USM National Green Campus
News Archive

Week of March 14, 2011

News from Across the USM Campuses

April 3rd - 5th  - Smart and Sustainable Campuses, The Inn and Conference Center (LEED Certified), University of Maryland University College,?College Park, MD. Colleges and universities are uniquely positioned to serve as living laboratories for sustainability.  The Smart and Sustainable Campuses Conference is a comprehensive symposium that features sessions and workshops on smart growth and sustainable practices that serve the economy, the community, and the environment. This year's theme, Connecting the Classroom to the Campus to the Community, emphasizes the importance of the relationship between the physical space of campus buildings and infrastructure, curriculum, culture, capital, and community.

April 18th - Sustainability: Reducing Our Carbon Paw Print - 3rd Annual Environmental Conference - Towson University in the University Union, 2nd and 3rd Floors?8:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The annual conference is designed to raise awareness among students, faculty and staff about environmental topics, issues and solutions. Each year members of the campus community gather to hear presentations from faculty, students and environmental leaders in the Baltimore region. The conference addresses the impact of individuals and communities on the environment and actions that individuals and communities can take to positively impact the environment and create a more sustainable world.

SGA supports state tax on plastic bags: Body issues support after state explains how each penny of 5-cent tax would be spent (By Sarah Meehan, The Diamondback Online, 3/11/11)

USM Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Initiative
State of Maryland News

Port of Baltimore goes green: Shippers and terminal take steps to clean up air, water and soil (By Lorraine Mirabella, The Baltimore Sun, 3/7/11)

Maryland lawmakers eye lawn fertilizer limits: Legislation would restrict products and application to help Chesapeake Bay (By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun, 3/8/11)

Rising gas prices affect spring break plans: Some travelers paying more; airlines add fuel surcharges (By Hanah Cho, The Baltimore Sun, 3/13/11)

National and International News

Mar. 15th 27th - DC Environmental Film Festival - As the Environmental Film Festival launches its annual celebration of the natural world on screens across Washington, D.C., we explore one of the most controversial and timely topics of our day: the critical relationship between energy and the environment. Presenting 150 diverse and engaging films from 40 countries.

Radioactive Releases in Japan Could Last Months, Experts Say (By David E. Sanger and Matt Wald, The New York Times, 3/13/11)

Green Development? Not in My (Liberal) Backyard (By Elisabeth Rosenthal, The New York Times- Week in Review, 3/12/11)

Johann Hari: Demanding cheaper oil is disastrous - The most popular cry in politics today is a pledge to deny reality and cut petrol prices. Give us our fix! Make it cheap! Make it now! (By Johann Hari, The [UK] Independent - Opinion, 3/11/11)

Anxiety About Oil, Recovery Send Shares Lower (By Christine Hauser, The New York Times - Business Day, 3/10/11)

Solar Power Breakthrough Claimed By Stanford Researchers (By Pete Danko, Earth Techling as reported by The Huffington Post - Green Blog, 3/10/11)

"We Want More Millionaires In America": With Gas Prices Soaring, Lawmakers Call For President Obama To Stop Picking On Oil Industry (By Matthew Jaffe, ABC News - The Note Blog, 3/10/11)

Tom Corbett, PA Governor, Gives Energy Executive Authority Over Environmental Permitting (By Abrahm Lustgarten, Nicholas Kusnetz and Joaquin Sapien, Pro Publica as reported by The Huffington Post - Green Blog, 3/9/11)

Saudi Arabia's 'Day of Rage' Lures Record Bets on $200 Oil: Chart of Day (By Ann Koh and Kim Kyoungwha, Bloomberg News, 3/7/11)

Please send your ideas and comments regarding campus sustainability to green@usmd.edu