California wildfire smoke linked to reduced bird activity and health
Wildfire smoke significantly impacts California bird populations, leading to decreased activity and body mass, according to new UCLA study.
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California’s clean energy leap: Easy electrification for most homes
New UCLA study finds most California homes can easily electrify without costly panel upgrades, thanks to strategic load management.
Over 140 UCLA IoES students turn their tassels
On Sunday, June 16, the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability celebrated its commencement ceremony, honoring the Class of 2024.
Extreme summer climate: Video ‘Office Hours’ with Daniel Swain
Join UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain Monday, June 24, at 1 p.m. PT for a live YouTube briefing about the extreme weather across the Northern Hemisphere.
UCLA’s first Sustainable Move Out helps Bruins reduce their environmental footprint
That’s why UCLA teamed up with more than a dozen partners this year to create the Sustainable Move Out, with groups like the UCLA Thrift Shop accepting furniture, the Bruin Bazaar creating…
The Promise of Cameroon
UCLA’s Congo Basin Institute is out to definitively map the African rainforests, a mission that could revolutionize climate science — and just maybe save the planet.
Longcore Joins PLAN-Biodiversity Horizon Europe Project as Advisory Board Member
IoES Adjunct Professor Travis Longcore has joined the PLAN-Biodiversity project as an advisory board member. This innovative European project, “The Path Towards Addressing Adverse Impacts of Light and Noise Pollution on Terrestrial…
2024 CTR Newsletter
We are delighted to share that the 2024 CTR newsletter is now available! This issue features a letter from the Founder, insights from Co-Directors Dr. Elsa Ordway and Dr. Felipe Zapata, and…
Students enhance conservation efforts and uplift local perspectives in Cameroon
In March, UCLA students joined students at National Forestry School (NFS) in Mbalmayo to plant 1,200 native trees including frake, ebony and assamela in Cameroon.
Project Phoenix Now Accepting Volunteers!
Help researchers at UCLA and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County protect West Coast birds by recording your daily bird observations
UCLA to guide the prioritization and evaluation of equity strategies for LADWP’s clean energy transition
Last year, as part of the study, the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation (LCI) and colleagues provided LADWP with recommendations for robust, long-term solutions to low-income customers’ ability to pay their bills through the clean energy transition. Now, in partnership with the UCLA California Center for Sustainable Communities, our researchers are digging deeper into energy equity issues to guide the agency’s development, implementation, and evaluation of these recommendations. “LADWP has the opportunity to lead the nation in how to achieve a more just energy transition,” said Stephanie Pincetl, director of the UCLA California Center for Sustainable Communities, “and we are honored to help facilitate that possibility.”
UCLA seniors study L.A. owl habitats with Friends of Griffith Park
But due to their nocturnal activity and well-hidden nests, little data has been available on local owl populations. To address this knowledge gap, a team of UCLA seniors collaborated with…
UCLA storytellers use Grand Theft Auto as basis for series of original films imagining L.A. in 2050
It’s the year 2050, and the Los Angeles River runs lazily along, sparkling in the sunlight, as the hum of freeway traffic weaves through the idyllic setting.
UCLA information campaign aims to help L.A. County cope with extreme heat
To mitigate the effects of extreme heat, UCLA will lead a public information campaign to help spread the word about the risks of extreme heat. It recommends actions people can take to prevent…
The California Center for Sustainable Communities at the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability strongly condemns the mob attack on our UCLA student encampment.
We object in the strongest possible terms to the University's failure to support our students' right to protest peacefully and to be kept safe while doing so. We are horrified that Chancellor Block did not exercise his responsibility to protect and support students. We believe his statements (and those of President Drake) opened the way to these attacks on our community. The exemplary nature of this encampment made it a target for those who oppose the free exercise of views that differ from their own. Continuing to arrest and jail protesters will not lead to a thoughtful and productive discussion about the very real issues raised by the Israeli invasion of Gaza, and what the University can do to help curb the extraordinary suffering and deaths that are occurring. We call for the convocation of a body to discuss the substantive calls for disclosure and divestment. We also support full legal, academic and disciplinary amnesty for all students, staff, and faculty.
UCLA seniors model flood vulnerability in Tobago
Students traveled to Tobago to test their flood-risk model and gather local perspectives
UCLA Named Finalist for SEPA Power Player Award in Equity
The California Center for Sustainable Communities, along with UCLA research teams and departments, has been selected as a finalist for the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) 2024 Power Player Awards in the Equity category.
Elsa Ordway Leads PANGEA Scoping Workshop in Washington D.C.
UCLA Center for Tropical Research and Congo Basin Institute co-director Dr. Elsa Ordway is leading PANGEA, a NASA-funded effort to design a large-scale field campaign studying tropical forests worldwide. This…
Stephanie Pincetl Co-Authors Research on Net Zero Urban Water
Founding Director of the California Center for Sustainable Communities and Chair of UCLA’s Environment and Sustainability Ph.D. program Dr. Stephanie Pincetl co-authored a study, “Advancing a Net Zero Urban Water Future in the United States Southwest.” Published in ACS ES&T Water, the research examines the feasibility of Net Zero Urban Water (NZUW) — cities becoming self-sufficient with local water sources. This is crucial for the water-stressed US Southwest, where the Colorado River can’t meet the demands of 40 million residents.
5 UCLA faculty members elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The academy serves as an independent research center convening leaders from across disciplines, professions and perspectives to address significant challenges, with the aim of producing independent and pragmatic studies that…
Studies show importance of deep-sea elements to microbial marine life in the Santa Barbara Basin
Ocean chemistry of iron, sulfur and nitrogen processes in deep waters off Santa Barbara County are essential to the marine ecosystem
Ary Amaya is 27 acres into an Indigenous-led reforestation of L.A. She’s far from done
The UCLA graduate student is helping ensure that Native ecology drives the region’s land management for centuries to come.
SAR ZINE 2023-2024
Explore the 2023–2024 UCLA SAR Zine—six student teams, six creative spreads, all digital for a more sustainable future.