Maryland's Public System of Higher Education

Week of November 15, 2010

News from Across the USM Campuses

Nov. 16^th - "The End of the Oil Economy" - Professor Bill Dorland will give his Distinguished Scholar-Teacher Lecture on November 16, 2010. The Distinguished Scholar Program, established in 1978, honors a ?small number of faculty members each year who have demonstrated notable success in ?both scholarship and teaching. By honoring the Distinguished-Scholar Teacher with this? prestigious award, we reaffirm our commitment to excellence in teaching and scholarship. The lecture will take place from 4pm-5pm in Room 1412 of the Physics Building, on the University of Maryland, College Park campus.

Nov. 17^th - "Children, Families, Individuals: The Gulf Oil Spill's Human Toll." This lecture will be held from 4pm-5pm, in Room 1312 of the School of Public Health, on the University of Maryland, College Park campus. The impact of the Gulf oil spill on children and families already made fragile by Hurricane Katrina is momentous and long-term. Yet this is the part of the story about which we hear the least. Professor Wallen, a global health expert, will address the human aspects of this continuing tragedy. Note: teaches new "I' course FMSC 289G Global Child and Family Health: Getting There Via E-Communications, about global maternal, child and family health issues and how they affect them. Interdisciplinary teams of students collaborate to improve global family health through the use of information and communications technologies. Sponsored by the School of Public Health, the Family Science Department, and the Honors College.

Nov. 18^th - Maryland Hospitals for a Healthy Environment and the ?University of Maryland School of Nursing present: "Environmental Excellence in Health Care: A Showcase of Best Practices."  This conference will take place from 7:30am-4 pm at the University of Maryland School of Nursing at 655 West Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD. Join regional and national health care professionals, environmental industry experts, and educators for this learning and networking event designed to showcase the best practices of hospitals as they journey toward more sustainable environments for hospital staff, patients, and communities. Session topics will include best practices for environmentally preferable purchasing, environmental best practices in the operating room, green design and construction, energy conservation, management of hazardous pharmaceuticals, and procurement and service of sustainable foods. On-line Registration.   

Nov. 18^th - Film - "Blood and Oil" - This film will be shown from 4pm-6pm, in Room 1102 of the South Campus Commons, Building 1, on the University of Maryland, College Park campus. The notion that oil motivates America's military engagements in the Middle East has long been dismissed as nonsense or mere conspiracy theory. Blood and Oil, a new documentary based on the critically-acclaimed work of Nation magazine defense correspondent Michael Klare, challenges the conventional wisdom to correct the historical record. The film unearths declassified documents and highlights forgotten passages in prominent presidential doctrines to show how concerns about oil have been at the core of American foreign policy for more than 60 years - rendering our contemporary energy and military policies virtually indistinguishable. Blood and Oil calls for a radical re-thinking of the United States government's energy policy, warning that unless we change direction, we stand to be drawn into one war after another as the global hunt for diminishing world petroleum supplies accelerate.

Nov. 18^th - A Debate - "Offshore Drilling: Is It Worth the Risk?" This debate will take place from 7pm-9pm, Eaton Theater (1st floor, Knight Hall), on the University of Maryland, College Park campus. The debate will feature Tyson Slocum (Director of Energy, Public Citizen) and Jerry Taylor (Senior Fellow, Cato Institute). A reception with refreshments will follow the debate.

Nov. 19^th - Robin Van Meter, Marine Estuarine and Environmental Science Program, UMBC -?"Road Salt Runoff in Ponds: The Relative Contribution of Biotic and Abiotic Indirect Effects on Aquatic Food Webs." 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.

New Ridesharing Service for UB Community: Plan Your Holiday Trips Through Zimride (University of Baltimore University Relations, 11/15/10)

UMBC, partners get $5 million grant for water study: Researchers to look at how growth affects water supply, quality (By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun, 11/11/10)

Bottled water loses to tap in taste test (By Claire Saravia, The Diamondback Online, 11/11/10)

UMBC, College Park land piece of $5M water sustainability grant (By Emily Mullin, Baltimore Business Journal, 11/11/10)

O'Malley talks economic challenges at Towson: Describes plans for budget, education spending in first major speech since re-election (By Childs Walker, The Baltimore Sun, 11/10/10)

FSU Becomes Institutional Member of American Council on Renewable Energy (Frostburg State University News Release, 11/10/10)

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Garage homage: Architect transforms eyesore into eco-friendly home in Mount Vernon (By Marie Marciano Gullard, The Baltimore Sun, 11/14/10)

Bay advocates to launch green job training program (By The Associated Press as reported by The Baltimore Sun, 11/14/10)

Maryland coast opened to offshore wind development: More than 300 turbines could be erected in phases (By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun, 11/10/10)

National and International News

Is ‘Peak Oil' Behind Us? (By John Collins Rudolf, The New York Times - Green Blog, 11/14/10)

As Glaciers Melt, Science Seeks Data on Rising Seas (By Justin Gillis, The New York Times - Environment, 11/13/10)

It Will Take 131 Years To Replace Oil, And We've Only Got 10 (By Dian L. Chu, Business Insider, 11/13/10)

Environmentalists are torn as natural gas comes to the fore: Gas could provide a rare energy compromise in the next Congress (By Andrew Restuccia, The Washington Independent, 11/12/10)

Energy efficiency: Biden announces new federal program (By Steven Thomma, McClatchy Newspapers as reported by The Baltimore Sun, 11/11/10)

Global temperature to rise 3.5 degrees C. by 2035: International Energy Agency - Unless governments cut subsidies for fossil fuels and adopt new policies to support renewable energy sources, the Copenhagen Accord to hold global warming to less than a 2-degree increase will not be reached (By Stephen Kurczy, The Christian Science Monitor, 11/11/10)

A combustible mix for White House: Gulf oil spill and politics - In the wake of the Gulf oil spill, Obama said science would guide energy policy, but some claim that the White House made a political 'edit' in a drilling report. House hearings could explore the issue (By Patrik Jonsson, The Christian Science Monitor, 11/11/10)

Toxic Hotspots Require Global Superfund (By Stephen Leahy, IPS News, 11/11/10)

Arctic oil spill clean-up plans are 'thoroughly inadequate', industry warned: Report from US environment group warns that ice, freezing temperatures and high seas would overwhelm any clean-up attempts (By Suzanne Goldenberg, The [UK] Guardian, 11/11/10)

Embattled PG&E SmartMeter executive resigns (By David R. Baker, The San Francisco Chronicle, 11/11/10)

White House Altered Offshore Drilling Safety Report, Falsely Appeared That Scientists Supported Moratorium: Interior Inspector General Report (Dina Cappiello, The Huffington Post - Green Blog, 11/10/10)

IEA acknowledges peak oil (By Stuart Staniford, The Energy Bulletin Blog, 11/10/10)

EPA issues guidelines for cutting greenhouse gases: Replacing dirty fuels, more efficient power plants among suggestions in first-ever federal reduction requirements (By Jason Dearen, The Associated Press as reported by Salon - Environment Blog, 11/10/10)

Big Oil Companies Move Toward Natural Gas (By Chris Kahn, The Huffington Post - Green Blog, 11/9/10)