An article in AP News co-authored by AirUCI faculty Steve Davis has drawn national attention, stating that the increasing bouts of extreme heat waves and drought will hurt production of barley, a key beer ingredient, in the future. Losses of barley yield can be as much as 17 percent, an international group of researchers estimated. That means beer prices on average would double or more, even adjusting for inflation and that beer, along with chocolate, coffee, and wine among other items, will be scarcer and costlier in the future. The report also appeared on the Good Morning America web site, and Steve tweeted: "Not sure what to make of the fact that in one day our paper on climate and beer has garnered considerably more attention than any of my previous work on energy transitions or even air pollution deaths." It was even featured on the October 17th Daily Show!
Three articles on different sites give somewhat different details about the study:
Read the article
Read the Wall Street Journal article
Read the UCI article
Read the NPR article with dissent from the beer industry
News
Here's the latest news from AirUCI — our events, our people, our science.
2018
AirUCI faculty Michael Prather, participating expert on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, tells us that the IPCC has now completed the plenary session in Incheon, Korea that revises and approves the Summary for Policy Makers for this Special Report, called IPCC-48. This Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C (SR15) is quite compelling according to Michael. The description of climate impacts expected at 1.5C is clear and detailed and quite worrisome as one puts together a global picture. The difference between 1.5 and 2.0C are noted and distinct. The results here are far more concrete and compelling than the last 5th Assessment Report (2013-2014). Even if 1.5C is unrealistic, it provides an apocalyptic view of our near term future. It's listed on Amazon as a 'good read'.
IPCC released the final Summary for Policy Makers on Saturday morning (Korean time). ENB reporting has a lot of information on how the final report was achieved (by compromise).
AirUCI co-Director Barbara Finlayson-Pitts is quoted in an article in the Los Angeles Times on the fact that Southern California went for the entire summer of 2018 without a day of clean air, the longest streak in decades. One suspected cause is hotter weather from global warming, which is not accounted for in pollution reduction plans under the Clean Air Act. "This is one example of the close ties between air pollution and climate change," said Barb. Read the article
AirUCI faculty Manabu Shiraiwa participated in the organization of the "Air Pollution and its Biological Effects" workshop that was held at the 2018 Tsukuba Global Science Week (TGSW) conference in Tsukuba, Japan. Tsukuba and Irvine are sister cities which were founded at approximately the same time about 50 years ago. As part of TGSW 2018, additional AirUCI faculty (Alex Guenther, Sergey Nizkorodov, Manabu Shiraiwa, and Jim Smith) delivered lectures on various aspects of atmospheric sciences.
AirUCI faculty Steven Davis will receive the American Geophysical Union's 2018 James B. Macelwane Medal at the AGU's December meeting as a conferred fellow. This award is given annually to three or up to five honorees in recognition for “significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by an outstanding early career scientist.” The AGU noted Steve's work in developing a science that links global climate change and society, acknowledging the impact of trade and other economic forces on greenhouse gases and air pollution. Details
AirUCI faculty Steven Davis is co-author of a study that is quoted in a New York Times article on the issue of nations that reduce their carbon footprint by shifting pollution sources to developing countries. “Just as China’s starting to deal with its emissions, it’s been pushing some of its more carbon-intensive activities into countries like Cambodia, Vietnam and India,” said Steve. “From a climate policy context,” he added, “it’s like a game of whack-a-mole.”
Read the article
The research group of AirUCI faculty Don Blake conducted air sampling in preparation for a University of California project to construct a biomethane facility in Louisiana. The facility will be adjacent to an existing landfill owned by the City of Shreveport in Louisiana. Currently, the gases (primarily methane) that originate from the landfill through the decomposition of buried waste are burned on-site without energy recovery. Once the project is completed, the collected landfill gas will be treated using a UC-owned processing facility then injected into an interstate natural gas pipeline. This will provide a regulatory-certified biomethane supply for use by the University of California at all its campuses. At full capacity, the 20-year project will supply a carbon-neutral fuel to offset approximately 5% of the natural gas currently burned on UC campuses.
In the 2018 elections held by the American Association for Aerosol Research (AAAR), AirUCI co-Director Sergey Nizkorodov was voted in as the organization's vice president elect. His term will begin at the conclusion of the 10th International Aerosol Conference to be held in St. Louis, Missouri September 2-7, 2018. Congratulations, Sergey!
AirUCI Faculty Manabu Shiraiwa has received the Paul J. Crutzen Award for Early Career Scientists of the International Commission on Atmospheric Chemistry and Global Pollution. The award is given in recognition of an outstanding research contribution in atmospheric sciences by an early career scientist. Congratulations, Manabu!
AirUCI Co-Director Barbara Finlayson-Pitts has been awarded the prestigious Polanyi Medal from the 25th International Symposium on Gas Kinetics and Related Phenomena which will take place July 22- 26 in Lille, France. Barb will be giving the keynote address in addition to the medal ceremony. Congratulations, Barb!
Dr. Christa Fittschen (Université de Lille, France), our Barbara Finlayson-Pitts, and Andrew Rickard (University of York, UK)
