Environmental Disasters

BERKELEY – Projects to help new mothers in Nigeria and orphans in Nepal, and to encourage bike sharing and energy efficiency in Berkeley, are among 50 student proposals receiving a total of $179,000 in the third annual "Bears Breaking Boundaries" competition at the University of California, Berkeley. "Cal students have fantastic ideas for enhancing the curriculum, improving the campus, and addressing major societal challenges such as climate change and global health," said Thomas Kalil, special assistant to the chancellor for science and technology and director of Big Ideas@Berkeley, a campus initiative which co-sponsors the student competition. "The contest is our version of 'American Idol' - it helps shine the spotlight on our most creative, energetic and entrepreneurial students." Also see Business Week Article:

According to UC Berkeley mathematicians and their Russian colleague, turbulence at the boundary between wind and ocean should keep hurricane winds to a gentle breeze. Mathematical models of this interface, however, show that large drops of water thrown up by waves suppress the turbulence, allowing winds to build to tremendous speeds. Perhaps, they speculate, a fast decaying detergent poured on roiling seas could tame a hurricane.

Seeking a silver lining in the destruction wrought by last December's tsunami, a team of UC Berkeley students and professors spent a month in Thailand this summer working with local counterparts to design a strategic plan for developing sustainable tourism in southern Thailand's Krabi province.

A Berkeley seismologist, Richard Allen, has discovered a way to provide advance warning — anywhere from a few seconds to tens of seconds — about impending ground shaking from an earthquake. While a few seconds may not sound like much, it's enough time for schoolchildren to dive under their desks; for gas and electric companies to shut down or isolate their systems; for phone companies to reroute traffic, airports to halt takeoffs and landings, and emergency providers to pinpoint probable trouble areas. Such actions can save lives and money.