Cuts in diesel emissions have drastically reduced the amount of pollutants in the air that cause global warming in California, potentially valuable information in the fight to save the world’s climate from a predicted catastrophe, a study led by EETD’s Tom Kirchstetter found. His team analyzed measurements of black carbon taken from aircraft, satellites and ground monitors dating back to the 1980s, and used a computer model to compare them with emission-reduction regulations that the state issued over the years. More>
Posts Tagged ‘Environmental Energy Technologies Division’
Lab-Led Study Shows Emission Cuts Lead to Cleaner California Air
Tuesday, June 18th, 2013Hyundai Signs MOU With Lab for Advanced Building Technologies
Tuesday, June 18th, 2013
Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company and Berkeley Lab will work together to develop and evaluate advanced building technologies and use simulation tools to better understand building performance. Representatives of the two institutions have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore mutual research opportunities in the experimental evaluation of building technologies and in computer simulation of building performance. As part of their activities with Berkeley Lab, Hyundai will partner with FLEXLAB, the test facility for energy-efficient building technologies, now under construction for the Environmental Energy Technologies Division. More>
New Websites Explain Research in EETD
Thursday, June 13th, 2013
Learn more about energy storage research, and the Lab’s work to provide technical assistance to DOE in the development of energy efficiency standards through two new websites in the Environmental Energy Technologies Division. The Energy Storage and Distributed Resources site includes news, publications, and links to resources. The Energy Efficiency Standards site includes information on capabilities, products, as well as publications and news.
Participants Sought for Residential Hot Water Field Study
Monday, June 10th, 2013
Are you a homeowner who has to wait for hot water to reach your kitchen or bathroom faucets? Researchers with the Environmental Energy Technologies Division are conducting a study to explore the efficiency of hot water distribution systems and looking for participants who experience this problem. Participants must be 18 years of age or older, own and live in a Bay Area or Sacramento Area home with a single residential water heater, speak English in your home, and have internet access. Participants who complete the study will receive $100. Go here for more information and to register. Deadline is June 30.
EETD Researcher Wins Fulbright to Work on Stoves in India
Friday, June 7th, 2013
Danny Wilson, a graduate student researcher in EETD, has been awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to work on the design of a culturally appropriate low-emission cookstove for north India. He will test emissions in the lab and field, and will facilitate user needs assessments via recursive user feedback. This project will take place as part of a partnership between UC Berkeley, Berkeley Lab and IIT Delhi. Persistent exposure to cooking smoke kills 420,000 Indians annually, making cooking smoke India’s third highest cause of premature death behind malnutrition and unsafe water. Wilson is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at UC Berkeley.
More Fresh Air in Classrooms Means Fewer Absences
Thursday, June 6th, 2013
If you suspect that opening windows to let in fresh air might be good for you, a new study by Lab scientists has confirmed your hunch. Analyzing extensive data on ventilation rates collected from more than 150 classrooms in California over two years, the researchers found that bringing classroom ventilation rates up to the state-mandated standard may reduce student absences due to illness by approximately 3.4 percent. With this reduction in student absence, California’s school districts would gain $33 million annually in attendance-linked funding and families would avoid an estimated $80 million in caregiver costs due to having a sick child at home. More>
EETD Releases Web Tool That IDs Energy Reduction Options for Buildings
Thursday, June 6th, 2013
The Lab’s Environmental Energy Technologies Division has issued the first full public release of EnergyIQ, its web-based action-oriented benchmarking tool for non-residential buildings. EnergyIQ, which is free, improves upon typical “whole-building” energy benchmarking tools by providing benchmarking at the end-use level, and enabling users to use the benchmarking data to quickly conduct a high-level assessment of energy reduction opportunities. It also provides users with decision support information to develop and refine their action plans. More>
Lab Staff Profiled as Part of Gay Pride Month
Tuesday, June 4th, 2013
June is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month, a nationwide salute to diversity. Berkeley Lab’s Diversity & Inclusion Office plays an ongoing role in fostering the spirit of that celebration, which was designated by Presidential Proclamation. “Our Labwide Affirmative Action Plan includes heritage months throughout the year to promote visibility and respect for employees with various backgrounds and traditions,” notes Lady Idos of the D&I office. In keeping with that spirit, three members of the Berkeley Lab community — Susan Synarski, Jay Keasling, and Christel Cantlin — share with TABL what LGBT Pride Month means to them. More>
EETD’s Donald Lucas Honored for Combustion By-Product and Health Research
Tuesday, June 4th, 2013
EETD scientist and former deputy director of the EHSS Division Donald Lucas was presented with the Adel Sarofim Award at the International Congress on Toxic Combustion Byproducts and Their Health Effects last month in New Orleans. The award recognizes “outstanding professional achievement in health effects engineering and environmental monitoring.” He shared the award with UC Berkeley Professor Catherine Koshland. Their work has helped advance the understanding of combustion-generated air pollutants through the use of experimental chemical kinetics, novel diagnostic techniques for hazardous species, and combustion chemistry. More>
Alternative Fuels Workshop Brings Journalists to Lab
Thursday, May 30th, 2013
Public Affairs recently held a workshop for journalists who cover the energy and alternative fuels fields. The event, held at JBEI, touched on the challenges of biofuels, new battery technologies, how to create a system that mimics photosynthesis, and how scale-up of alternative fuel use will effect policy goals. Presenting were Lab scientists Jay Keasling, Venkat Srinivasan, Heinz Frei, and Jeff Greenblatt. Attending were reporters from KQED, New Scientist, and Technology Review. This outreach helps introduce journalists to Lab scientists and showcases the breadth of their work. Journalists also toured JBEI and the Advanced Biofuels Process Demonstration Unit led by the Lab’s Blake Simmons and James Gardner.
