When: Wednesday, November 4th 7-9 PM
What: Solving Environmental Problems Without Creating New Ones
Where: Cafe Valparaiso at La Pena Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94705
Who: Kristie Boering, Atmospheric Chemist, UC Berkeley

What do the Ozone Hole, MTBE-polluted groundwater, and arguably global climate change all have in common? They were all unexpected and unintended environmental problems that resulted from trying to make life safer and healthier for humans. Will we repeat those mistakes with a move towards a hydrogen fuel cell economy or wide-spread production of biofuels? As we debate solutions to current environmental crises, we?ll hear an atmospheric scientist?s historical and chemical perspective on the complex relationship between the Earth’s atmosphere and human activity.

Kristie Boering is a professor at U.C. Berkeley in the Departments of Chemistry and of Earth and Planetary Science who studies atmospheric chemistry and climate using a combination of atmospheric observations (using, for example, autonomous instruments aboard U-2 spyplanes and stratospheric balloons) and laboratory experiments. She grew up in Riverside, California, which she credits with sparking an early interest in the atmosphere, how humans affect it, and what we can do about it. She has a B.A. from UCSD, a PhD from Stanford University, and was a postdoctoral and research fellow at Harvard University before joining the faculty at Cal in 1998. Her two elementary-school-aged sons and teaching Chem 1A keep her fully entertained when she is not doing research.