Environment + Climate

While many students head home or to resort locations during spring break, a group of UCLA students is monitoring the tides and rushing to the coastal bluffs of Palos Verdes to observe how El Niño is changing life in tide pools.

As part of the United Nations World Water Day on March 22, UCLA will take part in Tuesday’s White House Water Summit that aims to raise awareness of water challenges in the United States.

More than 1 in 9 people around the world do not have access to safe, clean drinking water, and the problem is expected to worsen due in part to climate change.

The new building material called CO2NCRETE would be made from carbon captured from power plant smokestacks potentially eliminating a huge source of greenhouse gas emissions.

While the experts agreed on the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, they sharply divided on how to achieve that goal at a recent discussion sponsored by the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability.

Previous research showed that ice shelves are vulnerable to even small increases in greenhouse gases, but the new study was the first to demonstrate that huge, land-based glaciers are also vulnerable.

Brad Shaffer, director of the UCLA La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science, says the role of citizen scientists is important in helping scientists track changes in the environment due to climate.

The UCLA Sustainable LA Grand Challenge’s first competitive research grants will go to 11 projects, ranging from developing lightweight solar panels that double as batteries to studying the costs of algae-based biofuels.

Researchers found the association between ozone and mortality began at 35 parts per billion.

The report recommends that a state agency and agricultural commissioners evaluate pesticide mixtures and implement regulations to more adequately protect human health.

In this Q&A, Jon Christensen of UCLA and his colleague Adam Wolf discuss their study of how climate change affects plant species’ shifting in California.

A UCLA-led study exploring California plant species’ shifts to higher elevations showed that non-native and invasive plants are moving fastest.

Mark Gold writes that we’re going to lose tens of billions of gallons of water to runoff because Los Angeles’ infrastructure is not designed to capture and store rainfall.

Robinson shared the story of her awakening to the global impact of climate change on the world's impoverished countries and communities at a lecture hosted by the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs Tuesday.

The paper was published by UCLA Law’s Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School and the Institute for Policy Integrity at NYU School of Law.

Among the topics discussed at the inaugural UCLA-Tata Global Forum in New Delhi were sustainable megacities, the integration of solar power into smart energy grids and sustainable biological fuels.

There are more than 100 research projects that will help conserve, invent and incentivize the county to fully renewable energy, 100 percent local water and a healthier ecosystem.

The plan is a key step in UCLA’s Sustainable LA Grand Challenge, which aims to move the county to 100 percent renewable energy, 100 percent local water and enhanced ecosystem health by 2050.

Global climate models vary in how much they show rain and other precipitation changing due to climate change. UCLA researchers discovered a way to reduce these differences by 35 percent.

The $1.75 million grant will be used to create a toolkit to analyze genomics data, allowing researchers to understand how threatened populations respond to changes in habitats and climate.

Professor Jon Christensen praises Gov. Jerry Brown for his deft ability to mix doomsaying predictions with pragmatic solutions as he strives to get Californians to mitigate the causes and effects of climate change.

A UCLA–UC Berkeley report finds that the state could produce a significant amount of low-carbon fuel needed to meet California’s transportation needs.

All eyes are on Paris as the 2015 UN Climate Conference begins. California is well-represented, with many from the state participating, including five UCLA faculty and seven students.

From less electricity generated by coal to more whales in California, UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability director Peter Kareiva offers things to be thankful for.

The study, by researchers at the California NanoSystems Institute, could be an important step in the effort to satisfy the world’s need for clean water.