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Environment + Sustainability

A wave crashes upon campus point with Santa Cruz Island in the distance.
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
Ocean policy issues are front and center on UC Santa Barbara’s coastal campus.

Science policy education should start on campus

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Power pylons at sunset.
Photo Credit
Matthew Henry via Unsplash
Decarbonizing the grid is the dawn of a new era of electricity.

Equitably decarbonizing California: A multi-campus collaboration will help the Golden State reach its energy goals
Side view of a researcher in a lab, wearing goggles and a white coat, looking down
Photo Credit
Elena Zhukova

Making the world healthier, more sustainable and more secure through research
offshore wind turbines

Researchers poised to study the joint effects of climate change and offshore wind energy development on U.S. West Coast fisheries
early evening stars over a desert landscape

Farmers and ranchers in the Southwestern U.S. face challenges due to human-induced atmospheric warming
Flames from the Thomas Fire reflect in the waves at night.
Photo Credit
Ray Ford / Noozhawk
Flames from the Thomas Fire reflect in the waves just west of Ventura. Its proximity to the ocean provided researchers a unique opportunity.

Thomas Fire research reveals that ash can fertilize the oceans
A large pile of small blue plastic objects rises from a relief map of Manhattan
Photo Credit
Courtesy Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory
This image of a blue plastic pile represents the cumulative amount of plastic waste that would be generated between 2010 and 2050 — enough to cover the entire island of Manhattan, and ten times the height of the Empire State Building — under a business-as-usual scenario where no aggressive policy actions are taken.

A ‘Paris Agreement for plastic’ could slash plastic pollution to almost zero
The head of a California red-legged frog peers out from lily pads
Photo Credit
Gary M. Fellers/USGS
California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii) surfaces in a pond in Point Reyes National Seashore, Calif.

Seeding climate solutions for California’s amphibian communities and iconic beaches
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Giving rise to diversity in marine science, by way of mentorship and research
A humpback swims at the surface with fishing gear wrapped around its flukes.
Photo Credit
E. Lyman/ NOAA Sanctuaries
Less gear in the water means fewer chances for Whales to become entangled.

Reducing fishing gear could save whales with low impacts to California’s crab fishermen
fishers just off a Pacific island shore
Photo Credit
Jacob Eurich
Fishers coming home on a paddle canoe after fishing on the fore reefs of Abaiang, Kiribati

Researchers build and test a framework for achieving climate resilience across diverse fisheries
Palms blow in a storm.
Photo Credit
ChiehCheng via iStock
The El Niño Southern Oscillation influences weather patterns across the world.

El Niño and La Niña multi-year events could become more common
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Professor Kyle Meng will serve as a senior economist in Washington
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