IoES in the News

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Daniel Swain for the Wall Street Journal — Why Are the Maui Wildfires So Devastating?

UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain discusses the conditions that caused the massive and deadly wildfires that swept through Maui for the Wall Street Journal. “A confluence of powerful downslope winds…

Maui wildfire- deadly wildfire destruction- lahaina

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Brad Shaffer for KQED — ‘Moonshot for Biology’ Aims to Sequence a Genome of Every Type of Plant and Animal on Earth

Director of UCLA La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science and professor of ecology and evolutionary biology Brad Shaffer discusses how scientists are racing against time to create a global…

Genetics biology dna sequence evolution

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Daniel Swain for Los Angeles Times —

UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain discusses the conditions that fueled the most devastating wildfire in Hawaii in over a century for LA times. “The fires that we’re seeing are on…

Hawaii wildfire- Lahaina- deadly- burn. The hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission on Wainee Street in Lahaina are engulfed in flames Tuesday. (Matthew Thayer / Associated Press)

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Stephanie Pincetl authors Los Angeles Times opinion piece — Opinion: How wildfires in Algeria and California reveal colonial origins of the ‘Mediterranean climate’

In her LA Times op-ed, UCLA Professor Stephanie Pincetl highlights recent underreported wildfires in Algeria, contrasting them with prominent blazes in Greece and Italy, all sharing a Mediterranean climate. Pincetl…

Fire, wildfire, burning | public domain

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Glen MacDonald for Los Angeles Times —As Mojave Desert burns, we’re seeing the flip side of California’s weird weather year

UCLA climate scientist Glen MacDonald reveals why California needs a new perspective on wildfires for Los Angeles Times. ”We have to live with fire,” says MacDonald. “We’re never going to…

Vegetation that has benefited from California’s abundant snow and rainfall this year has provided fuel for the fire. Yuccas burn during the York fire in the Mojave National Preserve on July 30 | David Swanson, Getty Images

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Benjamin Bass for NBC News — Colorado River Basin has lost 10 trillions gallons of water due to climate change: Study

UCLA atmospheric & oceanic scientist Benjamin Bass discusses a new study confirms that the vital Colorado River Basin has lost 10 trillion gallons of water over a period of 21…

Lester Holt, Colorado Basin

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Daniel Swain for Phys.org — York fire in Mojave Desert along California-Nevada border balloons to 77,000 acres

UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain discusses 2023 climate patterns and fire season for Phys.org. “Big fires in the desert are entirely consistent with the fire season outlook for 2023,” said…

Fire, wildfire, burning | public domain

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Meet the 2023 Pritzker Environmental Genius Award Candidates #15-18

The final group of candidates for the 2023 Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award includes a green architect, a conservationist, a clean energy leader and an ocean conservation advocate.

Waimea Canyon

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Marilyn Raphael for New York Times — Antarctic Sea Ice Is at a ‘Very Concerning’ Record Low

UCLA IoES director Marilyn Raphael discusses historic and current sea ice levels for New York Times, explaining that this year’s Antarctic sea ice extent “is very, very concerning” and “is…

Melting icebergs along the Antarctic Peninsula | Sebnem Coskun, Anadolu Agency, via Getty Images

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Daniel Swain for the Los Angeles Times — The Mojave Desert is burning in California’s biggest fire of year, torching Joshua trees

UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain discusses the 2023 wildfire season in California for the Los Angeles Times, explaining that this year’s climate provided a “more continuous fuel bed” and that…

An air tanker drops fire retardant over the York fire in the Mojave National Preserve on Saturday. | R. Almendinger, National Park Service

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Daniel Swain for the New York Times — California’s Largest Wildfire of the Year Sweeps Across the Mojave

UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain discusses the 2023 wildfire season in California for the New York Times, explaining that “given [we had] an exceptionally wet winter and cool spring, larger…

Vegetation that has benefited from California’s abundant snow and rainfall this year has provided fuel for the fire. Yuccas burn during the York fire in the Mojave National Preserve on July 30 | David Swanson, Getty Images

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Meet the 2023 Pritzker Environmental Genius Award Candidates #11-14

The third group of candidates for the 2023 Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award includes a marine biologist, an Indigenous activist, a nuclear arms control expert and a leopard conservationist.

