Social Sciences
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We can’t plant our way out of climate change
Forests with diverse tree species are more resilient to climate extremes and better at storing carbon, according to recent studies conducted in China and Panama. Karen D. Holl of the University of California, Santa Cruz, notes that the studies merely add “to the list of reasons” for diverse plantings — their importance is undeniable.
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New research finds substantial peat deposits in Colombia’s conflicted Amazon
Research led by Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Scott Winton found that Colombia may have extensive peatlands, sequestering an amount of carbon equivalent to 70 years worth of the country’s emissions.
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Watsonville Earth Day celebration highlights disaster preparedness
Watsonville’s Earth Day celebration highlighted the ongoing Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Research for Resilience project, led by Sociology Professor Miriam Greenberg. The project explores the relationship among natural disasters, lack of affordable housing, and WUI growth.
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Ahead of Earth Day, peek inside the living laboratory where redwoods meet modern science
Environmental Studies Professor Greg Gilbert uses a technology called sonic tomography to look inside redwoods for signs of a fungus that has been infecting them since the CZU fire. The technology uses sound waves to create a picture of the inside of a tree.
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SF nonprofits feel the squeeze in second Trump term
During Trump’s first term, “rage giving” was an outlet for dissent. Sociology Professor Juan Pedroza used IRS data to show how organizations providing legal aid to immigrants grew their financial resources significantly between 2016 and 2019.
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Diverse forests and forest rewilding offer resilience against climate change
Environmental Studies Professor Karen Holl says there will always be trade-offs among benefits when conducting specific reforestation projects. “We can’t do it all at once,” she said. “If your goal is maximizing biodiversity, then reintroducing all the fauna and natural processes makes a lot of sense. If you’re trying to maximize timber production, it’s probably…
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Starved in jail
Distinguished Professor of Psychology Craig Haney says that when incarcerated people with mental health issues stop eating or drinking, jails should respond swiftly. “It’s a crisis that requires moving someone immediately out of solitary confinement, or out of a traditional jail setting, and into a psychiatric facility, for close clinical care and observation.”
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Polls open in historic Oakland special election, which will name city’s 4th mayor since December
“I think there are a lot of people in the Bay Area who would like to see Oakland get back to that level it previously had decades ago. And I imagine some of these folks vying for office are thinking they are the person to be able to do that,” said Nolan Higdon, a lecturer…
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A Better Next Big Thing
Environmental Studies and Sociology Professor Chris Benner is featured in a documentary film about the world’s largest and cleanest lithium supply in California’s Salton Sea region. Benner discusses the clean energy transition and how to support local communities in the process.
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Impact of Trump’s tariffs on India will be lower than for other countries, including China
Distinguished Professor of Economics Nirvikar Singh wrote about the potential impacts of new U.S. tariffs on India. Singh suspects that the tariffs are mainly an aggressive starting point for a negotiation process that will proceed bilaterally. But he says the Trump approach undermines institutions and trust.
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Geoengineering could be crucial in the fight against climate change. But first scientists need to learn how to talk to the public about it.
Environmental Studies Professor Sikina Jinnah shared her insights from working to help the geoengineering sector incorporate governance and public-engagement best-practices documented by social science research. “It’s really, really hard to be taken seriously,” she said. “There’s a handful of scientists who I think bend over backwards to support social science and to advocate for the inclusion…
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Trump administration axes more than $125M in LGBTQ health funding, upending research field
Amid the prospect of both gay and trans people’s erasure from the nation’s research priorities, 30 editors of leading journals that focus on sex and gender research published an editorial last month in The Journal of Sex Research on this work’s importance, NBC reported. UC Santa Cruz Psychology Professor Phillip Hammack coauthored the editorial in his role…