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USM National Green Campus
News Archive

Week of January 17, 2011

News from Across the USM Campuses

A River Geek's Pick of One of the Great Reads from 2010 - Hint: It's a kind of diet book, but it's about shedding pollution, not pounds. (By Roger Hamilton, