Recent News & Events
How Scientists Are Helping Cities Adapt to Extreme HeatWednesday, August 23, 2023 Since early July, the Earth has sweltered under record-breaking heat. In the United States, from California and the Desert Southwest to Texas and Florida, a long-lasting heat wave in the triple digits has broken dozens of heat records – and counting. More... |
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Helping Cities Cope with HeatWednesday, August 24, 2022 By the middle of this century, temperatures in some California cities are expected to be in the triple digits for a third of the year. That’s dangerously hot. Heat already kills more people each year than any other weather-related disaster, More... |
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New Smart-Roof Coating Enables Year-Round Energy SavingsFriday, December 17, 2021
Scientists have developed an all-season smart-roof coating that keeps homes warm during the winter and cool during the summer without consuming natural gas or electricity. Research findings reported in the journal Science point to a groundbreaking More... |
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‘Cool Walls’ Get a Boost from U.S. Green Building CouncilTuesday, May 18, 2021 Sunlight-reflecting “cool walls” have been shown to reduce energy costs by lowering heat gain in buildings. But they do more – reflective walls can also cool cities, fighting the urban heat island More... |
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Ronnen Levinson on NPR's Science FridayTuesday, June 25, 2019 Last week Ronnen Levinson, leader of the Berkeley Lab Heat Island Group, was featured on NPR's Science Friday broadcast. He was invited to join the program to discuss cool surfaces and other city-cooling strategies on the segment "Hot Enough For You? More... |
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Call for presentations for Cool Building Solutions for a Warming World workshopFriday, April 26, 2019 The Heat Island Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is collaborating with the broader urban heat island (UHI) countermeasures community to identify and assess UHI countermeasures (e.g., high-reflectance surfaces, wet surfaces More... |
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NEW: International Million Cool Roofs ChallengeThursday, November 8, 2018 Our collaborator Global Cool Cities just announced the Million Cool Roofs Challenge -- an unprecedented, $2 million effort to create cooler communities in places that need it most. The Challenge is made up of two parts: an outcome- More... |
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Egyptian Blue for Energy EfficiencyTuesday, October 9, 2018 A color developed by Egyptians thousands of years ago has a modern-day application as well – the pigment can boost energy efficiency by cooling rooftops and walls, and could also enable solar generation of electricity via windows. Egyptian blue More... |
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Berkeley Lab Takes Home 2016 R&D 100 Award for Cool Roof Time MachineWednesday, September 6, 2017 R&D Magazine's R&D 100 Awards, established 54 years ago, recognize 100 technologies and services introduced in the previous year deemed most significant by an independent panel of judges. This year's winners received the awards at a November 3 More... |
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Not All Cool Pavements Are Created EqualThursday, May 18, 2017 Berkeley Lab finds that the choice of pavement material can significantly impact carbon emissions, creates decision tool for cities to use Cool pavements can help keep cities cool, right? Yes, but according to new research from the Department of More... |
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