Research
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U.S. farmland becoming a hot commodity as investors buy up acreage
Institutional investors have been buying up farmland across the country in a trend that could have significant impacts on farmers.
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Growing farmers and the food movement for 50 years
Fifty years after students transformed a brush-covered rocky hillside into a verdant organic garden, UC Santa Cruz is widely regarded as a trailblazing force in sustainable agriculture education and research.
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Tropical reforestation and climate change
Tropical reforestation is an important part of the global effort to mitigate climate change, but ecologist Karen Holl says current international goals may be overly ambitious.
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Diversity, inclusivity key to a growing economy
The face of small business is shifting. From 2007–2012, Latino-owned businesses in the U.S. grew by 34.5 percent and African American-owned enterprises grew by 46.3 percent. A quarter of all new businesses were started by immigrants.
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End of the pipeline
In a new book, Professor Flora Lu looks at the oil industry’s impact on the Waorani, an indigenous Ecuadorian population living in a region renowned for its ecological diversity.
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The big business of climate change
To seriously tackle climate change, greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced by at least 80 percent by 2050, according to “From Risk to Return: Investing in a Clean Energy,” a new report whose lead author is Tim Duane, a UC Santa Cruz professor of environmental studies.
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Pedestrians may run rampant in a world of self-driving cars
Imagine an urban neighborhood where most of the cars drive themselves. What would it be like to be a pedestrian? Actually, pretty good, according to Adam Millard-Ball, assistant professor of environmental studies at UC Santa Cruz. In fact, pedestrians might end up with the run of the place.
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Pesticide predicament for California’s strawberry growers
The powerful fumigant methyl bromide will be retired from California’s strawberry fields at the end of this year after more than 20 years of fierce debate over its effects and alternatives.
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Study reveals the invisible workforce serving Silicon Valley’s tech industry
When you hear about free gourmet lunches at Silicon Valley’s biggest tech companies, the cafeteria worker might not come to mind. Or the shuttle bus drivers, janitors, security guards, and landscapers who serve the region’s tech elite.
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UC Santa Cruz study links nitrogen pollution to decline of endangered species
A new study by researchers affiliated with UC Santa Cruz and published online in the journal ‘BioScience’ looks at how nitrogen affects threatened biodiversity across the United States.
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UC Santa Cruz researchers evaluate groundwater supply and management
Court adjudication of California’s groundwater basins is more often focused on resolving conflicts among water users and less on sustainable groundwater management, according to a UC Santa Cruz study commissioned by the State Water Resources Control Board.
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‘Ecosystems of California’ documents one of Earth’s most biodiverse places
“Ecosystems of California” is a new comprehensive reference of California’s ecological abundance, featuring contributions from 149 experts including 19 with ties to UC Santa Cruz.