California is in a prime position for enhancing science, technology, mathematics, and engineering (STEM) education, and the state needs to do so in order to maintain its leadership in high-tech innovation, according to a report released on June 30 by State Superintendant Tom Torlakson, INNOVATE: A Blueprint for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics in California Public Education.

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."

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.

CCST shared information on two of its projects with Congressional staffers in Washington, D.C. at a luncheon briefing hosted by the California Institute for Federal Policy Research. Both reports, Achieving a Sustainable California Water Future through Innovations in Science and Technology and The Efficacy of Digitally Enhanced Education, were written in response to requests by the California State Legislature.

"Policies for California's Energy Future - Scaling Up Advanced Biofuels" is the second report in a 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.

The California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) released a report today which envisions a path toward a sustainable water future for California achieved through a system management approach utilizing innovations in science, technology and management. Such an approach would rely on currently available and new science and technology, yielding greater efficiencies and opening new sources of supply for managing California water through future multi-year cycles of drought and flooding.