What’s New at the Climate Change Review
Since 2022, IGCC has supported the Climate Change Review, a student-led publication devoted to the interdisciplinary topic of climate change. Founded in 2020 by UC San Diego undergraduate Ethan Olson, the Review provides a space for students across the University of California to discuss research, art, activism, and more as it relates to the climate crisis. Here we share a curated collection of recent Review analysis.
Last October, Lindsey Ngo, CCR’s new editor-in-chief and UC San Diego political science undergraduate student, analyzed the decades-long climate misinformation campaign funded by fossil fuel corporations and similar interest groups. In “Bending the Truth: Examples of Media Manipulation Against Climate Change,” Ngo finds that both overt (i.e., blatant misinformation against the Kyoto Protocol) and covert (i.e., misleading headlines on climate change) climate denial exist in the public consciousness, and it will take acknowledging the issue on an individual level to begin to reverse the damage.
A satellite image of an atmospheric river stretching from Hawaii to California. Photo courtesy of NASA.
In “Atmospheric River Data: Key to Saving California’s Agriculture Sector,” Alex Reep, a master’s student at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy, explores the recent phenomenon of atmospheric rivers in California, and finds that there are significant research gaps in current climate predictions. She identifies five ways we can adapt to our changing climate, including capturing water from atmospheric rivers, using big data for water management, utilizing general circulation models to plan for climate changes, and ensuring agricultural big data does not entrench the market advantage of large agribusinesses, who collect and control the majority of data.
Kida Bradley, a UC San Diego anthropology undergraduate, published an op-ed, “I Can’t Hear My Brothas and Sistas,” in April 2023, delving into the intersection of the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) community and climate justice, as well as her experiences growing up in a low-income neighborhood in Los Angeles. She calls for the inclusion of Black justice when discussing green justice, as Black neighborhoods are more likely to feel the effects of climate change especially through heat and pollution.
Art by Kida Bradley.
Finally, in May, UC Los Angeles environmental science student Ava McCandless discussed the energy and resource consumption of the dairy industry, and how even switching from cow’s milk to oat milk in your morning coffee is significant in the fight against climate change and for sustainability. She also delves into how Blue Bottle Coffee switched their default to oat milk, resulting in a 21 to 40 percent increase in oat milk drinks across the country in a display of nudge theory.
IGCC is delighted to support the Climate Change Review in their mission to provide space for University of California students to process, communicate, and explore how climate change will affect their lives and communities. CCR is currently holding a Climate Creativity Contest, encouraging undergraduate students across the UC system to submit their writing and art related to climate change, with intersectional, interdisciplinary, and creative thinking in mind. Submissions will be accepted now through July 21, 2023. Visit here for more details on requirements.