The Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences (ESS) is an interdisciplinary community of scholars -- composed of faculty, staff, and students -- dedicated to understanding the interactions between humans and the natural world. We serve local and global communities by addressing environmental issues through education, research, and leadership. Our bachelor-level degrees in Environmental Science and Environmental Studies challenge undergraduates to integrate knowledge and research in the natural and social sciences with ethics, service, and leadership to promote a sustainable world. The ESS Department offers a seminar series and opportunities for research, service, and study abroad.
Submissions from 2022
Exposure to Hurricanes Eta and Iota in Farming Communities in Northern and Central Nicaragua, Christopher M. Bacon, Kylie Griggs, William Sundstrom, and Maria Eugenia Flores Gómez
Learning resilience: Household and institutional responses to multiple livelihood threats in the context of Hurricanes Iota and Eta in northern Nicaragua, Christopher M. Bacon, William Sundstrom, Maria Eugenia Flores Gomez, Kylie Griggs, and Raul Diaz
Submissions from 2021
Agroecology and Participatory Action Research for Food and Water Justice in Central America, Christopher M. Bacon
Toward a feminist political ecology of household food and water security during drought in northern Nicaragua, Christopher M. Bacon, Lisa C. Kelley, and Iris Stewart-Frey
Towards smallholder food and water security: Climate variability in the context of multiple livelihood hazards in Nicaragua, Christopher M. Bacon, William A. Sundstrom, Iris Stewart-Frey, Edwin P. Maurer, and Lisa C. Kelley
Submissions from 2020
Growing ‘good food’: urban gardens, culturally acceptable produce and food security, Lucy O. Diekmann, Leslie C. Gray, and Gregory A. Baker
More Than Food: The Social Benefits of Localized Urban Food Systems, Lucy O. Diekmann, Leslie C. Gray, and Chan Le Thai
Theorizing urban agriculture: north–south convergence, Leslie C. Gray, Laureen Elgert, and Antoinette WinklerPrins
Submissions from 2019
Confronting Environmental Inequality: Assessing and Mitigating Students' Exposure to Near Roadway Air Pollution in Silicon Valley, Christopher M. Bacon, Iris T. Stewart, Emma Hokoda, Martín Pérez, Genevieve Clow, Rawley Loken, Lindsay Tenes, Katie O'Neill, Socorro Madrigal, and Eva Marron
On-farm food loss in northern and central California: Results of field survey measurementsAuthor links open overlay panel, Gregory A. Baker, Leslie C. Gray, Michael J. Harwood, Travis J. Osland, and Jean Baptiste C. Tooley
The power of small-scale solar: gender, energy poverty, and entrepreneurship in Tanzania, Leslie C. Gray, Alaina Boyle, Erika Francks, and Victoria Yu
Contrasting local and long-range-transported warm ice-nucleating particles during an atmospheric river in coastal California, USA, Andrew C. Martin, Gavin Cornwell, Charlotte M. Beal, Forest Cannon, Sean Reilly, Bas Schaap, Dolan Lucero, Jessie Creamean, F. Martin Ralph, Hari T. Mix, and Kimberly Prather
Evaluating the Roles of Rainout and Post-Condensation Processes in a Landfalling Atmospheric River with Stable Isotopes in Precipitation and Water Vapor, Hari T. Mix, Sean P. Reilly, Andrew Martin, and Gavin Cornwell
Submissions from 2018
Air Pollution Analysis of Santa Clara County Public Schools Preliminary Results, Christopher M. Bacon, Iris Stewart-Frey, Genevieve Clow, and Martín Pérez
A stable isotope record of late Cenozoic surface uplift of southern Alaska, Nicholas S. Bill, Hari T. Mix, Peter U. Clark, Sean P. Reilly, Britta J.L. Jensen, and Jeffrey A. Benowitz
Residential zoning and near-roadway air pollution: An analysis of Los Angeles, C. J. Gabbe
What are the real constraints on housing production?, C. J. Gabbe
The high cost of bundled parking, C. J. Gabbe and Gregory Pierce