Blue waters of Havasu Canyon, Grand Canyon | Al Toepfer

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Daniel Swain for New York Times — Heat Records Are Falling Worldwide, but Most Californians Have Been Spared

UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain discusses rising temperatures for the New York Times, stating that California is “one of the only locales in the entire world, in fact, that has…

Death Valley National Park last week. Heat, heat waves, record breaking temperature, hot, heat sick, global warming, climate change | John Locher, Associated Press

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Glen MacDonald for California City News — STUDY: 90% OF CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES IGNITED BY HUMANS

UCLA professor and lead author quoted by California City News regarding his recent study conducted on wildfires and their causes. “It could be from anything like someone throwing a cigarette…

firefighter, wildfire

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Deepak Rajagopal for PR Newswire — UCLA Study Highlights Smart Cups’ Revolutionary Technology Reducing Environmental Impact of Liquid Consumer Products

UCLA Associate Professor Deepak Rajagopal discusses his new study titled “Reducing life cycle material, energy and emissions for liquid consumer products through printing” for PR Newswire. “The technology that Smart…

More Delivered, Less Trucks Needed! Smart Cups' efficient technology means fewer transportation vehicles needed with greater volume of products delivered.

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Meet the 2023 Pritzker Environmental Genius Award Candidates #6-10

The second group of candidates for the 2023 Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award includes community equity advocates, a sustainable solar innovator, an activist filmmaker, a conservation leader and a wildlife lawyer.

Sunset at Joshua Tree National Park | Getty Images

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Travis Longcore for KMVT — Light Pollution Monitoring in Central Idaho

KMVT explores how Adjunct Professor Travis Longcore and his students are helping preserve the night sky by monitoring light pollution in Central Idaho. “So, the first student group, because of…

Central Idaho light pollution monitoring

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Glen MacDonald for KTLA — Humans to blame for about 90% of wildfire ignitions, report finds

“In the state of California, if you look at wildfires, well over 90% of the ignition source has been tracked back to humans. It could be from anything like someone…

A home burns as the Dixie fire jumps Highway 395 south of Janesville, CA Aug. 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File)

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Daniel Swain for Yahoo Finance — Extreme Heat, Weather Conditions Attributed to Stagnant Jet Stream

“Once you get extremely warm oceans, it is easier to maintain heat waves” as more humidity gets unleashed, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California Los…

Heat sick, heat wave, ambulance, emt

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Daniel Blumstein for Yahoo News — Ever see a squirrel or other animal do this pose? Here’s what it means

Professor of ecology and evolutionary biology Daniel Blumstein informs Yahoo News on the reason behind certain squirrel and animal poses. “Many mammals have less fur on their bellies compared to…

Squirrel laying down, splooting

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Daniel Swain for USA Today — Summers are always hot. Here’s how we know climate change is making summer 2023 hotter.

UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain discusses recent record-breaking heat for USA Today. “But we’re starting to see the long-term, human-caused warming signal overwhelming that volatility. At this point, there aren’t…

The forecast map for July 24-28 shows above average temperatures are likely across most of the nation | Climate Prediction Center

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Glen MacDonald for California Local — Climate Change Caused 172 Percent More Land to be Burned by Wildfire, Study Finds

Glen MacDonald discusses the reasons why wildfires have become increasingly severe and frequent for California Local, pointing to climate change as an overarching factor.

Wildfire | Wikipedia Commons

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Meet the 2023 Pritzker Environmental Genius Award Candidates #1-5

The first group of candidates for the 2023 Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award includes a marine ecologist, an activist, a climate tech CEO, a marine conservation scientist and the executive chair of an Indonesian environmental conservation foundation.

california’s past and future coastal habitat

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Rajit Gadh for KCRW — Should LA make AC mandatory for all rental units?

Rajit Gadh, professor at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, discusses how AC mandates in Los Angeles would effect the city’s energy consumption for KCRW. “We need the charging infrastructure…

Air conditioner | Shutterstock

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Daniel Blumstein for VigourTimes — Dialects Extend Beyond Humans Alone

“According to Daniel Blumstein, a biologist at UCLA who was not involved in the study, Clarke’s research contributes a small yet significant piece to the broader puzzle of animal communication.…

Mooses