In this interview, ESPM assistant adjunct professor and assistant CE specialist Van Butsic discusses a recent report - co-authored by Butsic and several CNR colleages and published by the Public Policy Institute of Calfornia - that proposes ways to improve the health of California's headwater forests. The report recommends some changes in state law and a shift in public attitude when it comes to how California handles its drought-induced tree mortality.
CNR dean J Keith Gilless and ESPM professor Scott Stephens are both featured in this article on the 17 North Bay fires that erupted on the evening of October 8. Stephens said that all of the fires seemed to ignite between midnight and 2 a.m. Monday, when 50-mph winds were the strongest. Gilless noted that Sunday’s weather — high winds, high temperatures and low relative humidity — was conducive for bad fires.
Hands Free Hectare, a UK farming joint venture between Harper Adams University and Precision Decisions, is the first farm int he world to use automated machines to successfully plant, tend, and harvest a crop. Automation technology and implementation has been rising worldwide, but there are still many limitations as well as social and country-specific considerations. "Technically, complete automation is feasible everywhere, but economically and socially it only makes sense in certain situations," commented ARE professor David Zilberman
Experts from diverse fields lead economic and social discussions at two-day Berkeley India Conference
Gump South Pacific Research Station executive director Neil Davies is highlighted in this article on artificial islands that have the potential to serve as laboratories for testing new technologies and exploring different social structures. Davies, who is advising the seasteaders on site selection and environmentally positive design choices, believes these floating "sea stations" could allow low-cost long-term access to the ocean for research, especially for students in tropical countries "where natural systems are among the most sensititve to human activities."
ESPM professor Scott Stephens comments on this editorial article on California's increasingly lengthy and catastrophic fire seasons. Development that doesn’t facilitate disaster can be promoted by getting “the fire service much more involved in land-use decisions,” said Stephens. Given the inevitability of wildfires, Stephens added, the state also should make more systematic efforts to empower citizens to prevent and even fight wildfires.