UCLA partners with Port of Los Angeles to advance healthy communities, research, sustainability

Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles (left), and Darnell Hunt, UCLA’s interim chancellor, hold the memorandum of understanding signed by the two institutions on Nov. 15, 2024. UCLA and the Port of Los Angeles signed a memorandum of understanding based on their mutual dedication to sustainable operations and the health and … Read more

A response to India’s dire smog situation

So, a friend texted me a link to a BBC article — which I read — having to do with India smog. The article’s writer made clear that the enveloping smog in Delhi has pushed its air quality into the category of “extremely severe.” Much more, the Air Quality Index (AQI) for the Delhi region … Read more

Retired Caltrain diesel loco, gallery car fleets heading to Peru

Caltrain will send its retired diesel fleet to the Municipality of Lima, Peru to continue operating passenger service. An official solicitation process was initiated to find a new home for this long-serving equipment. Lima, Peru expressed its desire to acquire all of the retired fleet. Following negotiations with the government of Lima, Caltrain has finalized … Read more

New England water future mapped by UMass Amherst hydrologist: ‘Bigger Floods, Longer Droughts’

Dr. David Boutt, professor in the Department of Earth, Geographic and Climate Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst

New England is warming faster than any other part of the United States due to climate change. Part of the havoc a warming world wreaks is on the “water budget”—the frequency, timing and amount of precipitation, where that moisture goes once it lands, how it interacts with trees and plants, how much evaporates and how … Read more

Ahead of COP29, WHO demands urgent integration of health in climate negotiations

Ahead of the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference in Baku (COP29), the World Health Organization (WHO) calls for an end to reliance on fossil fuels and advocates for people-centred adaptation and resilience. Launching the COP29 special report on climate and health and a technical guidance on Healthy Nationally Determined Contributions, WHO urges world leaders at … Read more

If the past is any indication, expect US to withdraw a second time from the Paris Climate Accord

I’m fairly confident I’m not sharing information here that you don’t already know. And, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if there aren’t certain (meaning some) United States Environmental Protection Agency protections in a second Trump presidential term, that get watered down; some protections maybe even eliminated. So where does that leave air quality? Here … Read more

In advance of UN Climate Conference, Ocean Pavilion Partners release COP29 Baku Ocean Declaration

Woods Hole, Mass. (Oct. 24, 2024) — Partners of the Ocean Pavilion, led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, are calling on world leaders to make robust, long-term investments in ocean observations, research, and mapping to support efforts that will help meet key objectives of UN … Read more

Dramatically increased action, ambition needed now to help normalize a changed climate, experts say

Cali/Nairobi, 24 October 2024 –Nations must collectively commit to cutting 42 per cent off annual greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and 57 per cent by 2035 in the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – and back this up with rapid action – or the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal will be gone within a … Read more

Progress on lawn-care electrification shown via new interactive map, corporate disclosure

DENVER – As leaves fall – and leaf blowers roar – in neighborhoods across the United States, U.S. PIRG Education Fund unveiled a new interactive map Wednesday [Oct. 16, 2024] showing nationwide progress on transitioning away from highly polluting, noisy, gas-powered lawn equipment. The map highlights policies and programs in 26 states plus D.C., ranging from restrictions on leaf … Read more

Importance-wise, when it comes to environmental issues, Californians say electricity, GHGs rank high

This year, back on July 17th, shared were the results of a statewide survey conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California. Among the survey’s findings: • Californians today are saying the most important environmental issue the state is faced with is global warming or climate change or greenhouse gas emissions. Among California adults and … Read more