Rebecca Hernandez Content / Rebecca Hernandez Content for ºÙºÙÊÓƵ en Mapping the Future’s Sweet Spot for Clean Energy and Biodiversity /climate/news/mapping-futures-sweet-spot-clean-energy-and-biodiversity A ºÙºÙÊÓƵ study of Joshua trees, kit foxes and solar energy developments highlights the need to consider climate-induced range shifts for species as we expand clean energy. March 08, 2024 - 2:00am Katherine E Kerlin /climate/news/mapping-futures-sweet-spot-clean-energy-and-biodiversity Cacti and Other Iconic Desert Plants Threatened by Solar Development /climate/news/cacti-and-other-iconic-desert-plants-threatened-solar-development <p>With their tough skins, pointy armor and legendary stamina, cacti are made to defend themselves from whatever nature throws at them.&nbsp;</p> <p>But large solar energy facilities are one threat that cacti weren’t built to withstand, according to a study by the University of California, Davis.&nbsp;</p> July 20, 2020 - 8:00am Katherine E Kerlin /climate/news/cacti-and-other-iconic-desert-plants-threatened-solar-development 20 Overlooked Benefits of Distributed Solar Energy /climate-science/news/20-overlooked-benefits-distributed-solar-energy <p>A study released today provides the most complete list yet of the advantages of solar energy — from carbon sequestration to improvements for pollinator habitat. The paper offers a new framework for analyzing solar projects to better understand the full suite of benefits.</p> <p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-019-0309-z">The study, published in <em>Nature Sustainability</em></a>, was conducted by researchers from the University of California, Davis;&nbsp;Lancaster University in the United Kingdom;&nbsp;the Center for Biological Diversity; and 10 other organizations.</p> July 09, 2019 - 11:32am Katherine E Kerlin /climate-science/news/20-overlooked-benefits-distributed-solar-energy Siting Solar, Sparing Prime Agricultural Lands /news/sparing-lands-while-siting-solar <p>Unconventional spaces could be put to use generating renewable energy while sparing lands that could be better used to grow food, sequester carbon and protect wildlife and watersheds, says a study led by the University of California, Davis. Such lands in California's Central Valley could more than meet the state's energy demands for 2025.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> December 19, 2017 - 12:33pm Katherine E Kerlin /news/sparing-lands-while-siting-solar