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Spencer Robins

Spencer Robins

Spencer Robins is a graduate student at UCLA, where he studies literature and environmentalism. His writing has also appeared in the LA Review of Books and the Paris Review. 
 

Spencer Robins
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Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto discussing why protecting the environment should be nonpartisan.
Following in the footsteps of former Sen. Harry Reid, Cortez Masto’s work on environmental issues suggests she might pursue a middle path, backing less-partisan climate policies while supporting bolder federal policies.
The Los Angeles River wraps around Taylor Yard, a former railyard in northeastern Los Angeles. | Courtney Cecale
Places like Taylor Yard give us a window to explore ways to balance the city's critical needs for green space, livable space and climate change strategies.
Rocky beach near Hollister Ranch.
In the latest chapter of a 40-year battle over who gets access to the California coast, the tides could be turning in favor of the public; but not without a fight from private landowners.
Artist Steve Appleton trims a reed | Spencer Robins
In the hands of artists and L.A. River advocates the role of invasive river weed, arundo donax, is questioned.
Aerial view of coastline at Hollister Ranch. | Gevork Mkrtchyan
A legal fight at Hollister Ranch could have lasting implications on the future of public access to the California coast.
Aerial view of the 101 turning at Gaviota State Park. | Gevork Mkrtchyan
While Hollister is less developed than other places, calling this part of the coast “undeveloped” or “untarnished” or “pristine” fails to recognize its complex history of ownership and use.
Gelatin silver photograph of Point Conception circa 1906. | Geo. R. Lawrence Co. via Library of Congress
A timeline exploring the history of the human presence at Hollister Ranch, plus the changing and contested claims to that land. 
Map of coastline between Santa Barbara and Point Conception. | OpenStreetMap
For more than 40 years, state agencies and landowners have been battling over development permits and fees to limit the public's right to access the coast at Hollister Ranch.
Dishwashers Esteban Soc, left, and Joselino Aguilar, right, at work in the kitchen of Mexican restaurant Caracol in Houston, Texas. | Scott Dalton for The Washington Post via Getty Images
From paying healthcare surcharges on bills, to advocating for higher minimum wages, diners may tip the scales in favor of sustainable restaurant labor. 
Red-crowned parrots in Pasadena. | Still from "Urban Ark Los Angeles"
There’s a big difference between a species being present and a species being abundant. “Bioabundance” refers not to the number of species in an area but, to the number of individual creatures present.
View of Metrolink's Central Maintenance Facility. (large) | Courtney Cecale
A guide to some of the visions for the L.A. River, the stakeholders involved and the conflicts that could emerge with each possibility. 
Interactive network visualization of power relations to the L.A. River and Taylor Yard. | Spencer Robins
A living interactive network visualization tracing the relationships between people, institutions, plants, animals, materials, and other forces that shape Taylor Yard and the Los Angeles River.
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