Author Archives: Office of Public Affairs

By Lorena Anderson, UC Merced Just because there has been rain lately doesn’t mean California is drought-free. A new $1.5 million research grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture is supporting School of Engineering Professor Josué Medellín-Azuara, collaborating engineering professors Joshua Viers and John Abatzoglou, and engineering and policy expert Alvar Escriva-Bou from the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) in developing economic analysis …

18 projects in tribal communities, counties and cities across the state mark first step in creating open-access middle-mile network to provide missing broadband infrastructure Part of state’s $6 billion investment to expand broadband infrastructure and enhance internet access for unserved and underserved communities Advancing California’s commitment to bridge the digital divide, Governor Gavin Newsom has announced that the state has …

By Brad Hooker Speaking last week at the Methane Pavilion at the UN Climate Conference, Air Resources Board Chair Liane Randolph and CDFA Secretary Karen Ross discussed the state’s methane goals. California is the only jurisdiction in the world that has a law to reduce short-lived climate pollutants, according to Jorge Daniel Taillant, director of the Center for Human Rights …

From a USDA news release The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced is awarding $25 million to conservation partners across the country for 18 new projects under the Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) On-Farm Conservation Innovation Trials program. On-Farm Trials projects support widespread adoption and evaluation of innovative conservation approaches in partnership with agricultural producers. This year’s awarded projects increase the …

With COP26 concluding today, Secretary Ross appeared on the Farm to Table Talk podcast to share her thoughts from her trip to Scotland, and the challenges and opportunities ahead with respect to climate change, telling host Rodger Wasson, “It’s not going to be one state, or one country, or one sector. It’s going to take all of us working together, …

CDFA secretary Karen Ross (second from left in photo) joined in the applause last week following the ribbon cutting for the first fuel cell dairy digester project in the nation at Bar 20 Dairy in Fresno County. Methane from the digester — produced by California Bioenergy in partnership with Bloom Energy — will be used to generate renewable electricity to …