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![A large pile of small blue plastic objects rises from a relief map of Manhattan](/sites/default/files/styles/large_2340x1212/public/2023-11/cumulative-plastic-waste-adjusted-uc-santa-barbara.jpg?itok=jKRy1dij)
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.
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![a pink-colored droplet between yellow-bordered cells](/sites/default/files/styles/large_2340x1212/public/2023-11/osmotic-pressure-campas-uc-santa-barbara.jpg?itok=BKEmvwHv)
Photo Credit
Courtesy Image
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![A pyramid of concept cards underpins a basilica on a laptop screen. Behind the computer is a more abstract pyramid of concepts floating above the desk.](/sites/default/files/styles/large_2340x1212/public/2023-10/AI-art-Fabian-Offert.jpg?itok=Of1Li0xK)
Photo Credit
An illustration by Midjourney with the prompt: “A computer with clouds of equations and symbols.”
What an artificial intelligence displays on the screen reflects its internal representation of the world, which may be quite different than our own.
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![woman walking at labyrinth](/sites/default/files/styles/large_2340x1212/public/2023-10/sporty-labyrinth-uc-santa-barbara.jpg?itok=s3zNVJMg)
Photo Credit
Elena Zhukova
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![The head of a California red-legged frog peers out from lily pads](/sites/default/files/styles/large_2340x1212/public/2023-10/california-red-tailed-frog-uc-santa-barbara.jpg?itok=PApF2X3g)
Photo Credit
Gary M. Fellers/USGS
California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii) surfaces in a pond in Point Reyes National Seashore, Calif.
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![students at desks with laptops](/sites/default/files/styles/large_2340x1212/public/2023-10/computer-science-ucsb-opt.jpg?itok=3ai83oAB)
Photo Credit
Elena Zhukova
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![A humpback swims at the surface with fishing gear wrapped around its flukes.](/sites/default/files/styles/large_2340x1212/public/2023-09/whale-entangled-E-Lyman-NOAA.jpg?itok=1g0LAq3V)
Photo Credit
E. Lyman/ NOAA Sanctuaries
Less gear in the water means fewer chances for Whales to become entangled.