Maryland's Public System of Higher Education

Week of November 9, 2009

News from Across the USM Campuses
Nov. 13^th (Friday) Dr. Shuiwang Duan of the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science - "Tracing Sources of Organic Matter in Two Urban Bayous." Seminar will be held on Friday at 2pm in the Technology Research Center, Room 206, on the University of Maryland, Baltimore County campus, and is 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 CUERE office in TRC 102/105 on the UMBC campus shortly before the seminar. For more information, contact the CUERE office at 410-455-1763 or cueremail@umbc.edu

Nov. 12^th (Thursday) 8:00am-6:30pm - Bioscience Day: Biological and Human Consequences of Climate Change. This event will be held in the Stamp Student Union, on the University of Maryland, College Park campus. The Bioscience Research and Technology Review Day is a special annual event that features research talks, presentations, mini-symposia, and demonstrations by University of Maryland scientists. This tenth annual Bioscience Day will feature a variety of special presentations on the theme of the Human and Biological Consequences of Climate Change. Learn about the impact that climate change is having on all living organisms - from bacteria to birds, from flu to frogs, and from polar bears to people.

Nov. 11^th (Wednesday) - Campus Recycling 101 - 12 - 1pm, Margaret Brent Room, Stamp Student Union, on the University of Maryland, College Park campus. The University has an impressive waste diversion track record, diverting nearly half of its waste from landfills. In 2009, the campus expanded its recycling program to include virtually all plastics. Come meet Recycling Coordinator, Bill Guididas, and Associate Director for Building and Landscape Services, Sandy Dykes. The session will cover where our waste goes (trash, recycling, and compost) and how we can move our campus toward a waste diversion rate of 75% by 2013 (as outlined in the 2009 UM Climate Action Plan). Bring your questions and ideas.

Nov. 10^th (Tuesday) Maryland Secretary of Agriculture Buddy Hance on "Buy Local" - 7pm, Nanticoke Room, Stamp Student Union, on the University of Maryland, College Park campus. The Student Government Association, the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Collegiate 4-H and Phi Chi are proud to announce that they will host Maryland Secretary of Agriculture Buddy Hance. Come hear Secretary Hance discuss the benefits of "Buy Local" and the importance of returning to our agricultural roots. Founded in 1856 as the Maryland Agricultural College, our university has a long history of stewardship to the land. While you may think that farming only affects farmers and prices at the grocery store, you will be surprised to learn that how and where food is produced can affect the environment, personal health, local economies and bio security. Please e-mail SGAcommunications@gmail.com for more information.

Two biolab scientists receive international awards (By Jeff Newman, SoMDNews.com, 11/4/09) [Walter Boynton and Carolyn Keefe of the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in Solomons received awards from the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation at its annual conference in Portland, Oregon.

Aquaculture clash for Bay's watermen: Livelihood at stake as watermen navigate changes in oyster industry (By Sean R. Sedam, The Gazette, 11/4/09) [Article quotes staff of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Horn Point Laboratory.

Town pines for accuracy in tree inventory: Survey could improve tree health, upkeep (By David Hill, The Gazette, 11/3/09) [Article cites volunteer work of University of Maryland, College Park students]

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

Environment: Horn Point researcher received international award (DelMarVaNow.com, 11/2/09) [Michael Kemp, a University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Horn Point lab researcher, recently received the Odum Lifetime Achievement Award from the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation.]

Student Internship - Build Straw Bale Homes in Moab, Utah this Spring - Are you graduating a semester early or a semester late?  Are you looking for an internship for next semester?  Do you just want to take some time off and have a life-changing experience? My name is Noah Aptekar and I am working for an affordable housing nonprofit called Community Rebuilds based in Moab, UT.  We are just getting off the ground and I wanted to invite you to be one of our interns while we build our FIRST home for a deserving low-income family in Moab, UT, from January 15-May 30, 2010. Our application and recommendation forms can be found on our website: www.communityrebuilds.org.

