http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification 720 https://escholarship.org/uc/cai_rw/rss Recent eScholarship items from Climate Action Initiative - Recent Works Sat, 17 Oct 2026 06:39:49 +0000 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4945p546 Information on heat-related health risks that is based on meteorological data and forecasts is important for outdoor workers, farm managers, and many other stakeholders, but visualization and interpretation of climate data in a user-friendly way remains a challenge. This proof-of-concept research developed Sol, an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot to conveniently interpret and communicate heat stress risks through smartphones and other devices. Sol is integrated into iHeatApp, a wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) forecast visualization tool, to turn complex climate data into practical guidance with bilingual output in English and Spanish. The chatbot leverages an open source large language model (LLM) constrained by prompt engineering designs to reduce hallucinations and encourage domain-specific responses. The chatbot input may be either text or screenshot of the app's interface. Guided by our tutorial materials, we gathered farmworker feedback on the chatbot's ability to translate... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4945p546 Tue, 6 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Rutan, Riley Bravo, Miguel Á Monteverde, Corrie Lafler, Ryan P Biggs, Trent De Sales, Fernando Solorio, Ana Ruiz, Briana Toji Shen, Samuel SP https://escholarship.org/uc/item/914501gx Urban stream corridors in the San Francisco Bay Area have increasingly become locations for homeless encampments, yet little is known about the environmental conditions of these spaces. This study uses a geospatial electivity index to examine whether urban stream encampments in Santa Clara and Contra Costa counties are disproportionately located in census tracts with high pollution burdens, as measured by CalEnviroScreen 4.0. Findings show a statistically significant overrepresentation of encampments in census tracts in the top 25% of pollution and vulnerability scores, and a significant underrepresentation in lower-pollution areas. These results suggest that homeless individuals are being pushed toward environmentally hazardous areas, likely due to enforcement pressures, lack of viable alternatives, and land use patterns that concentrate polluting infrastructure and activities in low-resource areas. The findings have implications for environmental justice, public health, and... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/914501gx Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Alexander, Serena Williamson, Bennett Wootton, Jeff Rampini, Costanza Pasternack, Gregory Brian https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1977-4175 Jin, Yufang https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9049-9807 Storesund, Rune Lacan, Igor https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3rf8w536 Abstract Heavily managed urban streams, agricultural drainages, and least modified natural streams are rarely analyzed within a single framework, even though modern landscapes include a mix of them. Urbanization, agriculture, deforestation, mining, and other intensive land uses have dramatically altered fluvial systems. Most existing stream classification frameworks were developed for natural streams and rely only on natural geomorphic attributes. The few that address artificial streams focus exclusively on engineered (artificial) characteristics and usually address only a single land-use setting. As a result, these frameworks do not capture the full diversity of stream conditions found in mixed land-use watersheds that are influenced by both natural processes and human interventions. Recognizing this problem, our study proposes a joint geomorphic classification framework that collects and analyzes field data that captures both engineering and geomorphic attributes of streams... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3rf8w536 Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Wang, Zhihao Pasternack, Gregory Brian https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1977-4175 Jin, Yufang https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9049-9807 Rampini, Costanza Alexander, Serena Kumar, Nikhil Perales, K Martin Moreno, Stephanie Lim, Christopher Storesund, Rune Lacan, Igor https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9hp995j7 BACKGROUND: Farmworkers in the United States are exposed to extreme heat and demanding physical labor, placing them at increased risk for heat-related illnesses (HRI). This study examined individual, occupational, and household factors associated with self-reported HRI among men and women farmworkers in Imperial Valley, California. METHODS: This cross-sectional study used a convenience and snowball sampling approach to recruit agricultural workers through a local community organization. Participants were administered an in-person interview on their experience with HRI and potential risk factors. A multivariate regression analysis was conducted to identify variables related to HRI. RESULTS: From 300 participants, 119 (39.7%) experienced HRI, defined as reporting at least three HRI symptoms. In the multivariate regression analysis, HRI odds were significantly increased in women (aOR: 2.36, 95%CI: 1.35-4.15), in those reporting heat-related sleep problems (aOR: 3.25, 95%CI: 1.50-7.02),... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9hp995j7 Wed, 9 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000 van Selm, Lena Ciborowski, Haley Wagoner, Rietta Toji-Ruiz, Brandon Solorio, Michelle Toji, Briana Solorio, Ana Biggs, Trent Quintana, Penelope JE https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0318-3714 Lara-Jacobo, Linda Lopez-Galvez, Nicolas https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5z42687s Heat, health, and enforcement: A multi-level qualitative analysis of extreme heat, work conditions, and structural vulnerability in California’s desert agriculture https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5z42687s Wed, 9 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Ciborowski, Haley Villalobos-Ayala, Arely Quintana, Vladimir Carvajal-Corona, Herberto Hurtado-Gonzalez, Stephanie Solorio, Ana Toji-Ruiz, Briana Wagoner, Rietta Monteverde, Corrie Zavala, Miguel Angel Lara-Jacobo, Linda Parajuli, Sagar Quintana, Penelope https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0318-3714 Biggs, Trent Roberts, Dar Shen, Samuel Thompson, Callum McMahon, Conor Jones, Charles López-Galvez, Nicolas https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5fg82211 Extreme heat is a global public health concern that is becoming more frequent and severe in recent periods. Translating Earth science data into policy-relevant metrics, such as rest breaks, is challenging but needed to protect outdoor workers from heat stress. Here, we determine rest-break requirements for the farmworkers of the Imperial and Coachella Valleys in southern California, which have a high poverty rate and the highest heat-illness rates in California. We used high-resolution outputs from a validated Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) at 1-km grid resolution that includes irrigation, a key modulator of heat stress in the study region. We calculated exceedances of heat stress indicators under three existing policy guidelines that use wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT), heat index (HI), or dry-bulb temperature (DBT), and translated them into rest breaks needed for farmworker safety. WBGT-based rest minutes are most sensitive to the spatiotemporal variation in... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5fg82211 Wed, 9 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Parajuli, Sagar P Biggs, Trent Galvez, Nicolas Lopez Quintana, Penelope https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0318-3714 Ciborowski, Haley De Sales, Fernando Zavala Perez, Miguel Angel Jones, Charles https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4808-6977 Thompson, Callum Hurtado-Gonzalez, Stephanie Madonia, Samantha Shen, Samuel SP https://escholarship.org/uc/item/57z8x14c Farmworkers are particularly vulnerable to heat stress, which can escalate into heat-related illnesses such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke, and can also impact productivity loss. Heat exposure varies considerably depending on season, work-shift timing, acclimatization, and workload. We examine the frequency of heat stress exceedance in the Imperial and Coachella Valleys of southern California using wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) calculated using the outputs from Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model for a reference year of 2020. The critical WBGT threshold of 80℉ is exceeded for more than 500 hr in August, with considerable exceedance in all key harvesting months of April, May, and June. The threshold is exceeded most frequently in August, with daytime (nighttime) exceedance of 96.3% (38.0%) in the Imperial and 72.5% (11.9%) in the Coachella Valleys. Occupational WBGT limits are also exceeded in most crop environments for unacclimatized workers, and even for... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/57z8x14c Wed, 9 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Parajuli, Sagar P Biggs, Trent Monteverde, Corrie Ciborowski, Haley Galvez, Nicolas Lopez Quintana, Penelope JE https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0318-3714 De Sales, Fernando Perez, Miguel Angel Zavala Thompson, Callum Jones, Charles https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4808-6977 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3gk1w0pk Farmworkers, the frontline workers of our food system, are often exposed to heat stress that is likely to increase in frequency and severity due to climate change. Irrigation can either alleviate or exacerbate heat stress, quantification of which is crucial in intensely irrigated agricultural lands such as the Imperial Valley in southern California. We investigate the impact of irrigation on wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT), a key indicator of heat exposure in humans, using a validated high-resolution Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) regional climate model, during day and night and in different seasons. We find that irrigation reduces WBGT by 0.3–1.3  °C during the daytime in summer due to strong evaporative cooling. However, during the summer nights, irrigation increases WBGT by 0.4–1.3 °C, when a large increase in humidity sufficiently raises the wet-bulb temperature. Urban and fallow areas adjacent to cropped fields also experience increased heat stress due to moisture... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3gk1w0pk Wed, 9 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Parajuli, Sagar P Biggs, Trent de Sales, Fernando Zavala Perez, Miguel Angel He, Cenlin Jones, Charles https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4808-6977 Thompson, Callum Galvez, Nicolas Lopez Ciborowski, Haley Quintino, Tiago Di Napoli, Claudia Montazar, Aliasghar Yazdi, Tayebeh Hosseini Soucier, Monica https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1t05s9z0 Abstract Farmworkers in California’s Imperial Valley face a disproportionate risk of heat stress from prolonged exposure to extreme temperatures. However, heat stress is more than just extreme temperature and depends on humidity, winds, and sun exposure. These conditions can be aggregated into the wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT), a metric endorsed by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for monitoring workplace heat. To better inform heat mitigation strategies, we construct a climatology of summertime WBGT in Imperial Valley for 30 years during 1991–2020. The climatology is constructed from a dynamical downscaling of ERA5 reanalysis to 1.5 km using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model, using quantile mapping to bias correct WBGT inputs against regional weather station observations. We find that WBGT is the highest in urban areas, where summertime daily maxima average 34°C and in rural croplands below mean sea level. National Weather Service... