Environment & Energy

UCI and other scientists say Californians must learn to live within the state’s new climate

Abigail Reyes divides her life into two parts, “B.T.” and “A.T.” – before Terence and after Terence. In February 1999, Terence Unity Freitas, an environmental activist and her “partner in work and love,” was kidnapped and murdered in Colombia. At the time, he was working to halt the plans of major oil companies to drill […]

An expedition to Greenland with UCI glaciologists reveals ‘time bomb’ effects of global warming

UC Irvine is quadrupling the amount of green power it generates on-site with the addition of solar photovoltaic canopies on three campus parking structure roofs.

Scientists use radiocarbon dating to analyze everything from the world’s oldest shoe to sediment samples that shed light on global climate change

Isabella Velicogna‘s office in UC Irvine’s Croul Hall looks like it belongs to an artist instead of a university scientist. Her paintings and drawings — including charming sketches of mice — adorn the walls, and colorful, handcrafted mobiles dangle from the ceiling. “In my next life, I will be a children’s book illustrator,” says Velicogna, […]

Sunny Jiang, a UC Irvine researcher studying pollution in Orange County’s coastal waters, recently got a graphic look at how swimming and surfing in the ocean can make people sick. She and a team of graduate students charted incidents of poor water quality at Southern California beaches over a 10-year period and the number of […]

On a clear spring day at Crystal Cove State Park, UC Irvine professor William Cooper and undergraduate Tova Handelman sift though a mound of seaweed and sand, oblivious to the curious stares of beachgoers. They’re too busy studying trash. “Look at all this plastic!” says Cooper, picking out a pellet no bigger than a grain […]

It may have been a rainy winter, but there’s still cause for concern about California’s water supply. Just ask Jay Famiglietti, UC Irvine Earth system science professor and founding director of the new UC Center for Hydrologic Modeling, which aims to help the state tackle its drought-induced water crisis. Famiglietti recently made headlines when he and NASA […]

For William Bretz, there’s no such thing as just another day at the office. Instead of working behind a desk, he’s usually behind the wheel of a mud-splattered SUV, making the rounds at the San Joaquin Freshwater Marsh Reserve. On this bright December morning, rolling along an earthen dike, he encounters a flock of Canada […]