State of Maryland News
Nov. 11^th (Wednesday) - Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. - a staunch preservation advocate who is widely recognized as the country's most prominent environmental attorney - will come to Goucher College on Wednesday, November 11, at 8 p.m. in Kraushaar Auditorium to discuss "Our Environmental Destiny: How to Get There in Troubled Economic Times." Kennedy is appearing as Goucher's Fall 2009 Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Visiting Professor. This event is free and open to the public, but tickets must reserved in advance by calling the Goucher College Box Office at 410-337-6333 or by e-mailing boxoffice@goucher.edu.

Coalition decries Charles connector: Foes say highway will bring sprawl Environmental hazards feared (By Christy Goodman, The Washington Post, 11/8/09)

'Smart growth': A start or a failure? (The Washington Post - Letters to the Editor, 11/8/09)

Cardin, other Dems move climate bill in Senate (By Tim Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun - B'More Green Blog, 11/5/09)

Maryland, other states warned about bay cleanup: EPA presses for detailed plans to cut pollution  (By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun, 11/5/09)

Annapolis considers 'renewable energy park': Old landfill would use methane, sunlight, yard waste to generate electricity (By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun, 11/4/09)

America's most toxic cities - where's Baltimore? (By Tim Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun - B'More Green Blog, 11/3/09)

National and International News

Japan eyes solar station in space (By Karyn Poupee, AFP as reported on Yahoo News, 11/8/09)

As oceans fall ill, Washington bureaucrats squabble (By Les Blumenthal, McClatchy Newspapers as reported on Yahoo News, 11/8/09)

Chemicals in Our Food, and Bodies (By Nicholas D. Kristof, The New York Times - Op Ed, 11/8/09)

Climate legislation benefits are real (The Washington Post - Letter to the Editor, 11/7/09)

Painting a street green hasn't stimulated one new job: Energy-efficiency investments Tangible gains still ahead for $25 billion initiative (By Alec MacGillis, The Washington Post, 11/7/09)

Ecosystem in Peru Is Losing a Key Ally (By Simon Romero, The New York Times, 11/7/09)

Creating a Landfill to have Cleaner Air (By The Associated Press as reported in The New York Times, 11/7/09)

Environmental groups at odds over new tack in climate fight: Some favor playing down threat, focusing on bill's positives (By David A. Fahrenthold, The Washington Post, 11/6/09)

Shell Oil to pay $19.5M in environmental fines (By The Associated Press as reported in The Washington Post, 11/6/09)

LED Lighting Contest (Interview by Ira Flatow, National Public Radio - Science Friday, 11/6/09)

LED Lighting Contest (Science Friday - National Public Radio, 11/6/09)[Audio]

Dominican Republic town blames U.S. firm for birth defects: A small Dominican Republic town plagued by birth defects wants to know if a U.S. power company is to blame. (By Frances Robles, The Miami Herald, 11/5/09)

China, Coal and Climate Change (The Diane Rehm Show - National Public Radio, 11/5/09) [Audio]

Toward a Stalemate in Copenhagen: How Industry Pressures and National Agendas Dim

Prospects for a Climate Treaty (By Marianne Lavelle, The Center for Public Integrity, 11/4/09)

Colorado's vast beetle-kill pine forests threaten power grid: Experts seek to head off disaster with green solutions (By David. G. Williams, The Colorado Independent, 11/3/09)

Lobbying cash obscures US climate debate: When it comes to the debate in the United States over what to do about climate change, cash may very well have clouded the issue. (By Kerry Sheridan, The [UK] Telegraph, 11/3/09)

Senate Republicans boycott climate bill (By Foon Rhee, The Boston Globe, 11/3/09)

Snows Of Kilimanjaro Shrinking Rapidly, And Likely To Be Lost (Science Daily, 11/3/09)

BPA found in food packaging: Plastic hardener linked to increased cancer risk (By Andrew Zajac, The Spokesman-Review, 11/3/09)