UCSB Bren School

California is going to spend millions and millions on fuel treatments, says Bren Professor Naomi Tague in a recent article in LA Magazine. And it’s still not clear how different fuel-treatment strategies work across the widely varying landscape of California. Tague Team Lab’s research on wildfires and climate change featured in this article, Why Everything We Know About Wildfires May Be Wrong. https://www.lamag.com/mag-features/wildfires-climate-change/

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, we're asking you, the Bren community, what inspires you to solve environmental problems, and what it means to you to be Hispanic/Latinx in the environmental field. If you'd like to participate, check out our questionnaire: https://airtable.com/shrNMH9pZIk7Y2CnT Liliana Sierra Castillo is a PhD student who is passionate about sustainable fisheries and working with small-scale fisheries in Latin America. Before Bren, Liliana was a pr...ogram manager with the Coral Reef Alliance in Tela, Honduras, where she developed the first fishery management plan for Honduras and worked alongside local organizations to develop implementation and management tools. Thank you to Liliana for this Q&A! Q: What motivates you to solve environmental problems? A: I worked in Honduras with very poor people, people who did not have access to electricity or running water, but rich in the sense that they were connected with nature and their resources like no one else I have ever met in my professional life. I want to help these people continue to manage these resources so they can always rely on them. Q: What does it mean to you to be Hispanic working in the environmental field? A: For me, it means having a sense of community, love and respect for each other, warmth, strength and resilience, thanks to my previous generations who learned and continue to teach it. Sharing these learnings with everyone I know, or trying to, is what makes me proud of being Hispanic. Q: How have you brought what you learned at Bren to Hispanic communities? A: My current research consists of working alongside fishermen and fisherwomen from artisanal fisheries in La Paz, Mexico. Every single skill Bren has taught me: Quantitative and Qualitative analysis tools, I have as an end goal to use to help fishermen and fisherwoman from around the world (but more specifically Hispanic countries) manage their fisheries. #HispanicHeritageMonth #LatinxHeritageMonth

Professor Roland Geyer made a guest appearance on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver in a segment about plastics in our environment! https://youtu.be/Fiu9GSOmt8E?t=207 (Content warning for adult language.)

According to the US Fish & Wildlife Service, collisions with wind turbines result in up to 500,000 bird deaths each year. A new study by Norwegian scientists suggests painting a single turbine blade black could be a solution. Bren master's student Matt Koller dives into this study at the BrenComm blog: https://www.brencomm.com/post/safer-wind-turbines-for-birds

The UCSB Bren School stands in solidarity with Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) and Asian communities - at UCSB and in our nation. Our hearts go out to the victims of anti-Asian violence, their families and loved ones, and we condemn the rise of hate-based incidents. We reject racism and xenophobia; there is no place for bias, discrimination, or violence at UCSB or the Bren School. UCSB is here to support you if you experience any of form of bias, discrimination, or violence. In addition, the campus has a system for reporting that offers help in navigating the process: studentlife.sa.ucsb.edu/bias. Please reach out to Associate Dean Sarah Anderson ([email protected]) or Assistant Dean Satie Airame ([email protected]), or to any of the faculty or staff if we can be of assistance.

It’s simple: When overfishing and other damaging activities cease, marine life bounces back, says study co-author Dr. Reniel Cabral. After protections are put in place, the diversity and abundance of marine life increase over time, with measurable recovery within reserves occurring in as little as three years. Target species and large predators come back, and entire ecosystems are restored within MPAs. With time, the ocean can heal itself and again provide services to humankind. A groundbreaking study by several UCSB Bren School researchers and international colleagues offers the most comprehensive assessment to date on ocean biodiversity protection and seafood security. Read the story in National Geographic: https://blog.nationalgeographic.org//study-in-nature-prot/

Anthropogenic emissions have been a driving factor of increased extreme fire weather conditions in the past century. As the first study of its kind, Bren researchers have quantified the individual effects of these human-driven factors to understand their impact on future extreme fire risk. This study could inform future climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies for vulnerable regions around the world. Read more: https://bren.ucsb.edu//extreme-fire-weather-conditions-pro

Bren School environmental law professor James Salzman and Columbia Law professor Michael Heller are co-authors of a new book called Mine: How the Hidden Rules of Ownership Control Our Lives. Dr. Salzman explains how ownership engineering has contributed to environmental solutions, from sustainable fisheries to clean drinking water - benefitting both the planet and human well-being. Learn more about Mine! at https://www.minethebook.com/.