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1t05s9z0 Wed, 9 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Thompson, Callum F Jones, Charles https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4808-6977 Biggs, Trent Quintana, Penelope JE https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0318-3714 Perez, Miguel Angel Zavala De Sales, Fernando Roberts, Dar Parajuli, Sagar Ciborowski, Haley McMahon, Conor https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7mz0z9qv Do electric vehicles (EVs), and the expansion of curbside charging infrastructure in particular, undermine efforts to reduce vehicle travel? As EVs gain market share, decisionmakers may be less inclined to support policies such as bicycle lanes and reduced parking if they compete for space with EV chargers. We find no evidence, however, of policy substitution. Surveys in Los Angeles indicate that public support for policies to reduce driving is not swayed by the availability of EV charging. Furthermore, interviews in North American cities reveal that local officials are cautious about locking in scarce curbspace for EVs, and universally prioritized curb uses such as bicycle and bus lanes, street trees, and parklets. In our sample of early adopter cities, EV charging is not currently diminishing the political will for policies to reduce driving. However, this caution has slowed the rollout of curbside charging in North America. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7mz0z9qv Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Millard-Ball, Adam https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2353-8730 Law, Jasmine https://escholarship.org/uc/item/69j389hv The following report chronicles the professional project completed in partial fulfillment for the degree of Master of Science in Environmental Sciences and Management at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. This professional project spanned fifteen months and was conducted with the support of the Sustainable Land Initiative under the supervision of Professor Nicholas Babin. Two educational workshops resulted from the endeavor, thus contributing to the Central Coast’s agriculture community through increased knowledge access and professional networks. Additionally, a two-year road map was developed for future Sustainable Land Initiative events. This plan was intended to be used as a reference point as the organization continues to develop and uplift regenerative farming practices within the region. This report provides the context of the development of the workshops through a literature review, whereas the future outreach plan was informed by survey results... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/69j389hv Sun, 12 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Knight, Audrey https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5mg3f214 The United States agriculture sector needs to adapt to and mitigate its contributions to climate change, especially with adverse impacts such as intense and frequent drought, flooding, wildfire, and extreme heat that affect crop yields, livestock health, farm infrastructure, and farmer incomes. Recently, federal and state governments have introduced new ‘climate-smart agriculture’ (CSA) policies and programs to help farmers mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from farming operations. However, farmers face persistent barriers to accessing government resources, which necessitates an understanding of power dynamics among CSA program actors and existing institutions and structures in the agricultural sector. I used the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) CSA incentive programs to investigate these dynamics. I examined how farmer access to CSA programs and the broader program goal of GHG mitigation are enabled or constrained by program actors involved in program... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5mg3f214 Sun, 12 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Radulski, Brennan Grace https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8x05c26s Between 1995 and 2014, California wine production increased by 79%. While the industry has made significant efforts to improve environmental performance, existing data on water consumption and $CO_2$ emissions often rely on studies from foreign regions, which may not accurately reflect California's specific production schemes. Because environmental profiles vary widely based on life-cycle factors, this study utilizes Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) to assess the impact of red wine produced on the Central Coast of California under various production scenarios.The cradle-to-gate analysis examined variables including bottle weight reduction, transportation distances, and varying ratios of machine versus hand-harvesting. Results revealed that the bottling process contributes the most significant environmental impacts, accounting for 82.6% of total global warming potential (GWP) and 65.4% of eutrophication potential. Furthermore, transportation and bottle weight are critical factors, contributing... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8x05c26s Thu, 9 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Chiu, Yiwen Sanft, Ashley Peterson, Jean Dodson https://escholarship.org/uc/item/810664nm The hop industry is culturally and economically significant in the United States due to its central role in beer production, yet its environmental impacts remain understudied. To address this gap, this study conducts a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) of aroma hop production, beginning with seedling propagation via tissue culture and ending with packaged hop pellets ready for shipment. Results show that producing 1 kg of aroma hop pellets generates 5.19 kg CO₂-equivalent (kgCO₂e) of potential global warming impact (GWP) and eutrophication (EP) of 15.61 g N-equivalent (gNeq). Farm cultivation represents the largest contributor, accounting for nearly 60% of GWP and over 63% of EP. Scenario analysis indicates that shifting irrigation methods can reduce EP by 17–34% and GWP by 11–20% relative to the baseline. Air drying of hops can further reduce GWP by 24%, while complete reliance on solar energy decreases EP and GWP by 13% and 5%, respectively. The substantial contribution... