Energy & Environment

UC Merced Aerial Picture
Year In Review: Top Stories of 2022
December 26, 2022
2022 was a banner year for UC Merced marked with growth, innovation and prestige. As we boldly move forward toward 2023, here's a look back at the stories that stood out this year.  Solar-paneled Canals Getting a Test Run in San Joaquin... Read More
Graduate Summer Bridge Program Recognized as a ‘Program to Watch’
December 22, 2022
Graduate Division’s Competitive Edge Summer Bridge program for incoming Ph.D. students was identified as a Program to Watch by Excelencia in Education, a national effort to identify evidence-based programs that improve Latino student... Read More
UC Merced-led Research Predicts How Air Cleans Itself
December 19, 2022
Although climate change is still a very real challenge, the past decades of efforts to reduce the effects of human activities on the atmosphere have been potent enough to have thrown off the models scientists use to understand and forecast... Read More
Researchers Look at Tree Reproduction and Effects of Climate Change Across North America
December 12, 2022
Life and Environmental Sciences Professor Emily Moran and collaborators at several other universities are set to conduct a continental-scale analysis of climate change effects on tree reproduction. In addition to monitoring seed production... Read More
Packard Foundation Awards $1 Million to Support Climate Research at UC Merced
December 9, 2022
Longtime UC Merced supporter and institutional partner the David and Lucile Packard Foundation has made a significant gift to the campus that will catalyze research efforts and scientific investigations focused on climate change and... Read More
New Website Offers Farmers Vital Information at Their Fingertips
December 7, 2022
  When planting crops, farmers confront numerous questions. Among them: Will it get too hot? Is it likely frost will stunt growing? When is the best time to plant? What kind of pests could impact the harvest? UC Cooperative Extension... Read More
Experts Recommend a New, More Innovative Approach to Wildfire Research
December 5, 2022
Fire scientists typically respond to agency opportunities and conduct research in response to past wildfires. But it is time they take more proactive, integrative, predictive approaches toward mitigating and adapting to this potentially... Read More
Research Reveals an Easy Way Dairy Farmers Can Dramatically Reduce their Climate Impact
November 28, 2022
Adding even a small amount of biochar — a charcoal-like material produced by burning organic matter — to a dairy’s manure-composting process reduces methane emissions by 84%, a recent study by UC Merced researchers shows. The dairy... Read More
Ground Tilled, Crops to be Planted at UC Merced’s Smart Farm
November 28, 2022
Land has been tilled at UC Merced’s smart farm, the first physical step in developing the state-of-the-art project. “Even though it’s just a blank field, we have overcome some pretty big obstacles to be where we are today,” said Danny... Read More
Continued Drought Conditions Add Billions in California Agriculture Losses, UC Merced Report Finds
November 22, 2022
Losses to California’s ag industry have continued to mount as the state’s drought stretched into a third straight year, according to a report released Tuesday by researchers from the School of Engineering and the Public Policy Institute of... Read More
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