Novim is a non-profit group at the University of California, Santa Barbara that organizes teams for objective scientific study of global issues and identification options for addressing the concerns, based upon an collaborative problem-solving approach used in the field of physics.
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Overview
The group was formed at the University of California campus in Santa Barbara to create a collaborative problem-solving approach to address widespread and complicated problems, modeled after approaches at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (KITP). Novim organizes study teams of scientists, researchers, and area experts to evaluate issues like climate engineering, global surface temperatures, and methane leakages in natural gas production. Their criteria for issue selection is that it must be "highly complex, controversial and global." They partner with governmental organizations, like the Department of Energy and Office of Science, to engage them in the process, share findings and discuss potential actions.
Jim Knight is Novim's executive vice president and Michael Ditmore is its executive director, both of whom are Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (KITP) Director’s Council members.
Advisory board
Geoengineering Study
They first studied the changes in the Earth's average surface temperature and published their findings in 2009 in the Climate Engineering Study Group report. They found that there was a need to use geoengineering to lower the Earth's average temperature and suggested adopting the principles of short wave climate engineering (SWCE) to introduce aerosols into the stratosphere. Much like the sulfur particles released by large volcanic eruptions, the aerosols would reflect shortwave solar radiation back into space to cool the air and land below. Although SWCE may help reverse global warming, the technique remains untested and potential adverse effects are unknown, and therefore could not be mitigated. Opponents have stated that the core causes are not addressed, only the symptoms, and that SWCE would damage the ozone.
Novim collected an international team of scientists to work together on the study, which was performed on a small scale to make options available as soon as reasonably possible. They determined that the cost to deploying the methods described in the study would be about $8 billion USD per year if delivered by aircraft.
Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature (BEST) Study
Novim's second study was the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature Study (BEST), released 29 July 2012. The study reanalyzes the world's land temperature data following Climategate. Professor Richard A. Muller led the study team that included 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics winner Saul Perlmutter.
Methane Leakage
Methane Leakage - Novim has assembled a team of scientific and technical experts to analyze existing studies of the emissions profile of natural gas during the production and distribution phases, with a focus on determining a range of actual methane leakage rates. Probable causes for the leakage will be included, and proposed solutions will be examined, along with associated costs.