Weaving cotton-led development? Liberalization, cotton producer organizations, and uneven development in Burkina Faso, Leslie C. Gray, Brian Dowd-Uribe, and Jonathan Kaminski
Improperly-zoned, spatially-marginalized, andpoorly-served? An analysis of mobile home parks in Los Angeles County, Gregory Pierce, C. J. Gabbe, and Silvia R. Gonzalez
Submissions from 2017
Drought, water access, and urban agriculture: a case study from Silicon Valley, Lucy O. Diekmann, Leslie C. Gray, and Gregory A. Baker
How Do Developers Respond to Land Use Regulations? An Analysis of New Housing in Los Angeles, C. J. Gabbe
Planning and zoning for growth: A few lessons from Los Angeles, C. J. Gabbe
Why Are Regulations Changed? A Parcel Analysis of Upzoning in Los Angeles, C. J. Gabbe
Low-income renters pay a high price for parking requirements, C. J. Gabbe and Gregory Pierce
The Hidden Cost of Bundled Parking View Larger Image, C. J. Gabbe and Gregory Pierce
Projected 21st-century changes in the Central American mid-summer drought using statistically downscaled climate projections, Edwin P. Maurer, Nicholas Roby, Iris T. Stewart-Frey, and Christopher M. Bacon
Late Miocene uplift of the Tian Shan and Altai and reorganization of Central Asia climate, Hari T. Mix
Climate response to the 8.2 ka event in coastal California, Jessica L. Oster, Warren D. Sharp, Aaron K. Covey, Jansen Gibson, Bruce Rogers, and Hari T. Mix
Submissions from 2016
Community and home gardens increase vegetable intake and food security of residents in San Jose, California, Susan Algert, Lucy Diekmann, Marian Renvall, and Leslie C. Gray
Vegetable Output, Cost Savings, and Nutritional Value of Low-Income Families’ Home Gardens in San Jose, CA, Susan J. Algert, Aziz Baameur, Lucy O. Diekmann, Leslie C. Gray, and Diego Ortiz
Analyzing the economic benefits and costs of smart growth, Daniel G. Chatman, Lisa Rayle, C. J. Gabbe, Jonathan Plowman, Paul Sohn, and Rebecca Crane
Resituating Nature: New Horizons for a Pesky Noun, John S. Farnsworth
Where residential density is allowed - and isn't - in Los Angeles: A fresh look at zoning changes, C. J. Gabbe
Hidden costs and deadweight losses: Bundled parking andresidential rents in the metropolitan United States, C. J. Gabbe and Gregory Pierce
Turning on the Lights: Transcending Energy Poverty Through The Power of Women Entrepreneurs, Leslie C. Gray, Alaina Boyle, and Victoria Yu
Employment proximity and outcomes for Moving toOpportunity families, Michael C. Lens and C. J. Gabbe
A hot and high Eocene Sierra Nevada, Hari T. Mix, Jeremy K. Caves, Bolat U. Bayshashov, Aizhan Zhamangara, Andrea J. Ritch, Daniel E. Ibarra, Derek J. Sjostrom, Matthew J. Winnick, and C. Page Chamberlain
Submissions from 2015
Food sovereignty, food security and fair trade: the case of an influential Nicaraguan smallholder cooperative, Christopher M. Bacon
Change the Game, John S. Farnsworth
The Condor Question Revisited, John S. Farnsworth
A case where “renters rule”? The motivations for rental housing policy in one Southern California city, C. J. Gabbe
Looking through the lens of size: Land use regulations and micro-apartments inSan Francisco, C. J. Gabbe
Shade tree diversity, carbon sequestration, and epiphyte presence in coffee agroecosystems: A decade of smallholder management in San Ramón, Nicaragua, Katherine E. Goodall, Christopher M. Bacon, and V. Ernesto Mendez
Submissions from 2014
Explaining the ‘hungry farmer paradox’: Smallholders and fair trade cooperatives navigate seasonality and change in Nicaragua's corn and coffee markets., Christopher M. Bacon, W. A. Sundstrom, M. E. Flores Gómez, V. E. Méndez, R. Santos, B. Goldoftas, and I. Dougherty
Aridification of Central Asia and uplift of the Altai and Hangay mountains, Mongolia: stable isotope evidence, Jeremy K. Caves, Derek J. Sjostrom, Hari T. Mix, Matthew J. Winnick, and C. Page Chamberlain
The impact of neogene grassland expansion and aridification on the isotopic composition of continental precipitation, Charles P. Chamberlain, Matthew J. Winnick, Hari T. Mix, Samuel D. Chamberlain, and Katharine Maher
