With plastic waste becoming a global pollution crisis, faculty and students of UCLA School of Law’s Frank G. Wells Environmental Law Clinic traveled to Washington, D.C., in January 2019 to brief Congress on legislation that could help reduce plastic pollution in oceans.

Since the 1940s, the responsibility for managing California farmers' use of agricultural pesticides, and the substantial health risks they pose, has been shared by state and county regulators. The state's Department of Pesticide Regulation registers pesticide products; county-level agricultural commissioners issue permits for the use of "restricted" pesticides — those that present significant human health or environmental concerns.

UCLA alumni Ralph and Shirley Shapiro received the UCLA Medal, the campus’ highest honor, on April 2, at the Chancellor’s residence.

“When we talk about service as a core mission of UCLA — alongside research and education — two of the names that always come to my mind are Ralph and Shirley Shapiro,” UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said at the medal ceremony. “They met at UCLA, formed a beautiful partnership here and have both made UCLA very proud. My hope is that UCLA will continue to graduate students who share their values and will extend their legacy.”

The future looked bright — and clean and efficient — when a team of law students took home the top prize in UCLA School of Law’s Lowell Milken Institute-Sandler Prize for New Entrepreneurs one year ago. Class of 2018 members Mac Kennedy and Mary Vu won $70,000 in seed funding for their company Mote, which is developing a device that filters toxic particles from car tailpipes. They worked with engineers from Caltech and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to develop the winning entry.

As the dangers of climate change grow and global political tensions rise, UCLA, in partnership with the University of California, Berkeley and other UC campuses, former California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. and China's top climate change official Xie Zhenhua, today launched a groundbreaking new initiative — the California-China Climate Institute — to spur further climate action through joint research, training and dialogue.