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Berkeley Scientists at AAAS Highlight Challenges of Meeting State Energy Goals by 2050

By Guest PostMarch 2, 2011Environmentberkeley lab, biodiversity, biofuel crops, biofuels, biomass, california, carbon capture and sequestration, carbon sequestration technology, carbon storage, ebi, energy analyst, energy biosciences institute, greenhouse gas emissions, james mcmahon, jeffery greenblatt, load balancing triangle, low carbon, portraits of the california energy system in 2050, saline aquifers

California is showing the way for the rest of the nation in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, having set an ambitious goal to reduce these emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2050. Given that energy demand is projected to double by 2050, experts agree that the state will have to dramatically overhaul its energy systems to achieve its greenhouse gas emission goals.

At the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, some of the specific challenges and issue ahead were discussed in a session titled “Portraits of the California Energy System in 2050: Cutting Emissions by 80 Percent.” Contributing to this discussion were two scientists from Berkeley Lab and one from the Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI), in which Berkeley Lab is a partner. (more…)

Why Are Vines Overtaking the American Tropics?

By Guest PostFebruary 15, 2011Environment, ScienceAmazon, american tropics, barro colorado island, beauty kingdom, bolivian smazon, brazil, carbon, carbon storage, el nino events, english ivy, forest canopy, forests, french guiana, human communities, impact on animals, japanese honeysuckle, kudzu, liana vines, milwaukee, oliver phillips, oriental bittersweet, panama, planet, Smithsonian, south carolina, stefan schnitzer, subtropical forests, tropical forests, united states, vines

A Million-Dollar Question

Sleeping Beauty’s kingdom was overgrown by vines when she fell into a deep sleep. Researchers at the Smithsonian in Panama and the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee received more than a million dollars from the U.S. National Science Foundation to discover why real vines are overtaking the American tropics. Data from eight sites show that vines are overgrowing trees in all cases.

“We are witnessing a fundamental structural change in the physical make-up of forests that will have a profound impact on the animals, human communities and businesses that depend on them for their livelihoods,” said Stefan Schnitzer, research associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama and associate professor at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. (more…)

Carbon Mapping Breakthrough

By Guest PostSeptember 8, 2010Environmentairborne-laser technology, amazon forest, amazonia, carbon stocks, carbon storage, carnegie institution, emissions, forest degradation, geology, global ecology, greg asner, lidar system, madre de dios, minam, peru, peruvian amazon, peruvian ministry of the environment, red, reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation, satellite mapping, vegetation types, world wildlife fund

Palo Alto, CA — By integrating satellite mapping, airborne-laser technology, and ground-based plot surveys, scientists from the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology, with colleagues from the World Wildlife Fund and in coordination with the Peruvian Ministry of the Environment (MINAM), have revealed the first high-resolution maps of carbon locked up in tropical forest vegetation and emitted by land-use practices.

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Tag Archives: carbon storage

Berkeley Scientists at AAAS Highlight Challenges of Meeting State Energy Goals by 2050

Why Are Vines Overtaking the American Tropics?

Carbon Mapping Breakthrough