ERG has a small core faculty but a much larger group (100+) of affiliated faculty. Affiliated faculty are based in other departments on campus or at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and share ERG’s commitment to shared learning and interdisciplinary work. They are advisors, mentors, or employers to ERG students, and serve on master’s project, […]
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) at ERG Equity and inclusion are at the heart of our mission to provide education and research for a sustainable and just society. We aspire to be an inclusive community with diverse ideas, races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, ages, abilities, and socioeconomic backgrounds. We celebrate diversity in scholarship, teaching, community […]
Monday, March 16th, 2020 “After several years of professional experience, ERG has given me a new lease on life. Because of the incredible latitude ERG gives its students to explore, I’ve had the opportunity to take classes in law, business, public policy, and data science, above and beyond the core requirements in social science, […]
Areas of Interest Climate Change Ecology Energy Governance Water International Climate Change ERG CORE David Anthoff David Anthoff is an environmental economist who studies climate change and environmental policy. He co-develops the integrated assessment model FUND that is used widely in academic research and in policy analysis John Harte John Harte’s research interests span ecological […]
The ERG Water Group as an interdisciplinary collaboration focused on the social dimensions of water. Members work on issues of equitable access and efficient, sustainable management of freshwater resources for both humans and the environment in the US and across the globe.
Beyond Energy Access: Understanding the Household Dynamics of Modernizing Cooking in Rural Karnataka, India (MA ’18) Bodie uses interdisciplinary approaches to investigate land-based solutions to climate change. He currently studies how policy and innovative technology can enable carbon-beneficial forest management. This work bridges industrial ecology, forest economics, and forest ecology. His modeling work has focused […]
Annelise’s research focus is the intersection of energy issues at the rural household level in East Africa. She is interested in how social infrastructure and outreach (e.g. training local workers) can help overcome barriers to adoption of technology. Annelise is also interested in the design and implementation of microgrids in remote areas. Prior to starting […]
Priyanka is a first-year Masters of Science Student with the Energy and Resources Group. At ERG, she plans to identify and quantify the economic benefits of just transition policies and explore issues at the nexus of international economic development and climate action. Prior to coming to ERG, she worked with the New Climate Economy (NCE), […]
Evaluation of Social Networks and Measures of Empowerment Among Adolescent Girls in Uttar Pradesh, India (MS ’19) Gauthami’s research interests focus on how social networks influence health behaviors and decisions around access and use of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructures and its implications on the health and dignity of women and children in developing […]
Dipti got her Masters at ERG in 2008. Since then, she went back to India working with communities displaced by dams. She also fought for water justice in California, working with Native American tribes on access to water for traditional ceremonies and with Latino farmworkers across the California Central Coast on access to clean drinking […]
Zach’s research focuses on household water access, treatment and use. He draws on data collected in the field, utilizing both quantitative and qualitative sources. Zach is ultimately interested in the balance between sustainability, equity, health and livelihoods and he hopes his work will contribute to good water policies which reflect end-user preferences. His PhD will […]
Zubair is a Master’s student who researches water policy and management of international river basins, and is particularly focused on hydro-politics of the Indus basin. He has researched the relationship between water discharge and land use patterns in upper Jhelum watershed, international water agreements (especially the Indus Waters Treaty), and conflict over distribution of water […]
India’s Low Carbon Electricity Futures (PhD ’17) Ranjit’s research efforts largely focus on addressing the clean energy and energy access challenges in developing nations. As part of both the International Energy Studies group at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and ERG, Ranjit is developing models of the Indian national power system to analyze policies and […]
Commoditizing Carbon: Social and Environmental Implications of Trading Carbon Emissions Entitlements (MA 94) The Agrarian Question and the Institutionalization of Groundwater Exchange in Gujarat, India (PhD 98)
Lowering Energy Bills in American Indian Households: A Case Study of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe (’98 M.A.)
