Maryland's Public System of Higher Education

Week of February 14, 2011

News from Across the USM Campuses

Feb. 18^th - Dr. Andreas Christen, University of British Columbia??- "Direct Measurements and Modelling of Neighborhood-Scale Carbon-Dioxide Emissions in Vancouver, Canada." This seminar, sponsored by the Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education, will be held on Friday at 2:00pm 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 seminar.

University of Maryland announces 631 KW Solar Project (UM Newsdesk, 2/14/11)

Univ. preparing to install solar panel array: Setup at former Washington Post plant will be largest ever (By Spencer Israel, The Diamondback Online, 2/13/11)

Spill Commissioners Call for Review of Energy Policy (By John M. Broder, The New York Times - Environment, 2/11/11) [Article quotes Dr. Donald F. Boesch, President of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, and a member of President Obama's Gulf Oil Spill Commission]

Baltimore harbor's woes begin in suburb (By Tim Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun - B'More Green Blog, 2/9/11)

Change is in the winds: Students petition for renewable energy (By Claire Saravia, The Diamondback Online, 2/8/11)

Students Put Their Money into the Environment Green Fund-Projects Get Underway (By Monette Austin Bailey, The University of Maryland - Campus News, 2/7/11)

IceCube opens up a window on energy in the universe (By Eric Niiler, The Washington Post, 2/7/11) [Article quotes Greg Sullivan of the University of Maryland]

Chesapeake oysters doing better: State survey finds reproduction up, diseases and deaths down (By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun, 2/7/11) [Article quotes Kennedy T. Paynter, Jr. of the University of Maryland]

State of Maryland News

Group rebuilding Oliver neighborhood one green home at a time: Eco-friendly is focus of nonprofit's effort to rehab abandoned properties (By Nancy Jones Bonbrest, The Baltimore Sun, 2/12/11)

State awards funds for 'sustainable' development: Projects combine historic preservation, 'green' building practices (By Edward Gunts, The Baltimore Sun, 2/11/11)

In MD's "boomtown," Smart Growth still pollute (By Tim Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun - B'More Green Blog, 2/11/11)

Md. lawmakers warned of natural gas drilling woes in Pa.: Former state official cites spills, well contamination, urges caution (By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun, 2/9/11)

Howard beekeepers get new rules after council vote: County Council vote unanimous (By Larry Carson, The Baltimore Sun, 2/7/11)

USM Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Initiative

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Few Significant Changes in Energy-Area Spending (By John M. Broder, The New York Times - Environment, 2/14/11)

Brent Oil Rises on Ongoing Mideast Tension, China Crude Imports (By Ayesha Daya and Christian Schmollinger, Bloomberg News, 2/14/11)

Energy Agency warns of danger from high oil prices (By Richard Lein, AFP as reported by Yahoo News, 2/10/11)

Peak oil: We are asleep at the wheel - Revelations that the Saudis have overstated their oil reserves are a timely reminder of the huge threat to the global economy (By Jeremy Leggett, The [UK] Guardian, 2/10/11)

Tanker with $200 million in oil hijacked off Oman: Piracy 'spinning out of control into the entire Indian Ocean,' shipping spokesman says (By Jonathan Saul and Renee Maltezou, Reuters as reported by MSNBC.com, 2/9/11)

Obama to call for $53B for high-speed rail (By Julie Pace, The Associated Press as reported by Yahoo News, 2/8/11)

Speaking of Extreme Weather (By Paul Krugman, The New York Times - Opinion, 2/8/11)

WikiLeaks cables: Saudi Arabia cannot pump enough oil to keep a lid on prices - US diplomat convinced by Saudi expert that reserves of world's biggest oil exporter have been overstated by nearly 40% (By John Vidal, The [UK] Guardian, 2/8/11)

Preparing for climate change ‘will boost economy' (By Richard Black, BBC News - Science and Environment, 2/7/11) 

Milwaukee, Chicago areas may face water shortages: report - The Great Lakes region, the world's largest freshwater system, could face local water shortages in the Chicago and Milwaukee areas due to increased demand and environmental changes, the U.S. Geological Survey said on Monday. (By David Bailey, Reuters, 2/7/11)

Amazon Drought May Have Bigger Impact On Global Warming Than U.S. Does In A Year (Reuters as reported by The Huffington Post - Green Blog, 2/7/11)