Environment Content

Tell Me Something Good … About Salmon

Katherine E Kerlin — January 29, 2026 - 1:22pm

For every bad thing happening in the world, there are good people trying to make things right. Sometimes they even win. That’s why I’m starting a new monthly series on this blog called “Tell Me Something Good.”

I’m opening it up with Carson Jeffres, a 51�ԹϺ�� Davis Center for Watershed Sciences researcher who helped inspire the idea, simply by telling me something good. I needed to hear it. Maybe you do, too.

Julian Johnson’s Big Year of Birding

Katherine E Kerlin — January 27, 2026 - 3:48pm

Julian Johnson didn’t even consider himself a birder until a couple of years ago, but the 51�ԹϺ�� Davis undergraduate student broke the Yolo County Big Year record for birding in 2025. He recorded 275 species while spending more than 1,000 hours birdwatching in the country last year. His achievement came just months after a 51�ԹϺ�� Davis team broke the” Big Day” record for Yolo County.

Expedition to Antarctica: 51�ԹϺ�� Davis Tracks Melting Glaciers

Katherine E Kerlin — January 23, 2026 - 1:31pm

51�ԹϺ�� Davis scientists are in Antarctica to deploy Gull, an autonomous underwater vehicle known as a glider, that will help us understand how fast one of the world’s biggest and most important glaciers — Thwaites — is melting. Thwaites Glacier and neighboring Pine Island Glacier are potential glacial flow from the West Antarctic ice sheets. If this system collapses, it could raise sea levels across the world.

LA Fires: Chemicals From the Smoke Lingered Inside Homes Long After the Wildfires Were Out

Katherine E Kerlin — January 06, 2026 - 12:16pm

When wildfires began racing through the Los Angeles area on Jan. 7, 2025, the scope of the disaster caught residents by surprise. Forecasters had warned about high winds and exceptionally dry conditions, but few people expected to see smoke and fires for weeks in one of America’s largest metro areas.

Lessons from the Caldor Fire’s Christmas Valley ‘Miracle’

Katherine E Kerlin — December 19, 2025 - 9:00am

The Lake Tahoe communities of Christmas Valley and Meyers were spared during 2021's Caldor Fire. A 51�ԹϺ�� Davis study reveals which pre-fire fuel treatments worked best to bring about the Christmas Valley "miracle."

Record Returns: 2,100 Salmon Spawned in Putah Creek

Katherine E Kerlin — December 17, 2025 - 10:32am

A record-breaking 2,100 Chinook salmon returned to spawn in restored Putah Creek this fall. 51�ԹϺ�� Davis fish biologists and partners are tracking and monitoring the run.

2025 Arctic Report Card Released

Katherine E Kerlin — December 16, 2025 - 2:00pm

Bright orange rivers, a greening tundra, the “Atlantification” of the Arctic and record-breaking temperatures on both land and sea are among the emerging concerns highlighted in the 2025 Arctic Report Card from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA.) Now in its 20th year, the peer-reviewed report includes chapters by 112 authors from 13 countries, each dedicated to monitoring changes in the Arctic.

Rising Heat Leads to Minimal Losses for California Processing Tomatoes

Katherine E Kerlin — December 02, 2025 - 9:00am

California’s $1 billion processing tomato industry is highly efficient and likely will be able to withstand higher temperatures from climate change, as well as traffic.

New Field of Ecological Medicine Emphasizes Health Benefits of Connectedness

Andy Fell — November 25, 2025 - 10:48am

Ecological medicine is a new approach to health science that draws on a very old idea: connecting with each other, with animals and plants, and with the natural world fosters health and well-being for people and the planet.

A Microbial Blueprint for Climate-Smart Cows

Amy M Quinton — November 17, 2025 - 6:00am

51�ԹϺ�� Davis research reveals which gut microbes in a cow could reduce methane, bringing them a step closer to engineering microbes to create climate-smart cows.