Green Blog

Sunlight shining through grove of cottonwoods

The Green Blog shares news and information related to forestry/wildfire, sustainability, climate, environmental stewardship and other green topics.

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Master Gardener looking through a hand lens to identify a pest problem on plant leaves. (Photo: Marcy Sousa, UCCE San Joaquin)
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UC IPM is celebrating 40 years

July 1, 2019
By Tunyalee Martin
The University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program (UC IPM) is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Established July 1, 1979, with funding from the California Legislature, UC IPM built upon a growing movement to reduce dependence on pesticides.
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The yellow-faced bumble bee (shown on foxglove), native to the west coast of North America, is an important pollinator. Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey
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We depend on pollinators

June 21, 2019
By Pamela S Kan-Rice
Happy Pollinator Week! For 2019, it's June 17-23. Most people think of bees when they think pollination, but don't stop there. Think the "b" alliteration: bees, birds, butterflies, bats and beetles.
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Hummingbirds, along with other birds, bats and insects, are pollinators.
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California Naturalists' efforts benefit pollinators

June 20, 2019
'Attention is the beginning of devotion' --Mary Oliver This quote resonates this month, amidst a variety of environmental holidays and celebrations including World Environment Day, World Ocean Day, California Invasive Species Action Week, and finally National Pollinator Week (this week) and Month.
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In dairies with milking robots, cows voluntarily walk into a sophisticated, computerized box when they are ready for milking.
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UC helps California dairy farmers experiment with milking robots

June 11, 2019
Early in the 20th century, dairy operators traded their milking stools for machines to produce enough dairy products to meet growing consumer demand. The technological developments were critical to the formation of California's enormous dairy industry, the largest in the nation. Today, more than 1.
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Invasive species threaten California's landscapes.
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Invasive species threaten California’s economy and ecology

May 31, 2019
When insects, weeds, animals and diseases enter California from elsewhere in the nation or world, they can cause economic losses to agricultural crops and ecological damage to the state's natural areas. Ultimately, invasive species affect every resident of California.
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