Week of March 15, 2010

News from Across the USM Campuses

March 21^st - 23^rd - Smart and Sustainable Campus Conference - Conference will be held at The Inn and Conference Center, University of Maryland University College. Colleges and universities have a significant impact on the built and natural environment and are under increasing pressure from governments, students, and community members to carefully mitigate their environmental footprint. This comprehensive symposium features sessions and workshops on smart growth and sustainable practices that serve the economy, the community, and the environment. Topics include institutionalizing sustainability, operational solutions, smart growth and campus planning, and assessment and measurement.

Towson University gets greener as recycling initiatives expand: TU recycled more than 25 percent of total waste in 2009 according to state report (Towson University Newsroom, 3/12/10)

Storm water: Pay now and pay later - The longer we wait to deal with water pollution, the higher the cost (By Karen Hosler, The Baltimore Sun, 3/12/10) [Article quotes Sujay Kaushal of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science]

Time-Lapse: Mountaintop Mine Spreads Across Forest (By Christine Dell'Amore, National Geographic News, 3/11/10) [Article quotes Margaret Palmer of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science]

Fix the brakes first (By Donald F. Boesch, The Washington Post, 3/10/10) [Dr. Donald F. Boesch is President of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science]

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

Smart power meters? Well, sure. Someday. (By Jay Hancock, The Baltimore Sun, 3/14/10)

ExxonMobil ordered to resume well tests, free water deliveries in Baltimore County: Groundwater was contaminated by gas station leak in 2006 (By Nick Madigan, The Baltimore Sun, 3/13/10)

Johns Hopkins University to spend $74M to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half (By Gary Haber, Baltimore Business Journal, 3/11/10)

Maryland is making plans for future growth: Effort is aimed at helping localities guide development (By Tim Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun - Green Living, 3/8/10)

National and International News

DC Environmental Film Festival - March 16-28 - 56 Venues throughout Washington, DC - From sustainable food culture to colony collapse disorder to school lunches, the vital connection between food and the environment is a major theme of the 18th annual Environmental Film Festival, to be held March 16-28. Film buffs and environmentally aware citizens will have the opportunity to see 155 documentary, feature, animated, archival, experimental, and children's films selected to provide fresh, thought-provoking perspectives on environmental issues facing our planet. The festival takes place at 56 venues throughout the city, including museums, embassies, libraries, universities and local theaters -- and most of the screenings are free.

FEMA's sale of Katrina trailers sparks criticism (By Spencer S. Hsu, The Washington Post, 3/13/10)

Climate change 'makes birds shrink' in North America (By Matt Walker, BBC-Earth News, 3/12/10)

US attorney general, agriculture secretary begin hearings on competition in farming system (By Christopher Leonard, The Associated Press as reported by The Los Angeles Times, 3/12/10)

Genetically Modified Crops (Reported by Ira Flato, NPR - Science Friday, 3/12/10)

Secretary Salazar Releases New "State of the Birds" Report Showing Climate Change Threatens Hundreds of Species (News Release, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 3/11/10)

Electric Vehicles May Energize Elkhart's Future (By David Schaper, NPR - 3-Part Series, 3/11/10)

Nearly half of Americans believe climate change threat is exaggerated: US belief in climate science lowest since polling began 13 years ago (By Suzanne Goldenberg, The [UK] Guardian, 3/11/10)

Pennsylvania Avenue to have dedicated bike lanes (By Ashley Halsey III, The Washington Post, 3/11/10)

Scientists Make Eco-Friendly Plastic: IBM and Stanford University team to develop a green generation of plastics (ABC News, 3/10/10) [VIDEO]

Air Quality Bad for 40 Percent of Americans (Courthouse News Service, 3/10/10)

Google Bike There feature (By Omar L. Gallaga, NPR - All Tech Considered, 3/10/10)

Obama, Key Senators Make Their Pitch for Climate and Energy Bill (By Darren Samuelsohn, The New York Times - Greenwire, 3/10/10)

Climate Goal Is Supported by China and India (By John M. Broder, The New York Times, 3/9/10)

The trouble with trusting complex science: There is no simple way to battle public hostility to climate research. As the psychologists show, facts barely sway us anyway (By George Monbiot, The [UK] Guardian, 3/8/10)