AirUCI faculty Jack Brouwer has penned an opinion piece the the August 30th edition of The Hill. He makes the case for the urgent need to employ current technology, including hydrogen, to eliminate fossil fuel combustion greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions. Jack writes, “Congress came together to pass the bipartisan Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which includes substantial investments in clean energy technologies. Notably, clean hydrogen received a production tax credit to empower its competition against polluting fossil fuels. Congress recognized the urgency of nurturing the clean renewable hydrogen industry, and action is required now. Establishing infrastructure and supply chains takes time. Starting the green hydrogen industry now is essential to achieve zero emissions by mid-century, saving lives and enhancing the quality of life." Read the article
News
Here's the latest news from AirUCI — our events, our people, our science.
2023
AirUCI Founder and Co-Director Barbara Finlayson-Pitts has been recognized with the 2023 Lauds & Laurels Award for Outstanding Faculty Achievement. Now in its 52nd year, Lauds & Laurels is UCI’s oldest tradition recognizing outstanding individuals for their service to the community, professional excellence, and campus involvement. The awards ceremony will take place Thursday, October. 26th. Well deserved, Barbara!
AirUCI faculty Jane Baldwin is quoted in an August 20th Los Angeles Times article discussing the compound climate issues that allowed Hurricane Hilary to affect Southern California, the first hurricane here since 1939. Generally California has been protected from hurricanes by a combination of ocean currents and wind patterns, however unusual conditions have combined to open a path for Hilary to move much farther north than most Eastern Pacific hurricanes ever approach. “Broadly speaking, as the climate warms, sea surface and ocean temperatures generally tend to get warmer, and that adds more fuel to intensify tropical cyclones,” said Jane. “So having Hurricane Hilary develop is consistent with the fact that we expect more intense tropical cyclones to be more likely with climate change. It’s certainly unusual for any tropical storm to take the path that Hilary has — much less one that’s this intense,” Read the article
In a Spectrum News spot that was broadcast on August 17, 2023, a study by AirUCI faculty Claudia Czimczik is cited. Claudia's team conducted research at Toolik Lake in Alaska where they found that a common ecosystem called the “tussock tundra” had turned into a year-round source of ancient carbon dioxide because permafrost is thawing buried underneath the snow. The study, on which AirUCI grad student Shaun Pedron is lead author, was published in the August 12, 2023 edition of AGU Advances. View the broadcast
On August 8th, two AirUCI undergrads will present posters at the annual SoCal Undergraduate Chemistry Research Symposium: Patricia Morris (Finlayson-Pitts group) and Dhyvia Manickam (Smith group). The poster sessions are hosted at the ISEB atrium and the event will end with an award ceremony at 2:15PM.
AirUCI faculty Kim Fortun was quoted in an August 4th Orange County Register article that asks why women seem more concerned about climate change than men. Kim has found that women typically act as caretakers in families and communities more than men do, and this caretaker connection has been evident as she's organized community meetings where women outnumber men in attendance. [Subscription required, campus-wide access provided by UCI Libraries. Sign-up here: https://guides.lib.uci.edu/news/ocregister]
AirUCI faculty Jane Baldwin was quoted in an August 2nd Vox article about the unusual hurricane season this year. With global ocean temperatures at record levels, more hurricanes were expected but a strong El Nino in the Pacific is tamping down hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, as El Ninos tend to do. “There is a relationship between sea surface temperature warming and potential intensity of tropical cyclones, but also there’s a number of other factors at play,” says Jane. “It doesn’t really work to just say, ‘Because temperatures are increasing, we’re going to see more storms or stronger storms.’” And the global climate is shifting into uncharted territory, so researchers must continue to adapt in order to anticipate these storms. Read the article
A new study published by AirUCI faculty Steve Davis the problem of and its effect on the environment. While eliminating food waste should reduce adverse environmental effects of food production, the study found a “rebound effect” whereby efficiency improvements cause price decreases so consumption increases. They suggest that this outcome could offset up to 71 percent of the benefits of cutting down on food loss and waste. “There is a tension between the two objectives of eliminating food waste and increasing food security,” Steve says. “Improving supply chain efficiency and thereby lowering food costs could help make food more affordable in less-advantaged countries. But, especially in those places, we may need to adjust our expectations about the environmental benefits of avoiding waste and loss.” Read the article
In a July 27th article in the Financial Times, AirUCI faculty Jack Brouwer is quoted on the difficulties that drivers of hydrogen-powered cars are having in finding fuel stations. He also talks about the issue of sustainable energy credits, saying the reason the cost of hydrogen has surged is that state subsidies are being gobbled up by big businesses jumping into sustainable energy, such as biodiesel. These businesses “took all of the credits” that had been going to companies making and distributing hydrogen, Jack said. California’s legislature and governor know about this problem in hydrogen subsidies but for now it hasn’t been fixed. Read the article (subscription may be required but is easy)
AirUCI faculty Michael Fortun has published a new book entitled "Genomics with Care: Minding the Double Binds of Science". The book examines affective, cognitive forces that have shaped the field of genomics with a particular emphasis on the study of care in science. Congratulations, Mike! Read the review
