The fifth class of the California Science and Technology Policy Fellowship Program has begun work in Sacramento, and the program is planning for the next five years. "We are very proud of the legacy this program is building," said CCST Executive Director Susan Hackwood. "The Science and Technology Policy Fellows are a resource unique at the state level, and have demonstrated over the past four years that policymakers value having this sort of S&T expertise available."

CCST is accepting applications for the 2014-2015 California Science and Technology Policy Fellowships between December 1, 2013 and 5:00 pm, PDT, February 28, 2014. The Fellowships place professional scientists and engineers in the California State Legislature for one-year appointments. They are ideal for qualified applicants who are interested in improving the interface between science and legislative decision-making and who want to learn the public policy decision-making process.

The California's Energy Future projects explore what's needed meet the state's goal, answering the call of S-3-05 - the executive order from 2005 mandating the reduction of the state's emissions to 80 percent below the 1990 level by 2050.

Reports released to date include "California's Energy Future - The View to 2050" and "Possibilities, Problems And Potential Envisioned For Nuclear-Powered California in 2050". Other reports in progress will cover issues such as the transportation infrastructure. Click the link below for access to all related projects and resources.

Experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), a CCST federal laboratory affiliate, have for the first time created a fusion reaction which generated more energy than was deposited into the fusion fuel, an order of magnitude improvement in yield performance over past experiments and the first time this result has been achieved anywhere.

At the request of the Bureau of Land Management, the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) is conducting an independent scientific review of oil and gas development technologies in California. On Friday, February 7 at 9:30 AM PST, CCST hosted a public webinar in which CCST discussed the purpose, scope and methodology of the report. For more details, click below.

CCST has released the first report in a new series which analyzes how California can effectively construct a policy framework to help the state meet its ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals over the coming years. The California's Energy Future - Policy (CEF-P) project follows on CCST's landmark California's Energy Future study, which explored the technical feasibility of California reducing its GHG emissions to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050 while still accommodating projected growth in its economy and population.