IoES in the News
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Daniel Swain in SF Gate: Quail Fire near Winters 40% contained, evacuations lifted
The Quail Fire has destroyed three buildings and about 1,400 acres of vegetation in rural Solano County between Vacaville and Winters as of 8:30 a.m. Sunday, June 7 Cal Fire…
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Paul Barber inThe Keene Sentinel: Scientists tackle starfish plagues on Great Barrier Reef
Upon first glance, the crown-of-thorns starfish looks a lot like an enemy creature you’d find in a nature-based video game. But its exterior isn’t nearly as intimidating as its appetite.…
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Daniel Swain in Mendocino Voices: In February, record drought. In May, record heat. What’s next?
Climate Scientist Daniel Swain believes that as the world continues to heat up due to global warming, people are getting used to new, warmer weather and unusual climatic patterns. But,…
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Deepak Rajagopal in Economic Times: OpEd Missing elements in the electric vehicle policy ecosystem
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Thomas Smith in The Daily Bruin — Campus Queries: What environmental factors are linked to the coronavirus pandemic?
Wildlife markets are also a hotbed for transmission since wild animals from all around the world are put in small cages in close proximity to each other, ecology and evolutionary…
Awards
Noah Garrison Honored with the UCLA Sustainability Achievement Award
Congratulations to professor Noah Garrison who received the UCLA Sustainability Achievement Award for the 2020 UCLA Sustainability Green Gala. As the IoES Environmental Science Practicum Director, Professor Garrison oversees the…
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Daniel Blumstein quoted in The New York Times: Mass Extinctions Are Accelerating, Scientists Report
We are in the midst of a mass extinction, many scientists have warned — this one driven not by a catastrophic natural event, but by humans. The unnatural loss of biodiversity is…
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Yifang Zhu in Scientific American: Coronavirus Lockdowns May Raise Exposure to Indoor Air Pollution
This spring, as the COVID-19 pandemic led people to hunker down at home, outdoor air quality improved dramatically in many cities and countries. In the northeastern U.S., for instance, air…
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Daniel Swain in NBC News: California readies for ‘realistic’ nightmare — raging wildfires during a pandemic
California is bracing for the possibility of a devastating wildfire season amid the coronavirus pandemic. Northern CA, which just recorded one of its driest winters on record, could be especially…
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Travis Longcore quoted in Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus ravages poorer L.A. communities while slowing in wealthier ones, data show
An associate adjunct professor at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, Travis Longcore said the pandemic has exposed the country’s deep-seated economic and racial disparities. “It’s just laid…
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Ann Carlson Weighs in for KPBS: Big Oil Will Answer Some Uncomfortable Questions In California Court
Imperial Beach’s attempt to hold the oil industry accountable for climate change will move forward in state court. AnnCarlson of UCLA Law and Institute of Environment and Sustainability says “I…
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Deepak Rajagopal in International Business Times — Climate Change News: University Of California Divests Entirely From Fossil Fuel Assets
The University of California, or UC, has divested the last of its $1 billion of fossil fuel assets, thereby becoming the largest U.S. educational institution to do so. Deepak Rajagopal, an…
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Ann Carlson in Common Dreams — ‘Accountability Is Coming’: Federal Judges Rule California Climate Suits Against Big Oil Must Go Forward in State Court
A panel of federal judges on Tuesday ruled that California climate lawsuits aiming to force major fossil fuel companies to pay for their role in causing the environmental crisis must…
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Tracy Johnson named dean of the UCLA Division of Life Sciences
Congratulations to Tracy Johnson, professor of molecular, cell, and developmental biology and holder of the Keith and Cecilia Terasaki Presidential Endowed Chair, has been named dean of the division of…
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Deepak Rajagopal in The Daily Bruin: UC Regents Investments Committee announces full divestment from fossil fuels
The University of California Board of Regents Investments Committee announced Tuesday it has completely divested from fossil fuels. The massive decline in the cost of renewable energy from solar, wind,…
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Yifang Zhu Study Featured in NBC 4 Los Angeles: Traffic Reduction Impacts Southern California’s Air Quality
Experts say transitioning to cleaner technology for all things mobile including the larger contributors of emissions like ships and trucks will lead to more sustainable long-term changes. Dr. Yifang Zhu…
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Ann Carlson in Earth Institute — While No One Was Watching: Changing Environmental Regulations Under the Trump Administration
In a recent webinar, three environmental law experts including UCLA’s Ann Carlson discussed the current regulatory landscape. Carlson says that, once in office, the Trump administration quickly attempted to alter…
Awards
Forward thinking graduate awarded for sustainable change-making at LA Metro
Cris Liban, who received his doctorate from UCLA IoES’ Environmental Science and Engineering program, was honored with the Award of Excellence by the Engineering News Record for his initiative and drive to make…
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Peter Daszak on 60 Minutes: Coronavirus research upended by politics
Peter Daszak, senior research fellow at Center for Tropical Research was featured on a 60 Minutes segment called Pandemic Politics. The Trump administration cut funding for Peter Daszak, a coronavirus…
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Mary Nichols and California Air Resources Board in Forbes: It’s ‘Damn The Torpedoes’ As California Eyes Electric Truck Mandate Despite COVID-19
Mary Nichols, chair of the California Air Resources Board, and her staff at proposed the world’s first zero-emission sales mandate on commercial trucks, even as COVID-19 triggered the worst U.S.…
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Daniel Swain quoted in The Atlantic: What Happens If a ‘Big One’ Strikes During the Pandemic?
Hurricanes and wildfires, weather phenomena often associated with disasters, are seasonal and, therefore, inevitable. Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA, explains that both become possible in May, before usually becoming…
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Yifang Zhu and Suzanne Paulson in The Daily Bruin: UCLA experts show LA air quality has improved, but encourage thinking long-term
A decrease in Southern California traffic led to decreases in microscopic air pollutants known as fine particulate matter, or PM 2.5. This contributed to a 20% improvement in air quality…
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Yifang Zhu Research Featured in The Science Times: 14,000 Californian Lives Could be Saved Each Year if the State Remains Carbon-Neutral Similar to When on Lockdown
Yifang Zhu, a professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and UCLA Institute of Environment and Sustainability, published a study that could serve as a guideline for the…
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Yifang Zhu Research Featured in ScienceBlog: Carbon Neutral California Could Save 14,000 Lives Per Year
Since millions of Californians began staying at home and off the roads in March, air quality in the Golden State has visibly improved. In a peer-reviewed study published May 4 in the…
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Daniel Swain mentioned in The Los Angeles Times: After this week’s near-record heat, California will return to cooler weather in mid-May
After a summer-like pattern of high pressure and offshore flow prevailing through at least Thursday in Southern California, much cooler conditions and a thicker marine layer will begin to return Friday and over the weekend into early next week, the National Weather Service said. While this may be the last…