Environmental Studies
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La porcícola que se come los bosques en el Meta
In the gallery forests of the Orinoquía, wetlands that do not dry out “have enormous potential to help or hinder global efforts to address climate change,” says Scott Winton, a professor at UC Santa Cruz, who discovered that “the average carbon density per area in peatlands is four to ten times greater than in the…
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Reddit’s Former CEO Wants You to Buy a Subscription for Trees
Karen Holl, a professor of environmental studies at the University of California at Santa Cruz, says those looking to purchase a tree subscription should be asking for data and, critically, how many seedlings make it to maturity. Additional coverage in the Los Angeles Times.
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Do Nations With the Most Birds Attract the Most Bird Tourists?
Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela, who is an assistant professor of environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, wanted to understand what drives bird-loving tourists to bring their binoculars—and their wallets—to particular countries and how to encourage more of that.
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Tracey Weiss, Our Ocean Backyard | NEXTies: Earth & Sea celebrates Santa Cruz changemakers
Professor Andrew Fisher won the “Brainwave Award” for his groundbreaking hydrological research on urban flooding, saltwater intrusion and freshwater supply in the Pajaro River Valley. Darryl Wong and Gage Dayton of the Center for Agroecology won the “Big Idea Award” for their work on UC Santa Cruz’s recent land acquisition that strengthens conservation, sustainable agriculture…
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California Launches First Solar-Covered Canal
The decision to cover canals with solar panels was influenced by a 2021 study from the University of California, Santa Cruz. The study suggested that shading California’s canals could save 63.5 billion gallons of water annually, enough to meet the residential water needs of over two million people.
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Los ecosistemas invisibles en la lucha contra la crisis climática
Scott Winton, ecólogo de la Universidad de California Santa Cruz, llevó a cabo tres años de extenso trabajo de campo para desarrollar el primer mapa basado en datos de turberas recientemente documentadas y previstas en los Llanos Orientales y la Amazonía colombiana.
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Solutions for Salinas Valley groundwater contamination exist, but adoption is slow
Hannah Waterhouse is an assistant professor of agroecology at the University of California Santa Cruz. At a test field on campus, she’s researching how cover crops benefit soil moisture and water quality.
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Birdwatchers flock to Colombia and South Africa- so why are Venezuela and DRC being left behind?
“Over the years, we’ve seen Colombia really explode as a birdwatching destination, and we often asked ourselves why more countries aren’t similarly recognized as great places for birdwatching,” said Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela, lead author of the new UC Santa Cruz study.
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Fishmeal and fish oil alternatives are here but a greater scale is needed for true impact
“Eighty seven percent of fishmeal and 74 percent of fish oil are consumed by the aquaculture feed industry, and the salmon sector is the largest user of both,” Assistant Professor Pallab Sarker at UC Santa Cruz told the Advocate. “This use of wild-caught fish to raise carnivorous species is concerning because of the depletion of…
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Las turberas: el desconocido ecosistema que puede almacenar hasta 10 veces más carbono que los bosques amazónicos y que existe en Colombia
Colombian newspaper El Tiempo interviewed Environmental Studies Professor Scott Winton and Ph.D. student Edmundo Mendoza about their research uncovering peatlands across Colombia that provide important carbon sequestration ecosystem services.
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The sticky study of sunblocking a warming planet
Secrecy about solar geoengineering breeds disinformation, said Sikina Jinnah, an environmental studies professor at UC Santa Cruz. “We don’t want to have a potential tool in our toolbox excluded from consideration because people misunderstand what it is,” she said.
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Researchers quietly planned a test to dim sunlight. They wanted to ‘avoid scaring’ the public.
“It’s absolutely imperative to engage with both local communities and broader publics around not just the work that is being proposed or is being planned, but also the broader implications of that work,” said environmental studies professor Sikina Jinnah.