THE FUTURE OF THE PLANET The Future of the Planet Global warming. Exhausted natural resources. Species extinctions. Overwhelming pollution. These and other predictions of looming environmental disaster are all too familiar. They used to seem so far off—issues for someone to face someday, but certainly not us. Certainly not now. Above: The Arctic Between 1960 and 2000, the Earth’s Time is running out. Some consequences of inaction—a summer could be ice- free by mid-century. population doubled. By 2050, more warming planet, species loss, poor air quality—are already Courtesy NASA than 9 billion humans will share upon us. Others, from rising sea levels to shifting patterns this world. Cover (top photo): of infectious disease, threaten to fundamentally change how Earth’s thin Without action, climate change may atmosphere as humans live. The risks to human life, social order, and the viewed from space. reduce global GDP by as much as global economy have never been more tangible. Courtesy NASA 5 to 20 percent this century. Cover (bottom): California agriculture Average temperatures in California Solutions are within reach—but only if the best information, depends on a are expected to rise between 30 most innovative ideas, and most passionate minds can be predictable climate. and 10o F this century resulting in Courtesy Photoshare marshaled toward our common goals. flooding, wildfires, air pollution, reduced snow-pack, agricultural At UC Berkeley, we have assembled a powerful model for losses and heat-related deaths creating solutions: the Berkeley Institute of the Environment Up to 20 percent of all living species (BIE). Because what’s at stake is nothing less than the future could become extinct in the next of the planet. 30 years A VISION OF SUCCESS At UC Berkeley, we envision a planet where: • energy is renewable and • economies thrive • communities are healthy, clean • resources are preserved equitable, and sustainable • technology improves lives for future generations • environmental stewardship and protects the Earth respects diverse cultures We believe this future is possible, and we are striving to make it a reality. 2 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY The Opportunity Now at UC Berkeley Right now, UC Berkeley scientists are using microbes to create The BIE grew out of an initiative by clean, renewable energy. Berkeley economists and lawyers faculty and deans from the following are shaping policies to guide corporations and consumers. schools and colleges: Berkeley architects and planners are designing carbon-neutral sustainable neighborhoods. Berkeley engineers are developing College of Engineering improved cookstoves, water treatment technologies, and public College of Environmental Design transportation systems. These and other research initiatives College of Natural Resources are proving the power of UC Berkeley’s potential to confront Boalt Hall School of Law environmental challenges. Goldman School of Public Policy As a California land grant university, UC Berkeley has always Haas School of Business had public service as its mission. The Berkeley Institute of the Environment continues and expands this tradition. School of Journalism School of Public Health Unique among environmental institutions and programs, UC Berkeley is home to: Letters & Sciences: Biological Sciences • 300 of the world’s leading environmental scholars, seven Letters & Sciences: Physical Sciences Nobel Laureates and over 130 members of the U.S. National Letters & Sciences: Social Sciences Academies • 86 undergraduate and graduate academic degree programs with foci on the environment • 87 environmental research centers • 60 campus environmental organizations comprised of stu- dents, staff and faculty Now is the time to leverage these collective intellectual re- sources for global environmental action. By integrating this incredible community of scientists, engineers, and scholars, the BIE is developing effective new approaches for addressing environmental problems. Above: Six UC Berkeley Nobel Laureates say averting world’s climate crisis requires urgent action. THE BERKELEY INSTITUTE OF THE ENVIRONMENT http://bie.berkeley.edu 3 ncy an y Efficie d Tech erg nolo : En gy te De a ve lim lo C pm & e gy n r t • e E n n E v | ir o s n m m e t e s n y t a S l t i P s r n e a d r i c T t c i o i ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT l n b • u CLIMATE & SOCIETY C P a d r e b t o a n r - g N e t e n u I t • r a s l d L o i o v h i n r g o b SUSTAINABLE h E g i n e COMMUNITIes v i N r o e n e r m f - e n n o t b & r a S C o : c s i e e i t t y BIE Research i : n L u i f m e c m y o c C l e e l o f b a w n a i t a e t r