News

AirUCI faculty Steve Davis has published a study showing that land-use change – including clearing of carbon-absorbing forests to create farms and pastures – contributed about 3/4 of the amount of greenhouse gases driven by the global trade of agricultural goods between 2004 and 2017.  “Roughly a quarter of all human greenhouse gas emissions are from land use,” said Steve. “Our work shows that large shares of these emissions in lower-income countries are related to consumption in more developed countries.”  Read the article

AirUCI faculty Jun Wu is quoted in an article on pregnancy and air pollution published April 20th in The 19th.  While the main topic is wildfire smoke and its health effects, Jun describes risks to pregnancy due to multiple sources of air pollution.  “What we found is that for women living in areas with higher air pollution, the risk of developing gestational diabetes is higher,” she said. "Their babies are also at higher risk of being born preterm."  Read the article

AirUCI Co-Director Sergey Nizkorodov has been recognized as the Dr. De Gallow Professor of the Year, one of the 2022 Campus-wide Teaching Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching presented by the Office of the Vice Provost of Teaching and Learning.  Recipients are selected by members of the Academic Senate Council on Teaching, Learning, and Student Experience and by members of the groups providing the monetary awards.  Selections are based on campus-wide nominations from peers, colleagues, and students.  Congratulations, Sergey!

To congratulate Sergey and the other winners, the 29th Celebration of Teaching reception will be held on Thursday, April 21, from 4:30-6:00 pm in Doheny A/B. Please RSVP for the event.

AirUCI faculty Steve Davis has written, along with three other environmental experts, an opinion piece for this week's Sunday edition of the New York Times.  The article stresses the importance of acting on steps we can take right now using today's technologies to begin reversing the rate of carbon, methane, and other emissions that cause climate change.   We don't need to waste precious time debating details, such as just how much carbon reduction is needed to offset particular events.  We know conclusively that we need to reduce these greenhouse gases, no matter what the final measurements may be.  "The next steps are clearer and more affordable than they have ever been.  Rather than getting distracted by distant and likely irreducible uncertainties, let’s focus on what matters: deploying clean technologies we know we need, implementing a coherent climate policy, laying the groundwork for future progress, and creating a just transition that shares the benefits of a sustainable energy system.” 
Read the article