Eat Your Water by Sam Swartz
Although the last year brought much needed rainfall, California is still facing a long-term drought. In many parts of the state, crops and farmland remain under stress and the state’s…
Projects
Energy Conservation Behavior
UCLA ENGAGE investigates how real-time energy consumption feedback can be used as an effective tool for energy conservation. It applies insights from behavioral science to design optimal interventions for changing…
Evaluation of Community Scale Solar Water Heating in Los Angeles County
Reliance on Natural Gas for Residential Water Heating Inexpensive natural gas and the historical subsidization of its use as a source of thermal energy has led Southern California to depend heavily on natural gas for residential heating. As of…
Global Climate Model Evaluation
Although our research is primarily focused on regional climate change concerns, we are active in global climate research as well. That's because regional climate research starts with a toolkit developed to operate the global scale. A better understanding of those global tools — their strengths and limitations — helps us do better regional work.
Research
Our fellows work in research teams to advance skills and solve environmental problems through hands-on experience.
Enhancing Institutional Resilience through Sustainable Water Planning.
The objective of our team is to implement a rainwater capture system on UCLA’s campus. The purpose of the capture system is threefold: 1) to capture rainwater for irrigation reuse…
West Nile Virus
West Nile virus (WNV) has spread rapidly in North America, threatening wildlife and posing serious health risks to humans. In order to better understand how the distribution of WNV will further impact populations, we model the incidence of WNV infections under current conditions, and use these to predict where the disease may occur in the future.
An EPIC Challenge: Accelerating the Deployment of Advanced Energy Communities
In 2016, the California Energy Commission (CEC) awarded an Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) grant to UCLA to accelerate the deployment of Advanced Energy Communities (AECs). In partnership with the…
Biodiversity Atlas
Southern California harbors some of the highest levels of biodiversity on the continent, yet is also home to millions of humans that compete for wildlife space and resources. In order to best balance these often competing components, researchers at the Center for Tropical Research are helping to construct a Los Angeles Biodiversity Atlas.
Climate Change in Los Angeles County: Grid Vulnerability to Extreme Heat
In this project, UCLA and Arizona State University researchers developed a sophisticated and in-depth description of future electricity demand, grid response, and vulnerability due to increased heat events in Southern California Edison territory under current and future climate scenarios. The project's findings enable innovative grid management and operation strategies and identify adaptation guidance.
Climate Change in the Sierra Nevada
Using an innovative technique to produce high-resolution future climate projections, our team is answering key questions about the fate of the Sierra Nevada snowpack, a critical natural resource that not only supports an iconic ecosystem but also provides freshwater to millions of Californians.
Climate Change Solutions Video Series
Global climate disruption is affecting the planet in ways never experienced in human history. LENS is collaborating with the UC Office of the President to produce a series of six…