The System of Rice Intensification: Lessons from South India (MS ’07) Measuring and moderating the water resource impacts of biofuel production and trade (PhD ’12)
Water Access in a Changing City: Evaluating Reliance on and Value of Public Borewells in Hubli-Dharwad, India (MS, ’13)
Evaluation of World Bank Public Participation Policies-Lessons for the Clean Development Mechanism (’02 MS) Carbon Offsetting: An Efficient Way to Reduce Emissions or to Avoid Reducing Emissions? An Investigation and Analysis of Offsetting Design and Practice in India and China (’10 PhD)
With 10+ years of international field experience, 5+ in water and sanitation, as well as project management and professional development in higher ed, I aim to create a better society and environment for all.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: ARNE JACOBSON Ph.D. 2004 Professor in the Department of Environmental Resources Engineering at Humboldt State University From his post at Humboldt State University, Arne Jacobson passionately extends his PhD research addressing the real-world barriers to providing clean energy for poor people in developing countries. In so doing, he plays a critical role […]
Ready-to-use? Bridging the Climate Science Usability Gap for Adaptation (PhD ’19) Kripa’s research interests are in the field of climate change adaptation and climate-resilient planning. Her PhD focuses on improving the ‘usability’ of climate science for adaptation decision-making, particularly for water resources management and agricultural planning. She uses qualitative and participatory research methods to understand […]
“FuelBelts”: Shelterbelts for Fuelwood Production on Small/Marginal Farms in India (87 M.S.)
"23% fewer women than men are online in developing countries. If no concerted effort is taken, that internet gap is going to grow. When women see role models—people doing things—it enables them and empowers them to think, 'Well, I can do that as well.' And, accessing the internet and using technologies exposes them to an entirely new world," says ERG Alum, Dr. Renee (Kuriyan) Wittemyer. She is Intel's Director of Social Impact.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: SHARAD LÉLÉ Ph.D. 1993 Senior Fellow, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (Bangalore) Sharad Lele never intended to become an academic. And even though his resume is chock-full of scholarly publications, he still believes that applying the interdisciplinary academic knowledge gained at ERG defines ERG’s crucial role. After all, he says, […]
Local Governments and Solar Energy: The San Francisco Example (’83 M.A.) Organizing for Rural Energy Development: Improved Cookstoves, Local Organizations, and the State in Gujarat, India (’90 Ph.D.)
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT This ERG alumni spotlight features one of the first ERG graduate students, David Marcus (MA’77), and is written by ERG alumna, Sarita Sarvate (MS’78). The piece is the first of a series of stories on the achievements and journeys of alumni, showcasing their life after ERG. Small is Beautiful by Sarita Sarvate (MS’78) One summer […]
Wind Energy in Indian Country: Turning to Wind for the Seventh Generation (MS ’06)
Resource Utilization and Degradation: An Integrated Analysis of Biomass Utilization Patterns in a Garhwal Hill Village, Northern Uttar Pradesh, India (’85 MS) From Forest to Agroforest: Land-Use Dynamics and Crop Successions in the Western Ghats of Kerala, South India (’90 PhD)
Health, Hygiene and Safe Drinking Water: A Process Documentation of an Education and Technology Intervention in the Behram Slum, Mumbai, India (06 MS) “Don’t Think of ‘Waste’ Water”: Evaluation and Planning Tools for Reuse-Oriented Sanitation Infrastructure (09 PhD)
Feasibility of Competition in a Developing Country Electricity Market: A Case Study of Maharashtra State (India) (’03 MS) Competition, regulation, and Energy Efficiency Options in the Electricy Sector: Opportunities and Challenges in Developing Countries (’06 PhD)
Can Co-ops become Energy Producers too? Challenges and Prospects for Efficient Co-Generation in India’s Co-Operative Sugar Sector (’05 MS) Fluid Hegemony: A Political Ecology of Water, Market Rule, and Insurgence at Bangalore’s Frontier (’10 PhD)
When the Pit Fills Up: Fecal Sludge “Management” in Urban India (PhD ’18) Sharada’s research is focused on recovery of nutrients, primarily Phosphorous, from human waste, particularly septage, and their reuse in Indian agriculture. His work focuses on understanding policies and regulations that encourage businesses to facilitate reuse of septage as fertilizer. He is interested […]
Monica obtained her Masters in 2015 from the Energy and Resources Group. She is interested in electric vehicle adoption, alternative energy policy, and sustainable energy development. Her research involves modeling the dollar value of grid services provided by electric vehicles and electric vehicle charging equipment infrastructure markets. Monica works part-time at the California Public Utilities […]
Organizational Approaches to Wasteland Development: Structural and Functional Aspects of Three Indian NGOs (’89 MA)
The Hands that will Build our Energy Future: Administrative and Labor Capacity for Building Energy Efficiency Policies In China and India (MA ’11)
ERG alumni Ranjit Deshmukh, Amol Phadke and associate professor Duncan Callaway recently had their research, "Least-cost targets and avoided fossil fuel capacity in India’s pursuit of renewable energy" published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Their analysis on India’s power usage, weather patterns and energy infrastructure was featured in the The Current, and suggests that the country is "well positioned to take advantage of green energy sources".
