Every Day Is Earth Day at Berkeley Lab

On the first Earth Day in 1970, researcher Steve Greenberg was one of 20 million Americans, then 10% of the population, inspired to take time to observe the fragility of the planet and the need to protect it. Over 50 years later, an estimated one billion people around the world—one in eight—are actively participating.

In the early '70s, visionaries like Art Rosenfeld applied science and technology to the energy and environmental crises of the day, establishing programs that evolved to what is today the Energy Technologies Area (ETA) at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). ETA’s four divisions comprise more than two dozen groups working on a broad swath of solutions to interrelated challenges in energy, water, and climate change.

Across seven research themes and five strategic initiatives, more than 750 staff at ETA work every day to make a difference protecting our planet.

ETA is proud to be part of wide recognition for Earth Day on Friday, April 22, 2022. All are invited to take part in any of the events being hosted by Berkeley Lab, the Department of Energy, and more.

Highlights include:

• A virtual sunrise-to-sunset National Lab Earth Day collective celebration on Friday, hosted by the Department of Energy. Join Berkeley Lab and other National Labs in a full day of virtual activities, including lab tours, research discussions, and activities for youth in grades K-12.

• April 18–22: Celebrate the near topping-off of Berkeley Lab’s newest research facility, BioEPIC, a space that will bring together biologists and earth and environmental scientists into teams for solving pressing environmental problems. 

• Events throughout the month at Earthday.lbl.gov.

Meanwhile, don’t miss the ongoing research and publications we’ve been working on lately at ETA that provide data about how to ensure a clean energy future:

• An electrochemistry approach to capturing carbon dioxide could be less energy-intensive than systems currently in use: newscenter.lbl.gov/2022/04/21/capturing-carbon-with-inspiration-from-battery-chemistry

• A concept from over a century ago is informing new ETA research on how to capture carbon dioxide directly from the air: newscenter.lbl.gov/2022/04/20/using-hundred-year-old-chemistry-to-capture-carbon-directly-from-air

• There’s a major energy transition underway, and it’s been documented and recognized by our researchers in Electricity Markets & Policy: eta.lbl.gov/news/major-energy-transition-underway

• ETA researchers participated in the third and final installment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC’s) Sixth Assessment Report, which calls for aggressive and comprehensive actions if we are to achieve net zero emissions by mid-century: eta.lbl.gov/news/achieving-climate-goals-will-require

• ETA researchers are key facilitators to a new campaign to improve ventilation at the nation’s schools: eta.lbl.gov/news/schools-campaign-focuses-indoor-air

• Energy storage is critical to our nation’s future. Listen to this podcast by the director of Berkeley Lab’s Energy Storage Center, Noël Bakhtian: appliedenergyscience.lbl.gov/news/podcast-critical-importance-energy

• Our researchers are constantly looking for new ways to reduce the carbon footprint, including steps forward in Thermal Energy Storage: appliedenergyscience.lbl.gov/news/thermal-energy-storage-decarbonizing

• Cyclotron Road supports the work of scientific entrepreneurs, many of whom are committed to clean energy and climate solutions.

• Energy-efficient innovations over many years such as triple-pane windows have saved the public millions of dollars in reduced energy costs and saved the planet by reducing the need for additional energy.