The Fall 2017 JOVRNALISM class worked on several immersive projects based on the investigative work by The Center for Investigative Reporting/Reveal News, with a focus on the California drought. These are their stories:

California is sinking, again. But only faster.

A wet winter has relaxed the state drought, but its impact is still being felt.

Subsidence occurs when underground, ancient aquifers are pumped essentially deflating the land and causing it to sink. Dr. Joseph F. Poland first discovered this in 1977 and, using a telephone pole, illustrated how California sank 30 feet from the 1920s.

While it was addressed then, it’s happening again now.

The need to water the crops that feed this county and much of the world has caused sinking at an alarming rate once again.

We used a telephone pole, a drone and 360 technologies to illustrate what that looks like in this immersive story produced by JOVRNALISM in collaboration with the CIR/Reveal News.

Read more: https://www.revealnews.org/article/california-is-sinking-and-its-getting-worse/

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Do you know how much water your lunch cost?

In this dinner table experience, we illustrate how much water is used to grow the food you eat in your daily meal.

While Californians are try to conserve water by taking shorter showers and water lawns less, they may have more impact by being more selective when ordering from a menu.

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The drought may be over, but it can return.

Mars may have to be our Plan(et) B, and while scientists are inventing ways to travel to the neighboring planet others are designing how to sustain life there.

Vera Mulyani is the CEO and Founder of Mars City Design a challenge to develop sustainable cities solutions for Mars. Using NASA/JPL Mars Rover imagery, we learn about the winning design while on the red planet.

Learn more: https://marscitydesign.com/