Energy & Environment

UC Merced Aerial Picture
Campus Named a Top-50 ‘Cool School’ for Sustainability
August 22, 2017
UC Merced checks in at No. 50 in the Sierra Club’s 2017 "Cool Schools" list, rising more than 30 spots from its previous position in the ranking of sustainable colleges and universities. It’s the fifth Cool Schools appearance in the past... Read More
Study: Critical Sierra Meadows Being Overtaken by Forest
July 5, 2017
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Subalpine meadows are among the Sierra Nevada’s most enchantingly picturesque landscapes. These sparsely wooded, grassy expanses are home to plants and animals found nowhere else, and they play an important role in regulating the... Read More
Study: Wildfires, Climate Change Could Make Sierra a Polluter
June 14, 2017
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What if nature were to become a polluter, discharging millions of tons of planet-warming carbon into the atmosphere in much the same way as diesel-fueled trucks or coal-fired power plants? This nature-as-polluter scenario might seem far-... Read More
Campus Launches Countywide Food and Ag Exchange
May 24, 2017
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UC Merced is taking steps to fight hunger and tackle food waste on campus and across Merced County. The campus has launched CropMobster Merced County, an online food and agricultural exchange and community engagement program to help... Read More
‘Water in the Balance’ Highlights UC Merced Research
May 5, 2017
Filming in Yosemite
Water is a delicate balancing act in California. When the scales tip in the wrong direction, the consequences can have national effects. Nobody knows this better than UC Water Co-Director Joshua Viers. “More than half of the nation... Read More
Students Help Campus Earn Latest LEED Certification
May 1, 2017
The LEED Lab is a multidisciplinary, hands-on course offered to undergraduate students who are interested in sustainable design and operations.
UC Merced’s Classroom and Office Building (COB) has achieved a silver rating from the LEED Building Operations and Maintenance (O+M) sustainability program, the campus’s first certification to come from the LEED Lab Engineering... Read More
Community Members Aid Cutting-Edge Research in ‘BioBlitz’ Project
April 26, 2017
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When scientists at UC Merced seek to better understand California’s biodiversity, they turn to cutting-edge genomics. They also turn to their neighbors. On a sunny Saturday in April, scientists joined forces with members of the... Read More
Campus to Showcase Sustainability Initiatives During Earth Week
April 13, 2017
Earth Week is April 17-21.
Earth Week is UC Merced’s chance to highlight some of the ways the campus community is committed to being good stewards of the environment. From working to divert all waste from the landfill to operating smart energy-monitoring... Read More
Research Shows Global Photosynthesis on the Rise
April 4, 2017
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Plant photosynthesis was stable for hundreds of years before the industrial revolution, but grew rapidly in the 20th century, according to new research published today in Nature. “Virtually all life on our planet depends on... Read More
Study: Dust Helps Regulate Sierra Nevada Ecosystems
March 28, 2017
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“Collecting dust” isn’t usually considered a good thing. But dust from as near as the Central Valley and as far away as the Gobi Desert in Asia provides more nutrients — especially critical phosphorus — than... Read More