Profile
A degree of determination
David Colgan
Both literally and figuratively, that’s how it was for Valerie Carranza, one of 76 UCLA students who graduated with bachelor’s degrees in environmental science on Sunday. Carranza grew up in…
IoES Magazine
Review
Building sustainable water sources in Uganda
David Colgan
The UCLA environmental science student will be blogging weekly about the experience. You can follow her adventures on Medium, where she recently chronicled the project she’s working on and her…
Story
Environmental lobbying’s clean little secret
David Colgan
The public perception is that lobbyists fight for lax regulations, saving businesses money by allowing more pollution—often at great cost to public health and natural resources. That’s only one side…
Story
L.A. students get an environmental filmmaking debut
David Colgan
It might be time for an update. In 2016, two-thirds of Americans wield video-equipped smartphones capable of telling vivid stories, from street protests to Snapchat. And 15 minutes may be…
Review
Electric vehicle rubber meets the road: a Q&A with J.R. DeShazo
David Colgan
From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., automobile and sustainability experts will join forces for an event that explores the past, present and future of cars and transportation. With audience participation,…
Profile
Bringing cities together for a greener future
David Colgan
Luckily, they also have Yoram Cohen in common. Cohen is a UCLA professor of chemical engineering who takes a global approach to sustainability. Last year, while participating in a conference…
Story
California’s urban residents have been left behind by 2006 parks measure
David Colgan
Ten years later, most of that money has been spent. But although the measure prioritized funding for urban, disadvantaged and park-poor communities, residents in those places have seen less than…
Story
Buildings loom large in street-level air quality
David Colgan
L.A. has made progress over the years. The notorious smog that led filmmaker John Waters to remark, “Only in L.A. will you glimpse a green sun or a brown moon,”…
Profile
From Star Wars to sugarcane—the journey of Keith Kawaoka
David Colgan
Today, Kawaoka is the deputy director of environmental health for Hawaii. His responsibilities include sanitation, air and water protection, food and drug safety, toxic cleanup and vector-borne diseases. There’s a…
Review
Debate on GMO foods heats up
David Colgan
On Tuesday, a different side of the debate took stage. Four scholars from across the country gathered at UCLA to discuss GMO foods. The event was the latest installment of…
Voices
Earth Day: then and now
Peter Kareiva
The first Earth Day was covered for ten hours by The Today Show in 1970—a time when there was no cable television and network coverage meant a lot more than…
Story
Video: Students get their feet wet with environmental fieldwork
David Colgan
A few weeks ago, we told you the story of UCLA Senior Practicum students who braved wind, high surf and chilly waters to protect marine life. El Niño tossed them…
Review
The curiosity and controversy of GMOs: a Q&A with Ted Parson
David Colgan
On Tuesday, April 19, four experts will debate the environmental, social and health impacts of GMO foods. Are they a solution to global health and food security crises? Or do…
Story
Drought makes life hard for Los Angeles newts
David Colgan
In the southern part of the state, the California newt—Taricha torosa—has been showing up at breeding grounds nearly 20 percent underweight, on average. The drastic change has evolutionary biologist Gary…
Story
The Ridiculously Resilient Ridge and California’s extreme weather future
David Colgan
Daniel Swain elevates weather talk to the stratosphere. He’s a Ph.D student studying atmospheric patterns and extreme weather at Stanford University. He’s also the creator of the California Weather Blog,…
Review
The curtain draws on climate change
David Colgan
The stories of one famous tree—Methuselah, a 4,847 year-old California bristlecone pine—are the inspiration behind “Memory Rings,” an environmentally-themed play that will be staged next weekend by UCLA’s Center for…
Review
Honoring champions of the environment
David Colgan
But taking environmental issues to a global audience requires time, money and personal energy. At its annual gala last Thursday, UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability honored individuals who’ve…
Voices
Are we leaving nature behind?
Peter Kareiva
The crisis is taught in classrooms with phrases such as “species are being lost at one hundred times the background rate.” But concepts like background rate—the rate at which species…
Story
Recycled water is good for your health
David Colgan
For decades, recycling has been a focal point for environmentalists. And yet California—a state known for its progressive, earth-friendly ethos—has been slow to recycle an important and scarce resource: water.…
Story
School’s out for science
David Colgan
Time was of the essence, but they weren’t rushing to a music festival or spring break in Mexico—they just didn’t want to miss low tide. It’s a routine that Denita…
Story
Powering energy policy with big data
David Colgan
The Los Angeles County Energy Atlas is an interactive map that combines utility data, census information and details about buildings—their age, size and whether they’re used for residential or commercial…