Environmental Studies
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UC Santa Cruz innovators recognized for impact at 2024 Santa Cruz Works Titans Awards
Two UC Santa Cruz faculty members, Richard (Ed) Green and Chris Benner, have been selected as awardees for the eighth annual Santa Cruz Works Titans Awards
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Imperial Valley’s lithium reserves could power a global energy transition. But will they also fuel local economies?
Professor Chris Benner’s latest book with coauthor Manuel Pastor, a professor at the University of Southern California, explores economic and environmental possibilities for a lithium boom in California’s Imperial Valley.
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New mapping techniques empower bird conservation in Colombia
Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela, assistant professor of environmental studies, and a team of Colombian researchers have introduced a transformative approach to mapping bird species distribution across Colombia, harnessing community science data and innovative modeling techniques.
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Grasslands live in the climate change fast lane
A new paper that built upon prior research efforts in the Environmental Studies Department shows that grassland communities across the California Floristic Province are transitioning toward plants that prefer hotter and drier conditions at a pace that’s comparable to the observed rate of changes in climate.
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UC Santa Cruz professor helps set national research agenda for atmospheric methane removal technologies that could help fight climate change
Environmental Studies Professor Sikina Jinnah was a co-author on a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) that recommends a national research agenda for atmospheric methane removal technologies and assesses potential atmospheric removal tools.
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Professor Stacy Philpott leads U.S. delegates for “Agri-Young Hackathon” at G7 Ministers’ Meeting on Agriculture
Environmental Studies Professor Stacy Philpott led the U.S. delegation for a youth hackathon at the recent G7 Ministers’ Meeting on Agriculture in Italy. Philpott was asked by USDA representatives to coordinate and support the country’s team, a reflection of her national leadership role in preparing the next generation of agriculture professionals.
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Famed economist and Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz speaks out against right-wing notions of economic freedom
On Tuesday night, famed progressive economist Joseph Stiglitz drew a large and enthusiastic crowd to downtown Santa Cruz, where he took aim at neoliberal economics and called for more equitable alternatives. The event was co-sponsored by The Humanities Institute at UC Santa Cruz.
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Preparing California’s agricultural lands for climate change
Two UC Santa Cruz researchers won a total of more than $1.5 million in federal funding for their research that’s helping to create sustainable “agroecosystems” in response to climate change and other increased environmental pressures.
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An overlooked side-effect of the housing crisis may be putting Californians at increased risk from climate disasters
In a new article for the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, UC Santa Cruz researchers laid out the foundation for their highly-anticipated upcoming study of how lack of affordable housing in urban areas of California may be driving increased development in and near wildlands, leading to more severe climate change impacts.