Only 10 vaquita porpoises survive, but species may not be doomed, scientists say
If they can escape death in poachers’ nets, the endangered marine mammal is well poised genetically to rebound despite inbreeding.
environment
Results
UCLA releases first comprehensive sustainability plan
The plan includes initiatives focused on transportation, energy, water and food systems.
Talking climate solutions with Institute of the Environment and Sustainability director Marilyn Raphael
Faculty and students are working on new ways to respond to a wide range of environmental problems.
UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability receives $1.5 million pledge from founding director
The gift from Richard Turco and his wife, Linda Turco, will support students engaged in environmental research.
Climate change increases risk of devastating debris flows after wildfires in western U.S.
Research co-authored by UCLA’s Daniel Swain finds that extreme precipitation conditions are projected to increase in the coming decades.
UCLA Law students work to help protect outdoor laborers from heat and pollution
Research produced by those in the California Environmental Legislation and Policy Clinic has influenced proposed legislation.
UCLA launches zero waste campaign to help increase sustainability efforts on campus
The goal is to divert 90% of the university’s waste from landfills.
Web tool co-created by UCLA a veritable ‘Swiss Army knife’ for land management
LandCART uses machine learning to assess changes in vegetation and ground cover across the American West.
Intricacies of L.A.’s urban ecosystem are focus of new UCLA podcast
“The Labyrinth Project” engages listeners in a range of ecological conundrums that are as interconnected as the city’s ecosystems.
Forest fires increasingly affecting rivers and streams – for better and worse
A UCLA-led study finds greater “streamflow” may mean more water for the West, but it could also increase the risk for floods and landslides.
Even in Southern California, wildfire frequency is likely to increase by end of century
Regionally tailored responses will be required to reduce the risk over the next several decades.
Megadrought in southwestern North America is region’s driest in at least 1,200 years
The current drought has exceeded the severity of a late-1500s megadrought that had been considered the driest since the year 800.
Notches on lions’ teeth reveal poaching in Zambia’s conservation areas
A study by UCLA biologists shows that the curious dental markings are the result of trapped big cats chewing through hunters’ snares.
Using electric vehicles for ride-sharing in New Delhi can boost air quality for millions
UCLA researchers and colleagues demonstrate how the transition could improve public health and save money.
Antarctic sea ice level could reach record low in 2022, UCLA climate scientist says
Researchers from UCLA and Ohio University traced trends at the South Pole back to the early 1900s.
Days with hazardous levels of air pollutants are more common due to increase in wildfires
In the Western U.S., the health risks from ground-level ozone and fine particulate matter continue to grow.
Southern California mountain lions show first reproductive effects of inbreeding
Unless steps are taken to boost genetic diversity, local extinction remains a real threat, a UCLA-led study suggests.
In 3 California regions, big cities lag smaller cities in ‘neighborhood biodiversity’
A UCLA-led study finds that animal species are less evenly distributed in large urban areas.
Study identifies how much artificial light is too much for two coastal species
A UCLA-led research team focused on the effects on grunions and plovers, which both are sensitive to environmental stressors.
Farwiza Farhan wins UCLA’s Pritzker Award for environmental innovators
The conservationist received $100,000 for her work to protect Indonesia’s species-rich Leuser Ecosystem.
UCLA’s Congo Basin Institute receives $1 million from Bob and Cindy Taylor
Gifts from the couple are supporting research on the ecology of ebony, a community-driven replanting program and rainforest restoration.
UCLA scholars aim to help shape President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative
A new report by the Luskin Center for Innovation provides a framework for environmental justice in disadvantaged communities.
Barbra Streisand to fund forward-looking institute at UCLA focused on solving societal challenges
The institute will conduct research into climate change, the dynamics of gender relationships and power, the arts and countering disinformation.
UCLA environmental experts featured in PBS series about sustainability
Faculty, alumni and students from multiple disciplines are helping shape stories of accountability in “Sustaining US,” whose second season debuts Oct. 6
Lara Cushing named to new Fielding Presidential Chair in Health Equity
Cushing studies the disproportionate impact of environmental exposures and climate change on low-income populations and communities of color in the U.S.