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Environment + Sustainability

two ucsb students and the manager of the campus bike shop with a pile of old bike tires
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
Environmental studies undergrads Sophia Long (left) and Virginia Such with A.S. Bike Shop Manager Adam Jahnke, April 2026

UCSB environmental studies team launches tire recycling program at A.S. Bike Shop

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UCSB geographer receives NSF grant to study adaptations to land degradation and ‘bright spots’ of resilience
A shortfin mako encountered off the coast of Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico.
Photo Credit
Neil Ferdinand Nathan
Apex predators like this shortfin make have an outsized influence on their ecosystems. Unfortunately, they’re also the hardest hit by fishing.

Big sharks have a big impact — and a big problem
A ranger watches hippos through binoculars.
Photo Credit
Narvikk vis iStock
A ranger watches hippos in the Akagera national park, Rwanda, which is managed by the NGO African Parks. Management of many of the continent's protected areas is being transferred from governments to nonprofit NGOs.

Outsourcing conservation in Africa
concept illustration of water and other molecules

‘Going green always wins’: Bruce Lipshutz makes the case for green chemistry in drug manufacturing for low-income countries
Sand dunes surround palms, trees, shrubs and a small lake in the UAE.
Photo Credit
Jing Yang via iStock
A desert oasis is perhaps the most striking example of a groundwater-dependent ecosystem.

Groundwater is key to protecting global ecosystems
Fishing boats in Peru
Photo Credit
Renato Molina

Expanding marine reserves will redistribute global fishing effort
researchers working with Senegalese partners
Photo Credit
Courtesy Image
UCSB geographer David López-Carr, center left, and Stanford University health and environmental scientist Andrea Lund, center right, working with Senegalese partners

Research and efforts to combat schistosomiasis earn geographer David López-Carr several high-profile awards
concept illustration of turning heat into electricity

Investigating the extraordinary thermoelectric properties of cadmium arsenide thin films
David Valentine
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
David Valentine

Discoveries from Disasters: A conversation with oceanographer David Valentine
concept illustration of brain-inspired computing hardware

Researchers propose the next platform for brain-inspired computing
A collage of marine creatures.
Photo Credit
Harrison Tasoff
Transferable conservation credits could incentivize comprehensive protection the ocean’s diverse habitats and wildlife.

A conservation market could incentivize global ocean protection
Yellowstone National Park sign with mountains in the background.
Photo Credit
Anna Pietrzykowska via iStock
National parks are far from the only way to protect areas of land. Systems like, indigenous governance, community management and Eco-certified production can also foster conservation.

A novel approach to tracking conservation reveals more areas may be conserved than currently accounted for
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