Maryland's Public System of Higher Education

Week of March 9,2009

News From Across the USM Campuses

Students' Biofuel Idea Funded by MTV Contest - Story Note: Learn more about the UMBC Biodiesel Club on Maryland Public Television's "Motorweek" show, starting on Friday, March 13. In Baltimore County, the episode featuring coverage of Maryland's homebrewed biodiesel community will air Saturday (3/14) at 5pm and Sunday (3/15) at 2pm, Thursday (3/19) at 8pm on MPT. Check your local listings for other broadcast times.

March 13, 2009  Arthur Horowitz  USGS, Atlanta "Monitoring Sediment and Sediment-Associated Chemistry and Annual Fluxes in Urban Environments: Lessons From The City of Atlanta, Georgia, Water Quality Monitoring Program"  Seminars of the Spring 2009 CUERE Seminar Series are held on Fridays at 2 PM in the Technology Research Center, Room 206, and are free and open to the public. Registration is not required. Visitor parking passes for the TRC lot may be purchased for $4.00 in the Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education (CUERE) office in TRC 102/105 on the University of Maryland, Baltimore County campus, shortly before seminar.

March 11, 2009 - "Building the Next Generation of Conservation Leaders." Sustainability Speaker Series at University of Maryland. College Park/ Are you interested in an internship this summer with hands on experience in improving your environment? Come talk to Flip Hagood, an expert on Green Jobs for college students and graduates, as he explains the opportunities you can find through the Student Conservation Association (SCA) and other related organizations. Series is held various Wednesdays this spring from noon-1:00, Tydings Hall Room 0117, on the UMCP campus
(Please note room change from last semester.)

Workshop presenations from Towson University's March 4^th Green House Gas (GHG) Inventory Workshop  are now available on-line (3/6/09)

Towson University ranks No. 1 in Maryland as RecycleMania continues (Towson University News Room, 3/4/09)

Textbook, greenhouse gas bills pass Senate (By Allison Stice, The Diamondback Online, 3/4/09)

Registration is now open for the 4th Smart and Sustainable Campuses Conference (April 5-7, 2009). University of Maryland's Office of Sustainability, in partnership with AASHE, NACUBO, APPA and several other higher education associations, announce open registration for the 4th Smart & Sustainable Campuses Conference to be held at the University of Maryland University College, Inn and Conference Center, adjacent to the campus of the University of Maryland, College Park on April 5-7, 2009.

USM Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Initiative

• Practices
• Programs
• Policies

• Presentations
• Climate Change Definitions
• Facilities Master Planning
• Statewide Sustainability Efforts
• ACUPCC National Benchmarking
• Useful Links and References

Internship: National Commission on Energy Policy (NCEP) Vito Stagliano Scholars Program, Washington, DC. Each selected student will receive a $5,000 stipend for the 10 week summer internship at NCEP.  All applications should be e-mailed to internships@energycommission.org and must be received no later than March 23, 2009. Applicants chosen for the program will be notified by April 6, 2009. 

State of Maryland News

Can aquaculture save the oyster industry? Watermen say transition could be costly (By Pamela Wood, The Capital, 3/8/09)

State must make farm pollution reports public (By Pamela Wood, The Capital, 3/4/09)

Key step restored to Endangered Species Act (By Jim Tankersley, The Baltimore Sun, 3/4/09)

Stream restoration a big piece of bay health puzzle (By E.B. Furgurson III, The Capital, 3/4/09)

National and International News

Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital (In Washington, DC from March 11-22, 2009, 52 venues, 141 films)

Coal plants checked by enviro campaigns, costs (By Matthew Brown, The Associated Press as reported in The Washington Post, 3/8/09)

Driving Hybrid Disbelievers Into the Fold (By Washington Post Staff Writer, The Washington Post, 3/8/09)

A Film Fest That Minds Its Seas 'n' Bees (By Style on the Go, The Washington Post, 3/8/09)

High-Speed Rail Drives Obama's Transportation Agenda (By Dan Eggen, The Washington Post, 3/8/09)

The Recession's Green Lining: A global downturn is doing what activists couldn't: closing dirty factories. (By Sharon Begley, Newsweek, 3/7/09)

Bob Ryan Weighs in on Climate Change (By Andrew Freedman, The Washington Post - Capital Weather Gang, 3/5/09)

Arctic summer ice could vanish by 2013: Expert (By David Ljunggren, Reuters, 3/5/09)

Drying Amazon Could Speed Climate Change (By Christopher Joyce, NPR - All Things Considered, 3/5/09)

It's Organic, but does that mean it's safer? (By Kim Severson and Andrew Martin, The New York Times, 3/3/09)

Earth Hour - March 28, 2009, 8:30 pm local time.  Turn out. Take action. Be part of this historic event. World Wildlife Fund is asking individuals, businesses, governments and organizations around the world to turn off their lights for one hour - Earth Hour - to make a global statement of concern about climate change and to demonstrate commitment to finding solutions.