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/810664nm Thu, 9 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Bristol, Carson Bowen, Luke Chiu, Yiwen https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4ng6d87w This paper investigates the persistence of agricultural practices funded by the California Department of Food and Agriculture's Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation (CDFA OEFI). The central inquiry revolves around determining the most effective behavior model for analyzing persistence, comparing the Reasoned Action Approach (RAA), Comprehensive Action Determination Model (CADM), and CADM augmented with structural variables. The study's methodology integrates literature review, analysis of OEFI-funded practices, and statistical modeling to assess persistence levels. Contrary to existing literature, our findings reveal significantly higher levels of persistence than anticipated. Moreover, through model comparison, CADM augmented with political economic variables emerges as the superior model for analyzing and predicting persistence in agricultural practices funded by CDFA OEFI. These results contribute to a deeper understanding of behavioral determinants in sustainable agricultural... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4ng6d87w Thu, 9 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Tan, Jet Jian-Hui https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1x9208qr This is a case study of City Farm SLO. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1x9208qr Thu, 9 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Tunnell, Carver https://escholarship.org/uc/item/97p1008b Wildland and wildland-urban interface (W/WUI) fires are increasing in frequency and intensity, increasing concerns about firefighters' exposure to hazardous smoke and the need for respiratory protection. This qualitative study explored the perspectives of California fire service personnel on the use of respiratory protective devices (RPDs), particularly powered air-purifying respirators, and a potential Cal/OSHA regulation mandating their use in W/WUI firefighting. Participants were experienced in W/WUI firefighting and had some role in their fire department related to respiratory protection or other aspect of firefighter safety. While all participants recognized the health risks associated with smoke exposure, including cancer and acute respiratory symptoms, and that RPDs would reduce their exposures, participants had concerns that RPDs would negatively affect fatigue, comfort, communication, mobility, and situational awareness. Some concerns specifically relate to the design... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/97p1008b Thu, 20 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000 Dawit, Eden Naeem, Shafaq Vinegar, Sophia Styles, Laura Jones, Rachael M https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1611-7900 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2024500v Sufficient abundance and variety of field site sampling are crucial for obtaining an accurate reach-scale river classification of a regional stream network in support of scientific research and river management. However, many studies still randomly select field sites or only visit accessible streams. This leads to an inadequate exploration of stream characteristics, resulting in incomplete or inaccurate classification. Machine learning has been recognized for discovering and extracting streams’ geomorphic patterns efficiently and accurately from data, but its application in field site sampling design is still in its infancy. This study developed a general and practical field site selection framework by incorporating machine learning in a human-in-the-loop manner. This framework includes three steps: (1) initial field site selection via machine learning from prior datasets, (2) selected field site accessibility evaluation and observation, and (3) additional field site decision... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2024500v Thu, 25 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000 Wang, Zhihao Pasternack, Gregory Brian https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1977-4175 Jin, Yufang https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9049-9807 Rampini, Costanza Alexander, Serena Kumar, Nikhil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3949-5157 Storesund, Rune Perales, K Martin Lim, Christopher Moreno, Stephanie Lacan, Igor https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1tj5949h ABSTRACT Compound precipitation‐wind extremes (CPWEs) pose significant socio‐economic challenges in urban areas, with the most severe impacts often felt by vulnerable populations. While CPWE studies have often focused on large‐scale assessments, localised urban contexts, at a scale of a city and its suburban surroundings, remain understudied, particularly in terms of how CPWEs might differentially impact different socio‐economic communities. This study aims to advance understanding of how CPWEs interact with social vulnerability at a localised scale, using the San Francisco Bay Area (SFBA)—a global hotspot for CPWEs with diverse climates, physiography, and socio‐economic factors—as a test case. Daily precipitation and wind speed data (~4 km) from the gridMET dataset (1982–2022) were used to identify CPWEs during the wet season (October–April). Patterns of CPWE event frequency and trends were then analysed. We found that the return period for CPWEs in the SFBA ranges from 0.5 to... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1tj5949h Thu, 25 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000 Kumar, Nikhil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3949-5157 Pasternack, Gregory Brian https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1977-4175 Jin, Yufang https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9049-9807 Alexander, Serena Wang, Zhihao Rampini, Costanza Storesund, Rune Lim, Chris Moreno, Stephanie Lacan, Igor