Check your inboxes, Bren alumni! The fall alumni e-newsletter is out. Didn't receive it? Let the Career Development & Alumni Relations Team know at [email protected]. You can also access it here on BrenConnect (login required): https://brenconnect.force.com/s/alumni-news-and-spotlights Pictured: 1. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion update from Assoc. Dean Sarah Anderson; 2. Meet our new MEDS program staff: Jamie Montgomery (MESM '13), Kimberly Yom, and Miya Scheble; 3. Alumni spotlights on Jota Shohtoku (MESM '02) and Charlene Kormondy (MESM '19); 4. Career tips: How to get more from your annual performance evaluation

Sunny Sohrabian (MESM 2013) is a firm believer in embracing uncertainty and adapting to change. Throughout her time at Bren, Sunny focused on a path that would help her land a career in the private sector. However, as graduation grew nearer, she decided to set her sights on a different goal. I was really excited by the opportunity to do something meaningful at a large scale on the corporate side, she says, but everything I had trained for up to that point was really geared... for government, economic, or policy work. With the help of the Bren Career Team, Sunny was able to make the change and set herself up for her new career choice. As a sustainability manager at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Sunny plays a role in creating and publishing the company’s annual Environmental, Social, and Governance report. Drawing on skills she learned at Bren, Sunny is able to work alongside engineers, assurance specialists, and marketing and public relations specialists. Read more about Sunny’s journey in our #BrenAlumni story! https://bren.ucsb.edu/stories/sunny-sohrabian-mesm-2013

In a recent study, Bren Distinguished Professor David Tilman and colleagues explore the environmental impacts of food systems and the solutions we can implement to meet the Paris Climate Agreement's goal of limiting global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees C. Meeting this target requires rapid and ambitious changes of food systems and all other related sectors. Even if all fossil fuel emissions were immediately halted, current global food trends would prevent the achievement of this target. Read more about this study: https://bren.ucsb.edu//global-agricultural-emissions-barri

Bren researchers are among the 250+ experts who contributed to this knowledge base developed by The Ocean Panel to inform world leaders - whose nations manage about 40% of the world's coastlines - on ocean economic policy. https://www.nature.com/immers/d42859-020-00084-7/index.html

Lindsey Peavey Reeves (PhD 2016) fell in love with the ocean after spending summers with her family on the coast of Maine. A summer program at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) got her hooked on marine biology. Today, Lindsey is a marine ecologist with NOAA Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, where she's working on a soundscape monitoring program of the West Coast using underwater microphones anchored to the sea floor. As an alum, Lindsey strongly encourages ...utilizing Bren’s Career Center team and enjoys staying engaged with faculty and students. I’ve used the Career Center as a resource long after graduation. It’s fantastic and one of Bren’s biggest assets. Kristi, Dave, and their team are always welcoming and encourage alumni to continue to stay in touch with them. Read more about Lindsey’s journey in our #BrenAlumni story! Link in bio. See more

Frustrated with the way environmental news and issues are being presented, three Bren students, Sandro Lallas, Karan Shetty, and James Fuller, take issues into their own hands. For their MESM Communication focus capstone, these students created a podcast called Greenhouse Sass. Each episode focuses on a different environmental issue, including microplastics, coral bleaching, energy, and environmental justice. Providing listeners with easily digestible information, witty humor, and a whole lot of sass, this Bren Capstone is definitely worth the listen! Check them out on Spotify!