s u Programs and Projects S Putting ideas into practice UC Berkeley is redefining what a great research university can be.O ur best ideas are not locked up inside an ivory tower. Instead, we are committed to delivering results that work in the real Above: BIE research world. Through the BIE we engage directly with governments, industry, NGOs, and individual programs fall into three interconnected, communities. We seek out projects where issues are most urgent and where solutions can multi-disciplinary provide the highest social returns on investment. themes. Existing projects are provided as examples under BIE research programs fall into three interconnected, multi-disciplinary themes: sustainable each theme. communities; environment and society; energy and climate change. Each program may Below: students in the contain several research projects that will grow and change over time. BIE research themes Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program reflect the intrinsic relationships between human settlements, ecosystems, and climate: at UC Berkeley learn low-cost techniques to sustainable communities depend on healthy ecosystems and both human and natural systems monitor river quality. rely on a stable climate. 4 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY ncy an y Efficie d Tech erg nolo : En gy te De a ve lim lo C pm & e gy n r t • e E n n E v | ir o s n m m e t e s n y t a S l t i P s r n e a d r i c T t c i o i l n b • u C P a d r e b t o a n r - g N e t e n u I t • r a s l d L o i o v h i n r g o b h E g i n e v i N r o e n e r m f - e n n o t b & r a S C o : c s i e e i t t y i : n L u i f m e c m y o c C l e e l o f b a w n a i t a e t Above: The city of r s u S Sustainable Communities Chengdu, China has The BIE’s Urban Sustainability Initiative, supported with seed money by the Gordon and Betty won international recognition for its Moore Foundation, is incubating innovative demonstration projects in cities around the world. Two efforts to clean up projects under this program are described below. Others, in areas including water and sanitation, the FuNan River air and water quality monitoring, health, green buildings and lifecycle assessment, are currently seeking funding. In Cape Town, South Africa and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania USI researchers are collaborating with local partners on sustainable energy and wastewater treatment. Sustainable Neighborhood Demonstration Project in China WHAT’S NEXT? With one year of seed funding from the Gordon and Betty Moore Conduct life cycle cost assessment of green Foundation, urban design pioneer Harrison Fraker and collaborators building options from Tongji University and Beijing University are overhauling the Develop design principles for replicable models of standard inefficient “superblock” neighborhood design in China. sustainable urban development Teams of UC Berkeley and Chinese researchers are working Initiate green neighborhood construction in Jiaxing, Qingdao, and Chengdu to design, build and monitor a replicable transit-oriented sustainable neighborhood which generates all of its energy from on- site renewables, processes all of its sewage, food, and green wastes and recycles all of its water. The incorporation of biogas, wind, and solar technologies, combined with innovative design, will realize the first carbon-neutral community of its kind that can be replicated on a massive scale. Integrated Public Transit Systems in China WHAT’S NEXT? Researchers from the Institute of Transportation Studies are Design and implement a feeder leveraging seed funding from the Gordon and Betty Moore bus system that integrates with Foundation to help planners in Chengdu link its “bus rapid Chengdu’s BRT and Metro systems transit” (BRT) system to passengers’ homes and jobs through Identify a set of sustainability met- a “first and last mile” transit service. By providing whole-trip rics to monitor Chengdu’s public service to passengers, the program aims to temper Chengdu’s transportation system rising car dependence and address critical greenhouse gas and air quality problems. THE BERKELEY INSTITUTE OF THE ENVIRONMENT http://bie.berkeley.edu 5 Right: Networks of low-cost wireless motes enable BIE scientists to monitor climate conditions in natural environments- Motes sense environmental parameters at high frequency and transmit these readings to the Internet. Environment & Society The Life Cycle of Water Good decision-making requires information. Atmospheric scientist WHAT’S NEXT? Inez Fung has teamed up with engineers, ecologists, hydrologists, Develop low cost wireless sen- and computer scientists to study the life cycle of water.