ERG professor Isha Ray recently co-authored and published her research paper, "The reality of water quality monitoring for SDG 6: A report from a small town in India" on IWA Publishing. The paper features their study of microbial water quality in a small town (Alibag) in India, and focuses on the weaknesses of water quality monitoring and testing infrastructure. "We show the practical limitations of monitoring for fecal indicator bacteria to meet SDG 6... We find that even when water quality monitoring and testing infrastructure is in place, low institutional capacity and the pressure to not ‘fail’ the expected water quality standards can result in the failure to accurately report bacterial water quality," the paper states.
A recent article from UC Berkeley’s Blum Center considers the lessons learned from the trial run of Next drop, an application intended to help residents of Bangalore, India optimize their time dedicated towards collecting water. NextDrop was designed to alert households in Bangalore when they should expect to receive water, based off of real-time data […]
In an article examining the costs of carbon pollution "outsourcing" this week, The New York Times featured a report co-authored by ERG student Cecilia Springer.
Watch professor Ray discuss current efforts to reduce poverty.
Professor Isha Ray's piece featured in CNN on the continuing heatwave and deaths in India.
Read the adapted excerpt in Slate of a new book by ERG alum Jonathan Mingle (MS'09).
"We wanted to help policymakers and members of the general public understand that household heating with biomass is a complicated issue," says ERG PhD candidate Zoë Chafe.
Dr. Apte (MS'08, PhD'13) says in The New York Times, "The thing that gives me greatest hope is the huge increase in awareness that I’ve seen in Delhi just in the past year."
Dr. Dan Kammen in Al Jazeera reminds us not to forget US and China's strategic climate partnership.
ERG alum measures air quality while riding rickshaws in Delhi.
UCB faculty, staff and alumni meet Dr. John Holdren at the India-US Science and Technology Summit in New Delhi.
"If the United States does not [limit carbon emissions], it is unlikely that other major emitters in the world — China, India, Russia, Europe, Japan — will do so either."
The Berkeley team will work with faculty from IIT Bombay on a 3-year effort titled the Sustainable Indian Water Infrastructure Project (SIWIP): A Systems Approach.
Watch Sunita Narain's "thought provoking and disturbing" conversation during ERG's 20th Annual Lecture co-hosted with the Center for South Asia Studies.
Priyanka is a first-year Masters of Science Student with the Energy and Resources Group. At ERG, she plans to identify and quantify the economic benefits of just transition policies and explore issues at the nexus of international economic development and climate action. Prior to coming to ERG, she worked with the New Climate Economy (NCE), […]
A Global Review of Cookstove Programs (’10 MS)
Shifting Environmental Trends: A Life-Cycle, Consumption-Based Approach to Environmental Indicators (’04 MA) Rule by Aesthetics: World-Class City Making in Delhi (’10 PhD)