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Putting a Price on the Protective Power of Wetlands

/in , , /by /PHYS.orgby University of California, San Diego

In coastal communities prone to hurricanes and tropical storms, people typically turn to engineered solutions for protection: levees, sea walls and the like. But a natural buffer in the form of wetlands may be the more cost-effective solution, according to new research from the University of California San Diego.

In the most comprehensive study of its sort to date, UC San Diego economists show that U.S. counties with more wetlands experienced substantially less property damage from hurricanes and tropical storms over a recent 20-year period than those with fewer wetlands.

UC San Diego — A Leader in Climate Research — Under Pressure to Slash its Greenhouse Gases

/in , , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins

Bigger wildfires. Stronger storms. Longer droughts.

For years, UC San Diego has been out front in forecasting the impact of climate change, earning the school international praise.

But the campus also is hearing a blunt, new message: Do more to help fix the problem. Start by slashing the 300,000 tons of carbon dioxide UCSD puts into the air each year. And act quickly.

The message comes from a UCSD faculty task force which is proposing changes that could affect everything from how the school generates energy and the courses it offers to how often faculty can travel and the foods students are offered in campus dining halls.

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UCSD Scientists Will Ride Research Aircraft into Huge Storms to Study Atmospheric Rivers

/in , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins

UC San Diego will send airborne scientists into huge offshore storms to deepen their understanding of ”atmospheric rivers,” the plumes of moisture that can bring nourishing rains, and flooding, to the West Coast.

The second of up to 12 winter weather reconnaissance flights is scheduled to take off from Travis Air Force Base near Sacramento on Tuesday, carrying researchers from NOAA and the Air Force. UCSD will add its own researchers to the trips in about a week.

The university is partnering with the government and military on the project, which is being run out of the UCSD’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

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UC San Diego Professor: Recent Closing of US Coal Power Plants has Saved 26,610 Lives

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Rob Nikolewski

The number of coal-fired power plants in operation across the country has plummeted in recent years, quickly changing the power mix — especially in states such as California.

But what has that change meant in terms of health? Or even in the number of crops produced?

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