2024 Environmental Studies
- April 11, 2024
UC Santa Cruz expert helps to weigh costs and benefits of controversial research on a high-risk technology to fight climate change
Environmental Studies Professor Sikina Jinnah recently wrapped up almost three years of work co-chairing Harvard University’s SCoPEX Advisory Committee, one of the world’s first efforts to design and implement a governance framework for an outdoor solar geoengineering experiment.
- April 09, 2024
Global social change leaders gather at UC Santa Cruz for Right Livelihood International Conference
From April 23 through 27, UC Santa Cruz will host social change leaders and student activists visiting from around the world for the Right Livelihood International Conference, which includes a series of public events and will launch a new international student network and international research partnerships.
- March 26, 2024
New research reveals steps California must take to capture more jobs from lithium battery boom
A new study from the UC Santa Cruz Institute for Social Transformation, New Energy Nexus, and the UC Berkeley Labor Center demonstrates the need for strategic investments and policy approaches to encourage build-out of the lithium supply chain within California in an environmentally friendly and economically inclusive manner.
- March 15, 2024
Shaping tomorrow: Earth Futures Institute’s Frontier Fellows program amplifies student-led innovation
UCSC’s Earth Futures Institute's Frontier Fellows Program, wrapping up its second year, supported six undergraduate students engaging in groundbreaking interdisciplinary research aimed at improving the planet's future. The program is made possible through the generosity of multiple donors.
- March 15, 2024
Frontier Fellows Program propels student's research, paving the way for sustainable solutions to carbon emissions
UCSC student Jennifer Valadez spearheads pioneering research on carbon sequestration in California coastal prairies, exploring the crucial role of restoration in recovering soil carbon stocks with the help of the Frontier Fellows Program.
- March 15, 2024
Student leads innovative campus composting initiative for sustainable waste management
UCSC student Gabriel Schiering, supported by Earth's Future Institute's Frontier Fellows program, leads the innovative Oakes Community Composting Project, demonstrating a model for decentralized composting systems on campus.
- March 15, 2024
Innovating agriculture for a greener world
UCSC's Earth Futures Institute's Frontier Fellows Program, wrapping up its second year, supported six undergraduate students engaging in groundbreaking interdisciplinary research aimed at improving the planet's future. Eric Vetha uses his passion for robotics to hone in on soil moisture management practices.
- March 15, 2024
Balancing carbon sequestration and community benefits
UCSC student Cole Seither addresses the delicate balance between agroforestry, carbon sequestration, and community benefits in combating climate change. His research is supported by the Earth Futures Institute’s Frontier Fellows program.
- February 26, 2024
Alumnus James Dawes thrives in sustainable contracting and remodeling business with focus on reclaimed materials
UCSC alum James Dawes, founder of the successful contracting, demolition, and remodeling business PlaceMakers, takes pride in utilizing reclaimed materials and minimizing waste. Dawes credits his environmentally conscious business approach to the mindset cultivated during his college years.
- February 07, 2024
To plan a sustainable future for seafood access in small island developing states, researchers highlight solutions hiding in plain sight
To better understand how fisheries-based food systems might respond to change, a research team led by UCSC Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Katherine Seto took a deeper look at the strategies that people in the small island developing state of Kiribati currently use to access seafood.
- January 29, 2024
Do tree-planting campaigns follow best practices for successful forest restoration?
Environmental Studies Professor Karen Holl's latest research reviewed publicly available information to see if there have been improvements in recent years in whether tree-planting organizations apply best practices for successful reforestation.
- January 08, 2024
Global study shows extreme short-term drought has even greater impacts on grasslands and shrublands than previously thought
UC Santa Cruz scientists supported a new global study showing that the effects of extreme short-term drought have been greatly underestimated for grasslands and shrublands.