An Invitation for Engagement: Assigning and Assessing Field Notes to Promote Deeper Levels of Observation, John S. Farnsworth, Lyn Baldwin, and Michelle Bezanson
Subversive and interstitial food spaces: transforming selves, societies, and society–environment relations through urban agriculture and foraging, Ryan E. Galt, Leslie C. Gray, and Patrick Hurley
Shade coffee: update on a disappearing refuge for biodiversity., S. Jha, Christopher M. Bacon, S. M. Philpott, V. E. Méndez, R. A. Rice, and P. Läderach
Stable isotope records of hydrologic change and paleotemperature from smectite in Cenozoic western North America, Hari T. Mix and Charles P. Chamberlain
Submissions from 2013
Quality revolutions, solidarity networks, and sustainability innovations: following Fair Trade coffee from Nicaragua to California, Christopher M. Bacon
Introduction to empowered partnerships: community-based participatory action research for environmental justice, Christopher M. Bacon, Saneta deVuono-Powell, Mary Louise Frampton, Tony LoPresti, and Camille Pannu
Food sovereignty: an alternative paradigm for poverty reduction and biodiversity conservation in Latin America, M Jahi Chappell; Hannah Wittman; Christopher M. Bacon; Bruce G. Ferguson; Luis García Barrios; Raúl García Barrios; Daniel Jaffee; Jefferson Lima; V. Ernesto Méndez,; Helda Morales; Lorena Soto-Pinto; John Vandermeer; and Ivette Perfecto
Early Cenozoic evolution of topography, climate, and stable isotopes in precipitation in the North American Cordillera, Ran Feng, Christopher J. Poulsen, Martin Werner, C. Page Chamberlain, Hari T. Mix, and Andreas Mulch
A political ecology of socio-economic differentiation: debt, inputs and liberalization reforms in southwestern Burkina Faso, Leslie C. Gray and Brian Dowd-Uribe
Can home gardens scale up into movements for social change? The role of home gardens in providing food security and community change in San Jose, California, Leslie C. Gray, Patricia Guzman, Kathryn Michelle Glowa, and Ann G. Drevno
Agroecology as a transdisciplinary, participatory and action-oriented approach. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, V. E. Méndez, Christopher M. Bacon, and R. Cohen
Grassland expansion as an instrument of hydrologic change in Neogene western North America, Hari T. Mix, Matthew J. Winnick, Andreas Mulch, and Charles P. Chamberlain
Submissions from 2012
The social dimensions of sustainability and change in diversified farming systems, Christopher M. Bacon, Christy Getz, Sibella Kraus, Maywa Montenegro, and Kaelin Holland
Food security and smallholder coffee production: current issues and future directions, Martha Caswell; V. Ernesto Méndez,; and Christopher M. Bacon
The Cenozoic Climatic and Topographic Evolution of the Western North American Cordillera, C. Page Chamberlain, Hari T. Mix, Andreas Mulch, Michael T. Hren, Malinda L. Kent-Corson, Steven J. Davis, Travis Horton, and Stephan A. Graham
The journal’s the thing: teaching natural history and nature writing in Baja California Sur, John S. Farnsworth and Christopher Beatty
Critical Reflections on Experiential Learning for Food Justice, Leslie C. Gray, Joanna Johnson, Nicole Latham, Michelle Tang, and Ann Thomas
Gender, health, and Fairtrade: insights from a research-action programme in Nicaragua, L. Hanson, V. Terstappen, Christopher M. Bacon, J. Leung, A. Ganem-Cuenca, S R.D. Flores, and M. A.M. Rojas
Opening access to scenario planning tools, Jim Holway, C. J. Gabbe, Frank Hebbert, Jason Lally, Robert Matthews, and Ray Quay
A Social-Ecological Analysis of Diversified FarmingSystems: Benefits, Costs, Obstacles, and Enabling Policy Frameworks, Claire Kremen, Alastair Iles, and Christopher M. Bacon
Diversified farming systems: an agroecological, systems-based alternative to modern industrial agriculture, Claire Kremen, Alastair Iles, and Christopher M. Bacon
