IoES in the News
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Daniel Swain in The Los Angeles Times: Global warming is making western U.S. ‘megadrought’ the worst in centuries, study says
A two-decade-long dry spell that has parched much of the western United States is turning into one of the deepest “megadroughts” the region has experienced in more than 1,200 years,…
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Daniel Swain on Jefferson Public Radio — Climate Change Leads To More Fall Fires In California
The old impulse is to think of wildfires as creatures of the summer. But that is no longer strictly the case in California. Daniel Swain joins them to discuss change,…
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Daniel Swain Mentioned in The New York Times — Study: Warming Makes US West Megadrought Worst in Modern Age
Scientists used thousands of tree rings to compare a drought that started in 2000 and is still going — despite a wet 2019 — to four past megadroughts since the…
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Yifang Zhu in International Policy Digest: How COVID-19 Could Impact Air and Water Quality
Dr. Yifang Zhu, an environmental health sciences professor at UCLA, and her colleagues examined Southern California air quality from March 16 to April 6 and found a 20% improvement during…
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Daniel Swain in The Weather Channel: Climate Change Is Stoking What May Be a Long-Term Megadrought in Western U.S.
Daniel Swain, a scientist with UCLA and the National Center for Atmospheric Research, has researched the “hot drought” phenomenon in California. “I think this is interesting work and is indeed…
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Yifang Zhu in Cal Matters: As Californians stay at home, air quality improves – for now
The global coronavirus pandemic has inadvertently achieved what state officials have sought to do for decades: Californians have parked their cars. Freeways and highways are clear. And the constant burn…
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Yifang Zhu in Inhabitat: Los Angeles air quality improves amid pandemic
There is one positive impact of the tragic coronavirus pandemic — Los Angeles is experiencing its longest stretch of good air quality since 1995. “With less cars on the road and…
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IoES Director Peter Kareiva in Phys.org: Deforestation surged following end of armed conflict in Colombia
A new study co-authored by IoES Director Peter Kareiva and researchers from Colombia concludes that a failure of government systems is the main cause of Colombia’s rapid deforestation.
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2019 Pritzker Winner Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim in Thrive Global — Climate Justice in the Time of COVID: 5 Lessons From Women and Girls Leading the Fight
COVID-19 is a health, economic and social crisis, but it also holds out an opportunity for the world to move forward into a more equitable and green recovery. Women climate…
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IoES Director Peter Kareiva and colleagues’ study featured in Mirage News: 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 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…