change: global problem, local response

Written on October 7, 2009.

UCI’s Diane Pataki discusses strategies for dealing with climate change in Southern California. Jennifer Fitzenberger, University Communications Over the last two centuries, people have mined and burned fossil fuels, cleared forests, and developed agriculture and industry. The consequence: rapid atmospheric pollution that is driving climate change. Diane Pataki, Earth system science and ecology & evolutionary biology associate professor at UC Irvine, discusses climate change,...

Protecting the planet

Written on October 5, 2009.

Joseph DiMento says law can be an effective tool in protecting natural resources. Laura Rico, University Communications Joseph DiMento believes the law is a powerful weapon in the battle to save the planet. That’s why he’s so enthusiastic about the creation of an environmental law clinic at the UC Irvine School of Law that will give students hands-on training in environmental legal and policy work. “The law plays a very important role in slowing the degradation of the planet,” says DiMento,...

Raising water awareness

Written on September 29, 2009.

More than 1 billion people worldwide have unreliable access to clean water. To raise awareness of this and other water issues, UC Irvine is hosting a two-day public event featuring free movies and a panel discussion with local water experts. Jennifer Fitzenberger, University Communications More than 1 billion people worldwide have unreliable access to clean water. To raise awareness of this and other water issues, UC Irvine is hosting a two-day public event featuring free movies and a panel...

UCI to become living renewable energy lab

Written on September 16, 2009.

The UC Irvine campus will become a living renewable energy laboratory under a statewide program designed to make electricity generation and transportation safer, cleaner and more affordable for Californians. Kathy Haq, Advanced Power & Energy Program The UC Irvine campus will become a living renewable energy laboratory under a statewide program designed to make electricity generation and transportation safer, cleaner and more affordable for Californians. The Advanced Power &...

Satellite data explains vanishing India groundwater

Written on August 12, 2009.

Using satellite data, UC Irvine and NASA hydrologists have found that groundwater beneath northern India has been receding by as much as 1 foot per year over the past decade – and they believe human consumption is almost entirely to blame. Jennifer Fitzenberger, University Communications, and NASA Earth Science News Team Using satellite data, UC Irvine and NASA hydrologists have found that groundwater beneath northern India has been receding by as much as 1 foot per year over the...

Chemists discover ozone-boosting reaction

Written on July 20, 2009.

It’s a recipe for choking smog. Burn tons of fossil fuels. Pump those chemicals into the air where they react on surfaces of buildings and roads. A result is the creation of photochemical smog-forming chlorine atoms, UC Irvine scientists report in a new study. Jennifer Fitzenberger, University Communications It’s a recipe for choking smog. Burn tons of fossil fuels. Pump those chemicals into the air where they react on surfaces of buildings and roads. A result is the creation of...

Wind + water = untapped energy

Written on June 30, 2009.

Wind energy over the planet’s oceans is a vastly underutilized renewable resource, according to UC Irvine researchers. Jennifer Fitzenberger, University Communications Wind energy over the planet’s oceans is a vastly underutilized renewable resource, according to UC Irvine researchers. At 80 meters above the ocean – the typical wind turbine height – more than 50 percent more power is available than at 10 meters, the height important to the shipping industry upon which previous...

Campus efforts help clear the air

Written on June 23, 2009.

UC Irvine cuts greenhouse gas emissions from the (efficiently irrigated) ground up. In ways that have altered nearly every aspect of campus life, UC Irvine has reduced the energy needed to keep the place humming, serving as a model for other large organizations seeking to shrink their carbon footprints. “Environmental stewardship at UCI began long before we even heard the words ‘green,’ ‘LEED,’ or ‘carbon-neutrality,’” says Wendell Brase, administrative & business services vice...