Submissions from 2011
Disaster Risk and Sustainable Development, Christopher M. Bacon
Fair Trade, Christopher M. Bacon
“The creation of an integrated sustainability curriculum and student praxis projects.”, Christopher M. Bacon, D. Mulvaney, T. B. Ball, E. M. DuPuis, S. R. Gliessman, R. D. Lipschutz, and A. Shakouri
Engaging the public and communicating successfully in regional planning, John Fregonese and C. J. Gabbe
Debt-for-Nature Swaps in Action: Two Case Studies in Peru, Catherine Kilbane Gockel and Leslie C. Gray
A Review of Ecosystem Services, Farmer Livelihoods, and Value Chains in Shade Coffee Agroecosystems, Shalene Jha, Christopher M. Bacon, Stacy M. Philpott, Robert A. Rice, V. Ernesto Méndez, and Peter Läderach
Livelihood and environmental trade-offs of climate mitigation in smallholder coffee agroforestry systems, V. Ernesto Méndez, S. Castro-Tanzi, K. Goodall, K. S. Morris, Christopher M. Bacon, Peter Läderach, W. B. Morris, and M. U. Georgeoglou-Laxalde
Cenozoic migration of topography in the North American Cordillera, Hari T. Mix, Andreas Mulch, Malinda L. Kent-Corson, and Charles P. Chamberlain
Not Fair Enough: Historic and Institutional Barriers to Fair Trade Coffee in El Salvador, B. Tellman, L. C. Gray, and Christopher M. Bacon
Submissions from 2010
A Spot of Coffee in Crisis: Nicaraguan Smallholder Cooperatives, Fair Trade Networks and Gendered Empowerment Processes, Christopher M. Bacon
Who decides what is fair in Fair Trade: Agri-Environmental Governance of Standards, Access and Price, Christopher M. Bacon
What Does the Desert Say?: A Rhetorical Analysis of "Desert Solitaire", John S. Farnsworth
Writing the Island, John S. Farnsworth
Effects of Fair Trade and organic certifications on small-scale coffee farmer households in Central America and Mexico, V. E. Méndez, Christopher M. Bacon, M. Olson, K. S. Petchers, and D. Herrador
Agrobiodiversity conservation and shade coffee smallholder livelihoods in Central America, V. E. Méndez, Christopher M. Bacon, M. Olson, K. S. Stillings, and A. K. Shattuck
Submissions from 2009
Organic Coffee, Christopher M. Bacon
Review of Daviron, B, and Ponte, S. The Coffee Paradox: Global Markets, Commodity Trade and the Elusive Promise of Development, Christopher M. Bacon
Review of Holt-Giménez, E. Campesino a Campesino: Voices from Latin America's Farmer-to-Farmer Movement for Sustainable Agriculture, Christopher M. Bacon
Synorogenic evolution of large-scale drainage patterns: Isotope paleohydrology of sequential Laramide basins, Steven J. Davis, Hari T. Mix, Bettina A. Wiegand, Alan R. Carroll, and C. Page Chamberlain
Envision Tomorrow: Using prototype buildings and scenariomodeling to measure carbon footprint, John Fregonese and C. J. Gabbe
Submissions from 2008
Are Sustainable Coffee CertificationsEnough to Secure Farmer Livelihoods? The Millenium Development Goals and Nicaragua's Fair Trade Cooperatives, Christopher M. Bacon
Definition of Fair Trade, Christopher M. Bacon
Cultivating Sustainable Coffee: Persistent Paradoxes, Christopher M. Bacon, V. Ernesto Méndez, and Jonathan A. Fox
Cotton Production in Burkina Faso: International Rhetoric versus Local Realities, Leslie C. Gray
Conclusion: Hanging by a Thread: The Future of Cotton in Africa, Leslie C. Gray and William G. Moseley
From Differentiated Coffee Markets Towards Alternative Trade and Knowledge Networks, Roberta Jaffe and Christopher M. Bacon
Darfur: Rainfall and Conflict, Michael Kevane and Leslie C. Gray
Diminished Access, Diverted Exclusion: Women and Land Tenure in Sub-Saharan Africa, Michael Kevane and Leslie C. Gray
Land Tenure and Rental in Western Sudan, Michael Kevane and Leslie C. Gray
Introduction: Cotton, Globalization, and Poverty in Africa, William G. Moseley and Leslie C. Gray
Submissions from 2007
Review of Jaffee, D. Brewing Justice: Fair Trade Coffee, Sustainability, and Survival, Christopher M. Bacon
The Buzz about Sustainability, John S. Farnsworth
