As the title says, I received the UC Office of the President Bonnie Reiss Climate Action Fellowship in the category climate resilience. The past months I was working with climate data to calculate future temperature conditions in Merced County to assess energy needs for our Campus. Our campus consultants wanted this knowledge to plan green energy (such as solar panels) to meet these energy demands.

However, my project revealed climate change impacts are negligible now and in the future compared to behavioral changes like using less AC or heating. The result is my recommendation to adjust building insulation and provide shade opportunities instead of planning for more energy usage. This can save up to ten times more energy!

My personal conclusion: systems thinking is important, so it is very convenient that I am in a environmental systems program 🙂

Link to a new story about the fellowship that includes me -> „Coming of age in a warming world“