Week of April 20, 2009

News From Across the USM Campuses

"Earth to College Park" (April 1-30, 2009) - Please join us this April in celebrating Earth Month! All month long, various departments and student groups will be hosting events on and around campus promoting green ideas and practices. University of Maryland, College Park.

Frostburg State University - Earth Week 2009 (April 20-24, 2009) Events will focus on environmental stewardship, taking action, and celebrating and serving the Earth. All events are free and most are open to the public.  Frostburg State University.

Ecofest! Friday, April 24^th. Ecofest is the annual Earth Day celebration organized by UMBC Students for Environmental Awareness. Events held at University of Maryland, Baltimore County.  Volunteer opportunities available for Ecofest.

April 22, 2009. The Clark School, with the co-sponsorship of the University of Maryland, College Park, Energy Research Center and Office of Sustainability, will hold its first Engineering Sustainability Workshop, focused on energy. The event will be held from 9:30am - 2:30pm in the Kay Boardrooms and the Rotunda?Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building, on the UMCP campus. The school invites all interested people to attend and participate.

April 22, 2009. Earth to College Park: Earth Day 2009 Celebration. Please join us on McKeldin Mall on the University of Maryland, College Park campus, from 11:00am - 4:00pm for the biggest green event of the year! Enter the Office of Sustainability raffle to win a Solar Backpack or Organic Cotton T-Shirts! Many departments and student organizations will be there.

USM Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Initiative

• Practices
• Programs
• Policies

• Presentations
• Climate Change Definitions
• Facilities Master Planning
• Statewide Sustainability Efforts
• ACUPCC National Benchmarking
• Useful Links and References

April 22, 2009. Environmental Justice in Our Backyard. As part of Earth Day reflections at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, this expert panel digs deeper to understand and empathize with the plight of real people. The event will be held at 4:00pm at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center on the University of Maryland, College Park campus.

April 22, 2009. McKeldin Library Presents: A Conversation with Mark Sagoff. Dr. Mark Sagoff is a Senior Research Scholar in the School of Public Policy and author of "The Economy of the Earth: Philosophy, Law and the Environment." This event will take place at 4:30pm at the McKeldin Library on the University of Maryland, College Park campus. If you would like more information, please contact Tim Hackman, Humanities Team, at thackman@umd.edu or 301-314-8521

April 22, 2009. Creative Dialogues: Living in Our Landscape. How are artists going green? Whether using their art as a means of environmental activism, ‘greening' the concert tour industry, or using their celebrity to inform and inspire their audiences and fan base, what are the roles and responsibilities of artists when it comes to environmental activism? Ecologist Andrew Baldwin moderates this discussion. This event will be held at 7:00pm in the Joseph and Alma Gildenhorn Recital Hall, in the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center on the University of Maryland, College Park campus.

April 23, 2009. Kathy Mattea in Concert -- Coal: Moving Mountains. "Coal" was just a sketch of an idea for her until the Sago Mine Disaster in 2006, which brought back a flood of memories of another tragic mine disaster from her childhood. That same year, she was galvanized into action when she attended Al Gore's global warming presentation at Vanderbilt University. The two streams of inspiration pushed her forward in creating Coal, a deep, heartfelt tribute to the earth.  This event will be held at 8:00pm in the  Dekelboum Concert Hall, in the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center on the University of Maryland, College Park campus.

Survey: Strong support for bay: But Maryland 'residents aren't very environmentally literate' (By Pamela Wood, The Capital, 4/17/09)

Constellation takes on UMCES (The Daily Record News Brief, 4/17/09)

Bay Health Index 2008 (By Hollia Templeton, Medhill Reports Washington - Northwestern, 4/16/09) [Article quotes Dr. Donald Boesch, President of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science]

State of Maryland News

Park Schedules Earth Day (April 22^nd) Event (The Baltimore Sun, 4/19/09)

Power failure: Our view: By rejecting Gov. Martin O'Malley's re-regulation proposal, Maryland lawmakers have left the state's energy policies in a muddle (The Baltimore Sun, Editorial, 4/19/09)

Push for clean energy called Maryland jobs generator (By Gus G. Sentementes, The Baltimore Sun, 4/18/09)

Maryland environment, labor advocates back Obama budget (By Gus G. Sentementes, The Baltimore Sun, 4/17/09)

EPA proposes $14.4M cleanup of Hagerstown Superfund site (By David Dishneau, The Associated Press as reported in The Baltimore Sun, 4/16/09)

Septic System Measure Praised: Legislation seen as a boost for the Chesapeake (By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun, 4/15/09)

Foundation gives Chesapeake Bay a grade of 'D': Condition of nation's largest estuary called 'a national disgrace' (By Brian Witte, The Associated Press as reported in The Baltimore Sun, 4/15/09)

National and International News

AP IMPACT: Tons of released drugs taint US water (By Jeff Donn, Martha Mendoza and Justin Pritchard, The Associated Press, 4/19/09)

Lawmakers start work on global warming bill: Hearings this week could revolutionize how U.S. produces, uses energy (The Associated Press as reported on MSNBC.com, 4/18/09)

U.S. declares warming gases are health threat: Obama administration move is aimed at prodding lawmakers to regulate (By msnbc.com staff and news service reports, MSNBC.com, 4/17/09)

Obama vows to fast track high speed rail (By AFP as reported on Yahoo News, 4/16/09)

Obama Unveils high-speed passenger rail plan (CNN.com, 4/16/09)

Riding the It Factor and Civilized Riding (By David Coleman, The New York Times, 4/15/09)

Third-World Stove Soot Is Target in Climate Fight (By Elisabeth Rosenthal, The New York Times, 4/15/09)

Biking Has Its (Tax) Benefits. Or Does It? (By Sean Patrick Farrell, The New York Times - City Room Blog, 4/14/09)

Monsanto Uprooted: Germany Bans Cultivation of GM Corn (Spiegel Online International, 4/14/09)

Decline in Greenhouse Gas Emissions Would Reduce Sea-Level Rise, Save Arctic Sea Ice (National Science Foundation Press Release, 4/14/09)

Environmental Showdown on the Irish Coast (By Alexander Zaitchik, The Nation, 4/13/09)

Unemployed seek training for 'green collar' jobs (By Teerence Chea, The Associated Press as reported in the Herald-Mail, 4/13/09)

Oil Industry Braces for Drop in U.S. Thirst for Gasoline (By Russell Gold and Ana Campoy, The Wall Street Journal, 4/13/09)