It gives to us every hour of every day, but today - Earth Day - is the day we set aside to give back.

While it’s true that the home base for human beings has its share of challenges, many of its citizens — including researchers at the University of California — are working to preserve and conserve it for future generations.

Discover some of what these UC folk are up to at UCTV’s Climate video library. From the atmosphere up above, to the deepest parts of the sea – and everything that exists in between — you’ll discover something new about your planet on its “official” day.

Why not start out with one of these new UCTV programs?

Restoring the Gulf Marshes
UC Berkeley graduate student Thomas Azwell is helping to restore the Gulf of Mexico’s marshes after they were severely damaged by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill from April to July of 2010. Partnering with researchers and agencies in the Gulf, the Environmental Science student is staking tubes of cotton netting stuffed with pre-composted sugar cane fiber into the dying marshes of Louisiana, testing whether the environmentally sustainable waste material can give a larger variety of plants a better chance at healing the oil-damaged wetlands.

Silent Spring + 50: Lessons from San Diego’s Bees and Bays
San Diego Coastkeeper’s Jill Witkowski and Dr. James Nieh of UC San Diego address two major environmental problems in the region – water pollution and the devastating effect of parasites and pesticides (research conducted by former UCSD graduate student, Daren Eiri) on the honey bee population. Both presentations shed light on how members of the public can work with San Diego researchers to protect our natural resources and create a more sustainable community.