IoES in the News
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Yifang Zhu in Forbes: How Clean Air Cities Could Outlast COVID-19 Lockdowns
Dr. Yifang Zhu, director of the Centre For Clean Air, at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment & Sustainability says her team has found a 20% gain in air quality in…
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Yifang Zhu in Courthouse News Service: Experts Say Dirty Air Will Return When Lockdowns End
Yifang Zhu, environmental health scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, said in an interview the reduction in air pollution will unfortunately be short-lived once lockdown orders are lifted.…
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IoES Director Peter Kareiva study featured in UCLA Newsroom: Deforestation surged following end of armed conflict in Colombia
Deforestation is skyrocketing in the country with the world’s second-highest number of species. The cause? Ineffective conservation in protected areas following decades of civil war. Researchers from UCLA including the…
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Yifang Zhu in The Washington Post — The silver lining to coronavirus lockdowns: Air quality is improving
The coronavirus pandemic has put much of the world into lockdown, with factories going idle and city streets turning into eerily empty walkways. According to Yifang Zhu, a professor at UCLA’s…
Blog
Web Design Links
A curated set of web design links for beginners shared with students on the UCLA IoES Sea Grass practicum team. Theory and Process The Web’s Grain. Essay by Frank Chimero…
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CNN segment featuring CTR Senior Research Fellow Peter Daszak
“We’re very confident that the origin of Covid-19 is in bats,” said Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance, a health nonprofit that tracks zoonotic spillover. “We just don’t know where exactly…
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Pritzker Nominator Emma Marris Writes for WIRED: GMOs Are an Ally in a Changing Climate
“If we want to feed a growing population without fueling global warming, we need to redefine what we think of as good food,” says Pritzker nominator, Emma Marris. After a…
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Yifang Zhu mentioned in WRCB NBC 3 Chattanooga: COVID-19 death rate rises in counties with high air pollution, study says
“I think overall the general convolutions that long-term exposure to PM 2.5 increases the risk or COVID-19 deaths is probably generalizable to a global scale,” said Yifang Zhu, a professor…
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Yifang Zhu in 9News: Los Angeles air ‘cleanest in world’ since COVID-19
With Los Angeles – and the entire state of California – under stay-at-home orders to stem the deadly outbreak of coronavirus, something dramatic has happened to the air in LA.…
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Daniel Swain study featured in CBS News: Climate change has doubled extreme fire weather days in California, study shows
“It’s striking just how strong of an influence climate change has already had on extreme fire weather conditions throughout the state,” said study co-author Daniel Swain, a research fellow at…
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Yifang Zhu in CNN: Los Angeles has notoriously polluted air. But right now it has some of the cleanest of any major city
With the city — and the entire state of California — under stay-at-home orders to stem the deadly outbreak of coronavirus, something dramatic has happened to the air in LA.…
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Yifang Zhu in CBS58 WDJT: Los Angeles has notoriously polluted air. But right now it has some of the cleanest of any major city
Beginning in early March of this year, EPA air quality data shows that the city of Angels experienced its longest stretch of “good” air quality since at least 1995. Dr.…
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Daniel Swain in Daily Mail: California’s wildfire season is likely to be even longer and more destructive in the future as rainfall continues to decrease, new Stanford research finds
A team from Stanford analyzed regional thermometers and rainfall gauges since the 1980s and found the number of extreme fire weather days has more than doubled. ‘It’s striking just how…
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Daniel Swain Research Featured in Scientific American: Climate Change Has Doubled Riskiest Fire Days in California
An analysis led by Stanford University found that temperatures rose about 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit statewide in California while precipitation dropped 30% since 1980. That doubled the number of autumn days—when…
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Daniel Swain co-author of Stanford research forecasts longer, more extreme wildfire seasons
In California, a changing climate has made autumn feel more like summer, with hotter, drier weather that increases the risk of longer, more dangerous wildfire seasons, according to a new…
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Jon Christensen in CityLab: Longing for the Great Outdoors? Think Smaller.
Though the “great outdoors” may be more distant than ever right now due to COVID-19, small and mediated exposure to nature can still give us a lift, said Jon Christensen,…
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Ann Carlson in Scientific American: Several States, Environmental Groups Vow to Sue Over Car Pollution Rollback
Ann Carlson, co-director of UCLA’s Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, said the Trump administration’s less aggressive rules “don’t make legal sense.” She noted that agencies will need…
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Ann Carlson in KQED: California Leaders Slam Trump Administration’s New Car Rules as ‘Deadly Regulatory Backsliding’
After years of blustery promises and draft proposals, the Trump administration Tuesday released final rules tossing out auto emissions standards and gutting one of the U.S.’s biggest efforts to fight…
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Ann Carlson in Forbes: COVID-19 Scrambles The Debate On How Much Pollution To Accept From Cars And Trucks
On Tuesday, the Trump administration finalized its plan to require manufacturers of cars and trucks – the biggest-source of climate-warming pollution – to boost their average fuel economy by 1.5 percent annually…
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Ann Carlson in NPR: Trump Administration Weakens Auto Emissions Standards
The Trump administration has finalized its rollback of a major Obama-era climate policy, weakening auto emissions standards in a move it says will mean cheaper cars for consumers. “More fuel-efficient…
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Ann Carlson on NPR’s All Things Considered: Trump Administration Finalizes Fuel Economy Standards Rollback, A Key Policy Goal
The Trump administration is replacing Obama-era fuel economy standards with weaker ones that will allow for more air pollution. Groups are already lining up to challenge the new rule. Ann…
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Jon Christensen in Bay Nature: Pandemic Park Closures Aren’t Fairly Felt. But There’s Not an Immediate Alternative
Last week, in response to complaints and an outpouring of social media outrage, governor Gavin Newsom announced a “soft closure” of 36 State Parks and beaches in California, 26 of…
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Ann Carlson in Forbes: Trump Finalizes Fuel Economy Rollback As COVID-19 Roils Auto Industry
Donald Trump has always touted his rollback of Obama-era fuel economy and tailpipe emissions standards as one of his proudest anti-regulatory achievements. Today, his administration finalizes his own lower targets,…
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Ann Carlson in The Guardian: Trump to roll back Obama-era clean car rules in huge blow to climate fight
The Trump administration is rolling back the US government’s strongest attempt to combat the climate crisis, weakening rules which compel auto companies to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles. Critics say the move…
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Pritzker Winner Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim in OkayAfrica: Watch Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim’s TED Talk on How Indigenous Knowledge Can Help Fight Climate Change
In a new TED Talk, climate activist, geographer and one of OkayAfrica’s 100 Women 2020, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, discusses the role that indigenous knowledge can play in combatting climate change.
