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China's 3,046-kilometer "Great Green Wall" has transformed its largest desert into a carbon sink

IFL Science | February 18, 2026
“This is not a rainforest. It’s a shrubland like Southern California’s chaparral. But the fact that it’s drawing down CO2, and doing it consistently, is something positive we can measure and verify from space,” King-Fai Li, study co-author and atmospheric physicist at the University of California, Riverside.
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UCR in the News

About 15% of households in California don't have internet access, report finds

LAist / KPCC 89.3 FM | February 17, 2026
About 15% of California households lack access to high-speed internet, according to a report from UC Riverside. Researchers pointed to affordability as one of the biggest barriers to closing the persistent digital divide. Edward Helderop, associate director at UCR’s Center for Geospatial Sciences and report author, comments on the study.
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UCR in the News

Charge up your camera for an early wildflower bloom

The Bakersfield Californian | February 16, 2026
University of California, Riverside plant ecologist Loralee Larios notes she recently observed a bloom she hadn’t expected until mid-March. She said the desert is already experiencing displays of sand verbena and evening primrose, and she predicted California poppies in Antelope Valley soon.
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UCR in the News

Carbon's hidden superpower: How extreme warming can trigger an ice age

The Weather Network | February 15, 2026
Global warming could eventually bring about a new ice age on Earth, aided by organic carbon buried in the deep ocean, according to a 2025 study whose lead author was UCR geologist Andy Ridgwell.
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UCR in the News

The secret to happiness according to new research

UK Independent | February 14, 2026
To feel true happiness, UCR's Sonja Lyubomirsky says people need to build a loving connection with another person. That jumpstarts a cycle of mutual love: you have to show more to get more.
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UCR in the News

Scientists warn against breathing in secondhand vape ‘smoke’

Newsweek | February 3, 2026
Researchers including UC Riverside environmental scientist Ying-Hsuan Lin found that aged vape aerosols contain fine particles bearing metals and highly reactive compounds that have the potential to damage lung tissues.
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UCR in the News

Food waste fix gets flies to turn waste into useful stuff

The Good Men Project | February 1, 2026
Scientists including UCR entomologist Kerry Mauck have created a small-scale system that transforms food waste into high-protein animal feed and fertilizer using black soldier flies, offering a sustainable solution to a major environmental problem.
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UCR in the News

Fire-loving fungi have learned to eat charcoal — a useful skill for dealing with industrial waste

Discover Magazine | January 30, 2026
University of California, Riverside mycologist Sydney Glassman and colleagues have published a study describing how inconspicuous fungi hidden in soil evolved to protect themselves from heat and how they acquired the genes that allow them to munch on charcoal.
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