What Can I Do About Climate Change? Content / What Can I Do About Climate Change? Content for UC Davis en 4 Gorillas Reintroduced to the Wild in DRC /climate/blog/4-gorillas-reintroduced-wild-drc <p>Four critically endangered female eastern lowland gorillas rescued from the illegal wildlife trade were reintroduced to the wild in Virunga National Park in Democratic Republic of the Congo last December. Continued monitoring shows the gorillas are healthy and appear to be transitioning well.&nbsp;</p> May 29, 2025 - 10:21am Katherine E Kerlin /climate/blog/4-gorillas-reintroduced-wild-drc ÁñÁ«ÊÓÆµ Risks Billions in Economic Losses Without Water Supply Action /climate/blog/california-risks-billions-economic-losses-without-water-supply-action <p>A new economic analysis by UC professors shows the high cost of inaction on ÁñÁ«ÊÓÆµâ€™s perpetual water supply challenges. It estimates that the state could lose enough water each year to supply up to 9 million households — with economic losses totaling between $3.4 and $14.5 billion per year, depending on the severity of the scenario.</p> May 14, 2025 - 2:28pm Katherine E Kerlin /climate/blog/california-risks-billions-economic-losses-without-water-supply-action How One Word Could Strip the Endangered Species Act /climate/blog/how-one-word-could-strip-endangered-species-act A rule change proposed by the Trump administration could green-light the destruction of protected species' habitats and gut the Endangered Species Act, write an ecologist and law professor. May 13, 2025 - 12:31pm Katherine E Kerlin /climate/blog/how-one-word-could-strip-endangered-species-act Arctic Plants React Unexpectedly to Climate Change /climate/news/arctic-plants-react-unexpectedly-climate-change <p><span>Rapid climate change is upending established plant diversity and growth patterns in the Arctic, with species blooming in some areas and declining in others, suggests </span><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08946-8"><span>a study</span></a><span> published today in the journal Nature.</span></p><p><span>The decades-long study of more than 2,000 plant communities across 45 areas in the Arctic tundra found that many locations saw vegetation change in type, abundance and growth, between 1981 and 2022.</span></p> April 30, 2025 - 8:00am Katherine E Kerlin /climate/news/arctic-plants-react-unexpectedly-climate-change Avian Influenza Major Setback for Patagonian Seals /climate/blog/avian-influenza-major-setback-patagonian-seal-population <p><span>It may take 100 years for the southern elephant seal colony of Península Valdés in Argentine Patagonia to look like it did in 2022. A </span><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mms.70009"><span>study published in </span><em><span>Marine Mammal Science</span></em></a><span>&nbsp;projected population trajectories after the 2023 epidemic of the High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza H5N1 virus, which killed almost all newborn pups and an unknown number of adults.&nbsp;</span></p> April 16, 2025 - 3:33pm Katherine E Kerlin /climate/blog/avian-influenza-major-setback-patagonian-seal-population LA Wildfires Air Quality Research Roundup /climate/news/la-wildfires-air-quality-research-roundup How UC Davis air quality scientists are working to understand the impacts of the Los Angeles wildfires. A research roundup. February 07, 2025 - 10:49am Katherine E Kerlin /climate/news/la-wildfires-air-quality-research-roundup Long-Term Study on Health Impacts of Los Angeles Wildfires Launched /climate/blog/long-term-multi-institutional-study-health-impacts-los-angeles-wildfires-launched <p>In an unprecedented collective scientific effort to understand the short- and long-term health impacts of wildfires, researchers from four universities have launched a 10-year study of the Los Angeles fires. The wildfires that began in early January 2025 killed 29 people, destroyed more than 16,000 structures, and exposed millions to toxic smoke.</p><p>The research aims to evaluate which pollutants are present, at what levels, and where, and to assess the respiratory, neurological, cardiovascular, reproductive, and immune system impacts of the wildfires.</p> January 31, 2025 - 12:10pm Katherine E Kerlin /climate/blog/long-term-multi-institutional-study-health-impacts-los-angeles-wildfires-launched Understanding Climate Change on Tribal Allotment Lands /climate/news/tribal-nations-and-research-institutions-collaborate-climate-change A UC Davis project is working to help Tribal nations build climate resilience on Indian allotment lands, with funding from a ÁñÁ«ÊÓÆµ Climate Action grant. June 24, 2024 - 10:37am Malia N Reiss /climate/news/tribal-nations-and-research-institutions-collaborate-climate-change Using Waste Heat to Decarbonize Food Processing /climate/news/decarbonizing-food-processing UC Davis scientists are working to extract wasted heat from appliances and industrial emissions to help decarbonize food processing systems. June 12, 2024 - 1:46pm Malia N Reiss /climate/news/decarbonizing-food-processing Diversity Blooms Within The Queer Flower Bed /climate/news/diversity-blooms-within-queer-flower-garden <p dir="ltr"><span>Lavender reaches toward the sky. Carnations and pansies wave slightly in the breeze. Roses swell with the sun.</span></p><p dir="ltr"><span>Diversity blooms within The Queer Bed, a floral testament to beauty, love, and empowerment within the queer community.&nbsp;</span></p> May 28, 2024 - 3:48pm Malia N Reiss /climate/news/diversity-blooms-within-queer-flower-garden