Maryland's Public System of Higher Education

Week of November 1, 2010

News from Across the USM Campuses

Nov. 4^th - The University of Baltimore School of Law's fourth annual symposium, "The Bay in Crisis: Saving the Chesapeake Bay" will seek to answer questions about the bay's use as an energy source by both traditional and alternative energy producers. The event will take place on Thursday, Nov. 4 beginning at 10 a.m. in the School of Law, 1415 Maryland Ave. Admittance is free and open to the public, but advance registration is strongly suggested as seating is limited. Location, directions and parking information can be found on the School of Law's website. For more information, contact the Office of External Relations at lawevents@ubalt.edu or 410.837.5648.

Nov. 4^th - Black Wave: The Legacy of the Exxon Valdez. This film, sponsored by Campus Sustainability, will be held from 4pm-6pm, 1102 South Campus Commons, Building 1, on the University of Maryland, College Park campus.

Halliburton admits skipping test on Gulf well cement: Commission finds BP, partners knew formulation was unstable (By msnbc.com staff and news service reports, MSNBC.com, updated 10/29/10) [Dr. Donald F. Boesch, President of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science is a member of President Obama's Gulf oil spill commission]

Competing to conserve: North Campus dorms, fraternities and sororities try to save energy, water (By Claire Saravia, The Diamondback Online, 10/29/10)

Regents OK $70M in new energy deals for UMBC, Bowie, Towson: Regents OK $70M in new energy deals for UMBC, Bowie, Towson (By Emily Mullin, Baltimore Business Journal, 10/28/10)

Even the Nanticoke, Bay's healthiest river, has issues (By Tim Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun - B'More Green Blog, 10/27/10) [Article cites report by University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science]

Federal report faults farmers' Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts: Despite progress, most croplands need more pollution controls (By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun, 10/26/10)

Did Gulf Spill Boost "Dead Zone"? (National Geographic - Daily News - Video, 10/25/10) [Video features James Pierson and Michael Roman of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science]

Green Giants: Meet the seven winners of the first Bethesda Magazine Green Giants Awards (By Liz Skinner, Bethesda Magazine, November/December 2010 issue) [The Universities at Shady Grove campus is featured as a Green Giant award winner]

State of Maryland News

Is electricity shopping bad use of your precious time? (By Jay Hancock, The Baltimore Sun - Jay Hancock's Blog, 10/29/10)

Constellation has 3Q loss of $1.4 billion: Loss primarily due to lower value of nuclear power business (By Hanah Cho, The Baltimore Sun, 10/29/10)

USM Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Initiative

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Electricity rates will drop next summer, BGE says: Falling supply prices mean consumers will pay less (By Jamie Smith Hopkins, The Baltimore Sun, 10/28/10)

One Less Car changes name (By Michael Dresser, The Baltimore Sun - Getting There Blog, 10/27/10)

National and International News

Japan looks to ancient village wisdom to save biodiversity (AFP as reported by The [UK] Independent, 11/1/10)

Companies fight to keep global warming data secret (By Dina Cappiello, The Associated Press as reported by WTOC News, 10/29/10 updated 10/31/10)

Bat disease threatens ecological catastrophe: A virulent and deadly pathogen in America is exterminating a predator that is vital to farmers for controlling insect pests (By Jerome Taylor, The [UK] Independent, 10/29/10)

Climate Change Denial Pervades U.S. Elections: In the run-up to the U.S. elections set to take place Nov. 2, the amount of money being spent and eccentricities on display have reached record levels. This has been particularly obvious in debates over energy and climate change (By Matthew O. Berger, IPS - North America, 10/28/10)

Amtrak acquiring new, power-saving locomotive fleet: Siemens engines coming to Northeast Corridor (By Michael Dresser, The Baltimore Sun, 10/28/10)

Global warming ‘unquestionably' due to humans: France (By Claire Snegaroff AFP as reported by Yahoo News, 10/28/10)

Exxon Mobil profit jumps 55% (AFP as reported by The Los Angeles Times, 10/28/10)

Dubai Faces Environmental Problems After Growth (By Liz Alderman, The New York Times, 10/27/10)

A Nano-Solution to Energy ‘Vampires' (By John Collins Rudolf, The New York Times - Green Blog, 10/27/10)

China unveils 260mph train line: A new high-speed rail line has been opened in China amid boasts from officials over the use of domestic technology to set world records (Press Association as reported by Yahoo News - UK and Ireland, 10/26/10)

UN says lack of crop diversity threatens food supply (AFP as reported by Yahoo News, 10/26/10)

News Alert: More Independent Scientists Report "Vast Volumes Of Oil Present On Seafloor"; Independent Research Again Directly Contradicts NOAA/Coast Guard Findings (The Stuart Smith Blog, 10/25/10)

DOT, EPA Propose Nation's First-Ever Emissions, Fuel-Efficiency Standards for Trucks and Buses (By Secretary Ray LaHood, The White House Blog, 10/25/10)

70 mpg, without a Hybrid: A new Mazda model debuting in Japan gets its high fuel economy from an improved gas engine and a lightweight design (By Kevin Bullis, MIT Technology Review, 10/25/10)

BP sells Gulf of Mexico oil field assets to Marubeni: BP has said it will sell its interests in four Gulf of Mexico oil fields to Japan's Marubeni as part of its moves to pay for the oil spill there (BBC Business News, 10/25/10)

IEA: Unclear If Oil Reserve Growth Will Contribute to Future Supply (By  Jacob Gronholt-Pederson, Dow Jones Newswires as reported by E&P News - Rigzone, 10/25/10)

Caught! EU business lobby funding climate legislation blockers in US Senate (CAN-Europe, 10/25/10)