Author Archives: Dennis SILVERMAN

About Dennis SILVERMAN

I am a retired Professor of Physics and Astronomy at U C Irvine. For two decades I have been active in learning about energy and the environment, and in reporting on those topics for a decade. For the last four years I have added science policy. Lately, I have been reporting on the Covid-19 pandemic of our times.

Studying Electron Motions With Attosecond Pulses, Nobel Physics Prize in 2023

This is a lecture on the Nobel Physics Prize in 2023, to be given at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UC Irvine. First we have to start with how a laser works.  LASER stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated … Continue reading

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SC Edison New Countdown to 2045, and Emissions to Reach 1.5º C Now Cut in Half

  Emissions for the 1.5º C Limit Goal Now Cut in Half. The international IPCC limit of emissions before we reach the 1.5º C or 2.7º F mean earth temperature increase since the pre-industrial age of 1850 was calculated at … Continue reading

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Comparing China, the US, and India in Clean Energy Production

China Dominates Clean Energy Production and Devices, While India Consumes Little Energy Per Capita. Without getting dragged into the politics and personalities of the Foxy Republican Chaos last night, the reemergence of climate change falsehoods has to be fact checked … Continue reading

Posted in 2024 Election, Affairs of State, Air Quality, China, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Climate Education, Climate Science, Electric Power, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy, Trump Administration, Trump on Climate Change | Leave a comment

Wildfire Air Pollution in Central Eastern States, June 8

Thursday, June 8, the Wildfire Smoke Moves South, to Washington, D.C. Links are in the previous article, and at 3 PM EST this shows the PM 2.5 pollution contours and the color code of Unhealthy for All in the Red. … Continue reading

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Northeast and NY City Air Pollution from Canadian Wildfires

The tragedy of Canadian wildfires due to an early summer heat wave, and Southward air currents, has brought dangerously high particulate air pollution to the Northeast US.  The acreage of Canadian wildfires is now 15 times greater than the past … Continue reading

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The New Age of Creative Artificial Intelligence

The Age of A (quar) I US Along with the Internet, Email, and Cell Phones, and Software, the age of computers and chips is enhancing Artificial Intelligence to Large Language Models, Chat, Creative Writing and even Programming.  AI has actually … Continue reading

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The Inflation Reduction Act Plan for Lowering US Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Another Science Magazine Breakthrough was the US passage of the Inflation Reduction act, which contains $369 billion over ten years for lowering US greenhouse gases.  One goal of the IRA is to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions 40% from 2005 … Continue reading

Posted in Air Quality, Autos, California Flood Maps, California Power Mixes, California Smog, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Climate Education, Climate Science, Coal, Conservation, Department of Energy, Electric Cars, Electric Power, Energy Efficiency, EPA, Fire Risks, Fossil Fuel Energy, Gasoline, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Hybrid Cars, Inflation Reduction Act, Natural Gas, Nuclear Energy, Ocean Acidification, Offshore Oil Drilling, Oil, OLLI Lecture, Politics, Renewable Energy, Sea Level Rise, Solar Energy, Supreme Court, Transportation, US Oil, Wind Energy | Tagged | Leave a comment

RSV Vaccines to Protect Newborns, Young Children, and the Elderly

RSV Vaccines to Protect Newborns, Young Children, and the Elderly The development of the RSV, Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Vaccine to protect newborns and the elderly is one of Science Magazine’s ten Breakthroughs of 2022.  We update this to the recent … Continue reading

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Perennial Replanting Rice and Challenges of Climate Change

Perennial Replanting Rice and Challenges of Climate Change One Science Magazine breakthrough of 2022 was the establishment of Perennial Rice (PR23), a cross of a Chinese rice with a perennial African wild rice.  This rice will effectively replant itself for … Continue reading

Posted in China, Climate Change, Climate Education, Climate Science, Coastal Flooding, Earth, Foods, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, OLLI Lecture, Rice | Leave a comment

The Gene that Saved Us from the Black Death

Since we are just finishing the pandemic of a century, it behooves us to look back at the Second Plague, also called the Black Death, in Eurasia using the recent advances in the science of genomics.  The analysis of the … Continue reading

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