Media Watch
The Compost: Sustainable homes, jobs, wine and more at free event
The Orange County Register -
Would you live in a hexagon-shaped home if it was climate-friendly? What about a dome? Those are some of the designs chosen by student homebuilders from across Southern California and beyond who are competing in the inaugural Orange County Sustainability Decathlon at the OC Fair & Event Center. … The free event is now halfway over, but there’s plenty of time to catch the second half! During the first half of the decathlon, which ran Oct. 5 through Oct. 8, visitors got student-guided tours of the homes built by teams from UC Irvine, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Long Beach, Cal Poly Pomona, UC Riverside and more. [Subscription required, campus-wide access provided by UCI Libraries. Sign-up here: https://guides.lib.uci.edu/news/ocregister] Read More
Gen Z is mocking their millennial co-workers for using this slang wrong
New York Post -
Twenty-one-year-old Kiana Sinaki, an environmental engineering student at the University of California, Irvine, previously told The Post that her older in-office counterparts were routinely perplexed by her lingo. For instance, upon telling a colleague she had “tea” — hot gossip — to share, the woman assumed Sinaki was offering her a beverage. “I’ve said ‘no cap’ to some of my co-workers, and they’ve had no clue what I’m talking about,” Sinaki also said. Read More
DOE Supports Energy Efficiency to Improve Community Resilience
AZO Cleantech -
Ensuring access to a secure building at a suitable temperature is of paramount importance for the well-being of communities during severe weather events and climate-related disasters. In California, the DOE is actively supporting innovative housing initiatives. These developments incorporate high-efficiency electric appliances, solar panels, and battery systems. They are also integrated into microgrids designed to remain operational, even in the event of grid blackouts triggered by climate-induced wildfires, heatwaves, or storms. These collaborative efforts involve KB Home, SunPower Corp., Southern California Edison, Kia Corp., the University of California Irvine, Schneider Electric, and the DOE. Read More
NiSource Announces Blending Project with Hydrogen, Natural Gas
Power Magazine -
Sempra officials have said the company is pursuing more than 20 hydrogen research and development projects designed to enhance grid resilience and support decarbonization. Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas), a Sempra subsidiary, and the University of California, Irvine, are collaborating on a project to demonstrate how electrolytic hydrogen can be safely blended into existing natural gas infrastructure on the university’s campus. Testing of hydrogen blending at the campus could begin next year. NiSource said its blending strategy is part of the utility’s “Future of Energy” program, which includes renewable energy and electrification strategies along with renewable natural gas. Read More
How LA is reimagining flood infrastructure amid increasing flood risk
KABC-TV -
FEMA manages nearly all flood policies in the U.S., requiring them in neighborhoods they have classified as flood risk areas. But experts said those FEMA flood risk maps may not accurately depict flood risk. "FEMA maps flooding, mostly from rivers and streams and coastal flooding, they don't map flooding from rainfall," said Jochen Schubert, a research specialist at UC Irvine with a focus on flood hazards. He and his colleagues have developed their own ways of modeling flood risk in the LA area and he said there's been change in the land development since the FEMA maps were built. Watch More
Sand project to rebuild beach in south OC complete — but will it last?
The Orange County Register -
Beachgoers who frequent this south Orange County coastline are enjoying a newly-built beach, a joint effort between the county and the state to revamp the battered stretch. … A big takeaway from the project is early and regular communication with neighboring agencies, officials said. In addition to the county and state working together, the city of Dana Point contracted a team from UC Irvine to do regular monitoring and measurements of the sediment to track its movement in coming months. Read More
Sand project to rebuild beach in south OC complete — but will it last?
The Orange County Register -
Beachgoers who frequent this south Orange County coastline are enjoying a newly-built beach, a joint effort between the county and the state to revamp the battered stretch. … A big takeaway from the project is early and regular communication with neighboring agencies, officials said. In addition to the county and state working together, the city of Dana Point contracted a team from UC Irvine to do regular monitoring and measurements of the sediment to track its movement in coming months. Read More
States Implement Better Traffic Management With Smart Transportation Systems
State Tech Magazine -
“Intelligent transportation” is not a new concept, says Sarah Catz, a research associate [and lecturer] at the University of California, Irvine’s Institute of Transportation Studies. The first ITS America conference, which she attended, was held 28 years ago. “The big difference now is how far the technologies have advanced and the fact that, today, ITS solutions can be found at just about every transportation agency in the country,” Catz says. Read More
Flooding and water resources for Southern California
KABC-TV -
The FEMA flood risk maps may not accurately reflect the flooding risk. Jochen Schubert, research specialist in the UCI civil engineering department said, “The FEMA maps mostly show flooding from rivers and streams and coastal flooding. They don’t map flooding from rainfall.” Jochen Schubert and his colleagues at UC Irvine have developed their own ways of modeling flood risks in the LA area and have found changes in the land development since the FEMA maps were adopted. “FEMA maps were built so long ago that they don’t capture these changes,” Schubert said. … UC Irvine Flood Lab: More information on the research and models from UCI's Flood Lab …. Watch More
Can College Students Really Design California’s Homes of Tomorrow?
Voice of OC -
Teams of college students from around the world have spent the past year working to design and construct model homes that promote energy-efficient living in California. Just over a dozen teams will compete as part of the Orange County Sustainability Decathlon, a new event aimed at curbing climate change. … The college teams include students from UC Irvine, Orange Coast College, Cal State Fullerton and other schools across the U.S. and the globe. Each team was provided with $100,000 to plan, build and transport their finished model homes to the Costa Mesa fairgrounds, where they will be on display beginning Oct. 5. Read More