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A truck unloads waste on a landfill as a landfill compactor moves material nearby.
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Djedzura via iStock
Despite the known problems with plastic, society produces more of it every year. Scientists hope that mandatory measurement and reporting can help us address the issue.

Want a solution to plastic pollution? Scientists urge UN to require global reporting

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Three pumpjacks silhouetted by the setting sun.
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TebNad via iStock
The conflict with Iran provides the perfect circumstance to usher out the era of oil and gasoline now that renewable energy is cheap and ubiquitous.

Are we missing the perfect opportunity to kick fossil fuels?
color photograph of Jia-Ching Chen
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Matt Perko
Jia-Ching Chen, May 2026

Global studies professor wins Fulbright to study energy geopolitics in Taiwan
collage of torn pages and political debris
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Photo illustration by Matt Perko

How information disorder shapes global politics
fighters raising their arms and waving a flag
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Courtesy
Book cover detail for "When Rebels Win" by Kai Thaler (Cornell University Press, 2025).

Why some rebel victories build states — and others break them
grains and pulses with scoops in baskets.
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Pierivb via iStock
Addressing world hunger requires an accurate account of those in need.

Global measure underestimates the severity of food insecurity
Jean Beaman head shot
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Matt Perko
Jean Beaman, associate professor of sociology

Black Lives Matter in France – Ethnographer Jean Beaman reads transnational connections for Black liberation
Professor Raymond Clemencon on a bluff overlooking the ocean
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Matt Perko

COP28: ‘Historic failure’ by richest countries as the poorest are hit hardest by global warming
a large industrial fishing vessel surrounded by seabirds
A trawler off the coast of South Africa

A ‘fish cartel’ for Africa could benefit the countries, and their seas
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East Asia Center lecture will feature expert on US-China relations

Communication Breakdown

Fuel for Thought
aerial view of UC Santa Barbara campus

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