IoES in the News
Awards
Travis Longcore Awarded Galileo Award from International Dark-Sky Association
Please join us in congratulating Travis Longcore on receiving the Galileo Award from the International Dark-Sky Association! This award is given to those who have made outstanding contributions to research…
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Brad Shaffer in The Scientist: Severe Drought, Heat Upended Research This Summer
Recent heatwaves and drought have taken a serious toll on fieldwork, scientists say. Brad Shaffer, an ecologist and evolutionary biologist at UCLA, had an extraordinarily difficult time researching the feeding…
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Greg Pierce in The Los Angeles Times: Los Angeles is running out of water, and time. Are leaders willing to act?
Gregory Pierce, co-director of the Luskin Center for Innovation at UCLA, said Los Angeles is “somewhat of a leader” when it comes to water recycling, and that Hyperion may be…
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Edith de Guzman quoted in The Santa Monica Daily Press: Outrage over illegal tree trimming unlikely to yield prosecution
The residents suspected of organizing unauthorized and damaging work to nine city ficus trees on Georgina Avenue earlier this month are unlikely to face consequences. A spokesperson for the City of…
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Travis Longcore on Spectrum News on LED Lights Contribution to Light Pollution and Environmental Impact
Professor Travis Longcore joined “Inside the Issues with Alex Cohen” on Spectrum News (34:52) to discuss the pros and cons of LED lighting. LEDs frequently emit blue light, which disperses…
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Daniel Swain in Spectrum News: A ‘megaflood’ could be California’s next ‘big one’
Droughts, earthquakes and wildfires are natural disasters that occur in California. But the Golden State may have to prepare for another climatic event that hasn’t occurred since the 19th century.…
Awards
Eric Hoek to Receive Top Water Research and Technology Prize
Sep 2, 2022 UCLA Samueli Newsroom The National Water Research Institute has selected Eric Hoek, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, as the 2022 Athalie Richardson…
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Daniel Swain in The Los Angeles Times: REBUILD | REBURN; California spends billions restoring towns charred by wildfire
Gone could be the political and public will to spend hundreds of millions of dollars — with Southern California taxpayers footing a big chunk of the bill — to replace homes…
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Daniel Swain in KQED: California Drought Enters Fourth Year With Little Respite on the Horizon
According to Daniel Swain, a climate scientist from UCLA and The Nature Conservancy, the situation is setting up to be a “recipe for drought:” a La Nia climate trend combined…
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Karen McKinnon research highlighted in UCLA Newsroom: Are extreme heat waves happening more than expected? UCLA research says not yet.
“The 2021 Pacific Northwest heat wave appears to be the result of climate change and extraordinarily bad luck with natural variability,” says UCLA climate scientist & statistician Karen McKinnon.
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Farwiza Farhan recognized as a rising star in the TIME100 Next
Rainforest conservationist and 2021 Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award Winner Farwiza Farhan recognized in the TIME100 Next– a list that recognizes 100 rising stars from across industries and around the…
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Travis Longcore in The Los Angeles Times: Newsom vetoes bill aimed at preventing light pollution
Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill that would have dimmed the light pollution emanating from state buildings, writing that the proposed law was an “overly broad mandate” whose costs…
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Gregory Pierce Writes: Desalination Sounds Easy. There Are Better Ways to Meet Water Needs.
The oceans contain almost all of the water on Earth’s surface, yet turning seawater into fresh water is expensive, energy-intensive, and can harm marine life, writes Gregory Pierce, co-director of…
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Daniel Swain in CNN: California’s wildfire activity is running below average this year. But experts warn it’s not over
“When people talk about this, they’re often talking about the acreage burned and actually not only does it not tell the whole story, but it arguably doesn’t tell most of…
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Kian Goh in The Washington Post: Coastal cities in parts of Asia are sinking fastest, study finds
“By 2030, a large part of Jakarta will be uninhabitable” — or if not, soon to be regularly flooded, said Kian Goh, an architect and urban planner at the University…
Blog
Student Blog: Sky Quality Camera: A Tool to Track and Analyze Light Pollution in the CIDSR
By Jules de la Cruz Artificial brightening of the night sky — also known as light pollution — has become a significant issue in the past few decades. As the…
Blog
Student Blog: Shining a Light on Light Pollution in CIDSR
By Mahliya Purificacion The night sky has long been a source of awe for humanity, serving as inspiration for science, religion, and countless pieces of art and literature. For past…
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Alex Hall in The Los Angeles Times: California is so hot and dry that not even soaking rain can ease fall fire peril
A summer of drought, extreme heat and deadly wildfires will end with much-needed rain this week in parts of California, but it is unlikely to douse the threat of wind-driven fires this fall…
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Chase Niesner in The Los Angeles Times: Inside the war against Southern California’s urban coyotes. ‘Horrific’ or misunderstood?
In Los Angeles, there is a deep division between those who want to eradicate coyotes and those who seek peaceful coexistence with the species. On one hand, people want to…
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Brad Shaffer in The New York Times — Opinion: Humans Have a Long History of Making ‘Very Bad Decisions’ to Save Animals
An ambitious project of more than 100 scientists led by the biologist Brad Shaffer at UCLA is currently working to catalog the genomes of about 230 animal and plant species across…
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Brad Shaffer in The New York Times: novel genomic approaches to biodiversity conservation
The California Conservation Genomics Project, led by UCLA La Kretz Center director Brad Shaffer, is highlighted as a unique, coordinated effort to help avert climate-related extinctions across the state. The article also discusses Shaffer's concept of Urban Arks, where non-native endangered species may find sanctuary in cities and urban environments.
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Gregory Okin in CNN: Our pets are part of the climate problem. These tips can help you minimize their carbon pawprints
Our four-legged friends don’t drive gas-guzzling SUVs or use energy-sucking appliances, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a climate impact. Their meat-heavy diet is the biggest contributor to their…
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Daniel Blumstein in the Los Angeles Times: Don’t worry about that squirrel ‘splooting’ — it’s just trying to beat the heat
“Bears do it, squirrels do it, rabbits do it, dogs [too],” said Daniel Blumstein, a professor at UCLA’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. “They get really flat when they’re…
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Rajit Gadh in dot.LA — Businesses in Los Angeles Are Working to Lessen Burden on Strained Power Grid
Rajit Gadh has led research at UCLA for more than a decade that considers the viability of using electric car batteries to supplement the grid. “[You] can get data from the…
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Daniel Swain in The Los Angeles Times: With Tropical Storm Kay arriving, here’s how to check your flood risk
Tropical Storm Kay, a system along the northern coast of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, is expected to cause heavy rains, flash flooding, strong winds and muggy conditions through Saturday. However,…
