IoES in the News
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Yifang Zhu in NBC News Los Angeles — UCLA: COVID-19 Deaths Linked to Poor Air Quality
Los Angeles County neighborhoods with the worst air quality saw a 60% increase in COVID-19 fatalities, compared with communities with the best air quality. “We know that Traffic-Related Air Pollution…
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Greg Pierce in UCLA Newsroom: Report sets path toward clean drinking water for all Californians
A new study published by the California State Water Board and supported by UCLA research identifies a risk for failure among a significant portion of the state’s small and medium-sized…
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Stephanie Pincetl in E&E News: Biden plan would pump billions into home retrofits
President Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan includes measures to build and retrofit affordable, energy-efficient homes, something that efficiency advocates say could alleviate energy and housing insecurity while also creating jobs.…
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Daniel Swain in WIRED: More Lightning in the Arctic Is Bad News for the Planet
Lightning strikes have become more common in the Arctic over the last decade, and they’re expected to become ever more frequent over the next century. Two new studies present evidence…
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Daniel Swain in The New York Times: Water Shortages and Fires Loom After a Dry Winter
The lack of rain and snow during what is usually California’s wet season has shrunk the state’s water supply. The Sierra Nevada snowpack, a crucial source of water as it…
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Daniel Swain in National Geographic: Scientists spot a ‘space hurricane’ for the first time
Scientists suspected that vortexes could form high in Earth’s atmosphere, but this is the first time one has been seen twirling the northern lights like a baton. As the study…
Awards
IoES Interim Director Marilyn Raphael elected Vice President of American Association of Geographers
Marilyn Raphael, interim director of UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, was elected vice president of the American Association of Geographers (AAG), a global network of researchers, educators and…
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Travis Longcore in UCLA Newsroom: Study reveals which outdoor lighting minimizes harm to insects
New research by UCLA and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute shows how the kind of light people use makes a big difference, even in one of the buggiest places on…
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Deepak Rajagopal in the The Detroit Bureau: Medium- and Long-Haul EV Trucks Cheaper to Own, Operate than Diesel, Finds New Study
“The case for society to undertake the necessary investments to facilitate quicker adoption of electric trucks has never been stronger,” said Deepak Rajagopal, co-author and associate professor at the University…
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Suzanne Paulson and Yifang Zhu in UCLA Newsroom: The first COVID-19 lockdowns improved air quality. Where are we a year later?
The air quality gains of spring 2020 couldn’t overpower the return to driving, record-high heat waves or apocalyptic wildfires, but they did offer a glimpse of what is possible, researchers…
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Environmental law and climate change experts weigh in on President Biden’s first 50 days
Halfway through President Biden’s first 100 days, UCLA environmental law and climate change experts weigh in on what his administration has already accomplished and look ahead at the challenges to…
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Sean Hecht in The Los Angeles Times: Senate confirms Michael Regan as EPA chief
The Senate confirmed Michael Regan on Wednesday to run the Environmental Protection Agency, putting an environmental regulator known for consensus-building at the helm of the agency that will lead President…
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Sean Hecht in Bloomberg Law: Biden Has Chance to Boost Leftward Tilt on D.C. Circuit (1)
President Joe Biden has an opportunity to shape one of the most important federal courts for environmental policy and other regulations after Judge David S. Tatel announced plans to take…
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Daniel Swain in The Los Angeles Times: California’s aging dams face new perils, 50 years after Sylmar quake crisis
“Even if engineers had made risk assessments that were accurate at the time these structures were built, they aren’t accurate now, and won’t be anymore due to climate change,” said…
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Daniel Swain in The Washington Post: California’s rainy season now starts nearly a month later, increasing wildfire risks
A long-expected consequence of global warming has come to fruition, a study finds: California’s rainy season is starting later in the year than it used to, extending the threat of…
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Brad Shaffer research in UCLA Newsroom: Turtles ‘in horrible shape’ with grim future due to rising sea levels
A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals new findings about turtles’ evolution so far and the tough prospects they face for survival. “Turtles are…
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Alex Wang in Marketplace: It’s economics, not policy, that’s hurting the coal industry
The U.S. coal industry isn’t likely to prosper under the Biden administration, but it wasn’t exactly gangbusters under the previous one either, despite all those promises. On top of natural…
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Magali Delmas in UCLA Newsroom: Evidence mounts that eco-friendly wine tastes bette
A new study by Magali Delmas, an environmental economist at UCLA Anderson School of Management, and Olivier Gergaud, an economist at the Kedge Business School in Bordeaux, France, found that organic…
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JR DeShazo in Popular Science: GM wants its cars to be fully electric by 2035. Here’s what that could mean for auto emissions.
Last week, General Motors announced that it plans to eliminate emissions from its passenger vehicles by 2035, and become carbon-neutral across its operations by 2040. Still, it may be an…
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Edward Parson and Alex Wang in The Daily Bruin: Some faculty hope UC, US will take more aggressive action to combat climate change
Some UCLA faculty said the United States and the University of California should take more progressive steps to fight climate change. The U.S. could use the power of the federal…
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Daniel Swain in The Independent — ‘Concurrent disasters’: How California could see more severe mudslides as a result of wildfires
The unprecedented and devastating 2020 California wildfires have left some regions vulnerable to mudslides and debris flows. Daniel Swain, a PhD climate scientist at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, told the Tahoe…
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Daniel Swain in Inside Climate News: A Surge From an Atmospheric River Drove California’s Latest Climate Extremes
Research suggests that much of the state will endure more extreme precipitation events that drive floods, mudslides, and debris flows. It could get worse. Stronger atmospheric rivers are part of…
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Richard Jackson in the New York Times: How Climate Change May Affect Your Health
No matter where you live or how high your socioeconomic status, climate change can endanger your health, both physical and mental, now and in the future. “Our changing climate will…
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Daniel Blumstein writes for Zócalo Public Square: What if we used play to solve the world’s biggest problems?
Ours is a time of reduced civility, heightened political partisanship, and decreased faith in institutions. If we don’t figure out how to engage respectfully, we will all lose out. Americans…
