Maryland's Public System of Higher Education

Week of October 7, 2013

  News from Across the USM Campuses

October 12^th - Horn Point Laboratory Open House  - Discover the science of the Chesapeake Bay and beyond. The Horn Point Laboratory invites the public to take part in its annual Community Open House from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Located on the banks of the Choptank River on Maryland's Eastern Shore, the laboratory is renowned for its study of marine ecosystems. The theme for this year's event is "Science - Charting a Course for the Bay." It features exhibits by the laboratory's scientists of their investigations in the Chesapeake Bay and coastal areas along the Atlantic and around the world.

October 15^th - 16^th - 2013 Maryland Clean Energy Summit - Energy generation- including clean renewable power, transmission, distribution and resiliency- are all part of the puzzle of coordinating and securing power supply systems. With the application of communications technology to manage this critical infrastructure for cost savings, reliability, security, and greenhouse gas emissions reductions- the "democratization of the grid" is becoming a reality. This two-day forum, held at the University of Maryland University College's Inn and Conference Center, will address the challenges of identifying, integrating, and assembling the various pieces of the puzzle needed to advance distributed energy solutions. Conference registration.

Accurate maps of streams could aid in more sustainable development of Potomac River watershed (University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science - Appalachian Laboratory, Press Release, 10/3/13)

State grant will fund bikeway improvements near UMBC (By Julie Baughman, The Baltimore Sun, 10/2/13)

 State of Maryland News

October 9^th - 42nd Annual North American Association for Environmental Education Conference - Since 1972, the NAAEE conference has convened top educators, government officials, researchers, nonprofit and community groups, environmental experts, corporations, and others. With the shared mission of advancing environmental education throughout society-from schoolrooms to board rooms and community centers to zoos and museums-attendees discuss how environmental education can achieve environmental goals, as well as be a conduit to STEM education, a springboard for civic engagement, and a tool for current and future generations to make sense of the world around them. The conference will be held at the Baltimore Convention Center, located at One West Pratt Street in Baltimore, Maryland, and will take place from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Registration

 October 9^th - "The Future of Fish: Ensuring a Path for Environmentally Responsible Aquaculture" (Flyer)?- Lecture by Elizabeth Fetherston, Deputy Director, Fish Conservation program, Ocean Conservancy. This event will be held from 12:00 - 1:15pm?at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, located at 624 N. Broadway?(Hampton House, HH250), in Baltimore.

- Sustaining our Natural Resources 

-Sustainability Communities

This event will be held from 12:00 - 1:30pm at the North Laurel Community Center, located at 9411 Whiskey Bottom Road, Laurel, MD. Doors open at 11:30am.

National and International News

UD to sell wind turbine energy credits to Delaware coop (The Associated Press as reported by The Washington Post, 10/7/13)

Nighttime solar power being tested in Arizona: Technology at the Solana Generating Station can efficiently store solar power (By Pete Danko, Salon.com, 10/7/13)

Fracking produces annual toxic waste water enough to flood Washington DC (By Suzanne Goldenberg, The [UK] Guardian - Environment Blog, 10/4/13)

For Second-Tier European Cities, It's a Race to Go Greener, Faster (By Anthony Flint, The Atlantic Cities Blog, 10/3/13)

Human Assault Pushes Ocean to Limit Unseen in 300 Million Years: 'We are entering an unknown territory of marine ecosystem change,' warns report. 'The next mass extinction may have already begun.' (By Jon Queally, CommonDreams.org, 10/3/13)

Big Coal buries Obama's renewable-friendly energy regulator (By John Upton, Grist.org, 10/2/13)

Melting sea ice displaced these 10,000 walruses: With nowhere else to go, the animals are congregating on shore (By Lindsay Abrams, Salon.com, 10/2/13)

A Renewable Energy Tax Credit May Die At The End Of This Year (By Jeff Spross, ThinkProgress.org - Climate Progress Blog, 10/2/13)

Climate Adaptation Goes Mainstream in Wisconsin (By John Upton, Grist.org, 10/1/13)

What The Shutdown Means For Energy And Environmental Programs (By Katie Valentine, ThinkProgress.org - Climate Progress Blog, 10/1/13)

New homes built in Palo Alto will be pre-wired for electric car chargers (By Michael Graham Richard, Treehugger.com - Transportation Blog, 10/1/13)

IKEA starts selling solar panels for homes (By Malin Rising, AP - The Big Story, 9/30/13)