A new study (PDF) published by the California State Water Board and supported by UCLA research identifies a risk for failure among a significant portion of the state’s small and medium-sized public water systems. The report is the first comprehensive analysis of how clean water is provided in California, and it estimates how much it would actually cost to deliver safe water to every resident.
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One-third of the Earth’s surface is covered by more than 11,000 grass species — including crops like wheat, corn, rice and sugar cane that account for the bulk of the world’s agricultural food production and important biofuels. But grass is so common that few people realize how diverse and important it really is.
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When buildings are aligned in rows with no gaps between them, pedestrians are usually exposed to higher concentrations of vehicle-related, ultrafine particles that harm human health, according to a study co-authored by UCLA air quality expert Suzanne Paulson.
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New research by UCLA and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute shows how the kind of light people use makes a big difference, even in one of the buggiest places on Earth — the Amazon River basin. The study, published March 16 in Insect Conservation and Diversity, reveals that a certain kind of light minimizes humans’ impact on natural systems.
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One of the few uplifting developments in the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic was the remarkable boost in air quality around the world.
Did the clean air mean anything? Was it evidence that collective action could clean the air faster than many thought possible, or just a fluke of the weather, or proof that even radical steps couldn’t fight climate change? The answer, UCLA air quality researchers say, isn’t precisely any of these but includes elements of all three.
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