Maryland's Public System of Higher Education

Week of December 2, 2013

News from Across the USM Campuses

Dec. 6^th - Deadline for Office of Sustainability Internship Applications - The Office of Sustainability at the University of Maryland, College Park is looking for interns for Spring 2014 Internships. The internships are in the areas of communications, graphic design, green building assessment, LEAF outreach, sustainability measurement and assessment, and video production. There are also other "green" internships available on campus and off campus in the DC-metro area. Interviews being conducted mid-December. Visit the Office of Sustainability web site for application guidelines.

It's a shell game, but it helps the Bay (By Sarah Polus, The Capital News Service - The Daily Record, 12/1/13)

Project aims to improve storm predictions (By The Associated Press as reported by The Washington Post, 11/30/13) [Article cites a new project by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science]

State of Maryland News

January 10^th - Deadline for applications to the "K-12 Environmental Education Mini Grant Program" - The Chesapeake Bay Trust Mini Grant Program (up to $5,000 per grant) supports activities such as Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEE), teacher professional development and programs to advance environmental literacy in the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers and streams. Non-profit organizations, community associations, faith-based organizations and more. See RFP for full list of organizations.

February 14^th - Deadline for applications to the "Green Streets, Green Jobs, Green Towns" Program - The Chesapeake Bay Trust, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Maryland Department of Natural Resources Green Streets collaborative effort supports the implementation of the President's Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration Executive Order. It serves as a key component of the Chesapeake Bay Green Street-Green Jobs-Green Towns Initiative which supports local, grassroots-level greening efforts by towns and communities in urbanized watersheds that reduce stormwater run-off, through creation of "green streets", the increase in tree canopy, and the reduction of impervious surfaces.

RGGI States Recommend that EPA Support Flexible Market-Based Carbon Pollution Programs (Maryland Department of the Environment News, 12/2/13) [Maryland is a RGGI - Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiatives - state]

National and International News

Goldman Sachs Advertises On #Sustainability While Pouring Millions Into Coal (By Emily Atkin, ThinkProgress.org - Climate Progress Blog, 12/2/13)

#ShutDownCanada: Anti-Fracking Actions Erupt: Drilling company seeking extension to injuction as reports of violence, arrests mount along Highway 11 blockade (By Lauren McCauley, CommonDreams.org, 12/2/13)

In New Jersey Pines, Trouble Arrives on Six Legs (By Justin Gillis, The New York Times - Environment, 12/1/13)

Bridge Out: Bombshell Study Finds Methane Emissions From Natural Gas Production Far Higher Than EPA Estimates: A major new study blows up the whole notion of natural gas as a short-term bridge fuel to a carbon-free economy. (By Joe Romm, ThinkProgress.org - Climate Progress Blog, 11/27/13)

The 'Ticking Time Bomb' That Could Cause Such Rapid Global Warming We'd Be Unable to Prevent Extinction: Our planet has experienced five major extinctions over the past billion or so years -- do we really want to launch an irreversible 6th? (By Thom Hartmann, Alternet.org - Environment Blog, 11/26/13)