More than 200 people stared at a colored image of the world with its large bodies of water and green land masses.

Graham Fleming began his presentation Tuesday night in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union by stating simply, “This is home. Maybe we need to do better at looking after it.”

Fleming, Melvin Calvin distinguished professor of chemistry at the University of California-Berkeley, presented the third-annual Presidential Lecture in Chemistry on the topic of using biomass as a world energy source.

Fleming said the world is in dire need of ways to reduce carbon emissions. Using a map of the United States, he showed that carbon emission was centered around large metropolitan areas, such as the East Coast.

“It’s a basic scientific principle that plants use carbon dioxide and water to produce sugars and oxygen,” he said, “Right now, carbon emissions are outpacing the ability of plants to take it up.”

Carbon, he said, is one of the main causes of the global warming seen today and at the top of the list of problems the world faces in the coming decades.

“Carbon absorbs heat, which can attribute to our global warming phenomenon,” Fleming said. “This carbon is emitted when we produce energy, and the reason that finding alternative sources of energy production that don’t harm the environment is so critical.”

According to a study presented to Congress by the late Professor Richard Smalley, the top five problems facing humanity are energy, water, food, the environment and poverty. By 2050, the world’s population is expected to be as high as 10 billion.

“The Smalley study shows that a larger population will demand energy – and if we don’t find a way to meet the needs of humankind without destroying the atmosphere, we are in trouble,” Fleming said.

Fleming and his fellow researchers at Berkeley have been working on solving the problem of energy production without harming the environment. Three main initiatives were outlined in his presentation: bio-inspired nanomaterials, energy bioscience projects and the formation of a bioenergy institute.

“We are working at Berkeley to find ways of turning biomass into fuel that would prevent harmful carbon emission into the atmosphere,” Fleming said.

One project currently underway involves the University of Illinois and focuses on using a biomass called miscanthus grass.

“Miscanthus grass is unique in that it requires no water or fertilization and can grow up to 14 feet in a year,” he said. “This type of plant is ideal because it puts carbon back into the ground when its roots are left in the soil to maintain its growth.”

Other solutions mentioned by Fleming that support environmentally-conscious energy production involve algae growth and new research initiatives that focus on plants as a possible energy source. Fleming addressed the students and faculty regarding helpful solutions at the academic level.

“We are doing well at being open to new ideas and recognizing the problem facing the environment,” he said, “but we need to start at the college level by emphasizing the basic sciences and understanding the chemistry behind energy and biological systems.”