Category: Science & Technology

Former nuclear regulatory top dogs from the United States, France, Germany and Great Britain issued a joint statement in January strenuously opposing any expansion of nuclear power as a strategy to combat climate change. Why? There is not a single good reason to build new nuclear plants. Here are 10 solid reasons not to.

Humans have demonstrated seemingly unlimited capacity for innovation. We’ve mastered flight, mapped our own genome and invented the telescope and internet. So why are we so inept at tackling the climate crisis, the greatest existential threat we’ve ever faced?

So, what’s at the root of humanity’s incompetence when it comes to the climate crisis?

If you live in Orange or San Diego County, hopefully you’re aware that San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) has been turned into a nuclear waste dump for the foreseeable future. Regardless of where you live, you’re wise to be tracking domestic and foreign moves to increase reliance on nuclear energy.

As a waste storage location, SONGS is highly risky. Situated along the shoreline and in an earthquake zone, it’s vulnerable to destructive seismic land shifts and tsunamis. Photographs show waves already splashing near the top of its seawall at high tides.

Every one of us, even unborn fetuses, are continually exposed to microplastics which have become such ubiquitous global environmental pollutants that they now contaminate the everyday air, food and water we take in.

Given a growing body of evidence that many chemicals in plastics pose human health risks, Californians should welcome recently passed legislation putting the state on path to be the first to track microplastics in tap water.

The City of Irvine has a long history of leading when it comes to protecting the environment.  In fact, the very first ordinance passed by the City Council after its founding was limiting the removal of trees in the City.  The City logo itself shows a balance between a family and our natural surroundings.

By signing on to the Paris Climate Agreement, Irvine has an obligations to reduce its carbon emissions as soon as possible, and it has several pathways to do so.  The first step is to identify the goal, which is decreasing our full carbon emissions by half in the next seven years, and to zero by 2035 in order to have a good shot at staying below the 1.5°C Paris-Agreement limit in global temperature. 

High school students across the country are invited to participate in a series of free online workshops in April. 
 

The Saturday Science Series will explore the science behind the current South Pole Telescope (SPT), and the new CMB-S4 Experiment, which is a cosmological research project that uses 21 telescopes to survey the microwave sky over a seven-year period with the goal of unlocking secrets in cosmology, fundamental physics, astrophysics and astronomy.

While remote learning has brought a never-ending host of challenges, UCI students have discovered creative ways to stay connected and make a difference, they are participating in environmental action projects.

One of the successful UCI student-led projects over the past year was becoming a certified affiliate of the Bee Campus USA program, joining 106 other “Bee Campuses” in pollinator conservation efforts.

The decommissioning of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) has been riddled with controversies since it was shuttered in 2013, undermining public confidence in Southern California Edison’s management of highly radioactive nuclear waste which will be stored on-site for the foreseeable future.

Rooftop solar is a win-win: it provides clean, carbon-free energy while almost eliminating your electricity bill. 

Since 2017, OC Goes Solar (a group of neighbors in University Hills who formed a nonprofit to help secure group discounts and a streamline process for installing solar panels) have helped 270 Irvine homeowners get rooftop solar panels.

While we agonize over the COVID-19 pandemic, perhaps it is also appropriate to consider another medical enigma which kills far more: cancer, the number one killer in California. 

This year, cancer deaths are expected to exceed 60,000 in California and 600,000 nationwide.

I’ve wasted too much time lately combing the news for an answer to a crucial question about pandemics like Covid-19: Are they inevitable?

Newscasters and the scientists, doctors and politicians they interview rarely venture beyond daily counts of the stricken to explain why we have pandemics. I suspect it’s because the answer is harder to stomach than the horror of the pandemic itself.

In some ways, the Irvine community has already begun to take action in the face of climate change. 

The Irvine Unified School District has installed solar panels on its various campus rooftops and parking lots to green its energy source, as well as save money.