Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
UC System Gets $15 Million To Address Climate Concerns
The sun sets behind burnt and dead pine trees destroyed in a 2020 wildfire at Oroville Lake in Oroville, California, July 25, 2021. The UC system has received grant money to research ways to fight the climate crisis. Among the issues is extreme heat. UCLA plans to find ways to keep buildings cooler, while other UC schools are focusing on the effects of smoke from wildfires.
(
Robyn Beck
/
AFP via Getty Images
)
The University of California system has received $15 million in state grants to research various products to help tackle the climate crisis.
According to a release from the UC system, the grants are part of a $185 million partnership between UC and the state. Each UC school will get a two-year grant to focus on projects that will help California communities vulnerable to climate disasters.
UCLA plans to use the money to develop an exterior paint that helps buildings stay cooler, according to Dina Lozofsky, senior director of business development in UCLA's Tech Development Group, which manages the funding.
"If you can cover these with a paint that radiates the heat away, you will need less air conditioning," she said. "It will be cooler where you don't have enough air conditioning. And so this this is good just in general for climate action, but also for some of our most vulnerable communities."
Support for LAist comes from
Lozofsky added that the focus for all the UCs are projects where technology in the lab can quickly be commercialized and used in the real world.
UC Riverside plans to utilize grant money to launch what it calls the OASIS Entrepreneurial Academy, "which will offer education, mentorship and help with commercialization to climate innovators from across the Inland Empire," according to a statement.
Elsewhere, UC San Francisco will focus on the effects of wildfire smoke on people in the Bay Area, using funds to develop data and clinical response plans.
An additional $80 million in grants for higher ed researchers all over California is expected to come later in the year, according to the UC system.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
The union representing the restaurant's workers announced Tuesday that The Pantry will welcome back patrons Thursday after suddenly shutting down six months ago. -
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake.
-
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
Best of LAist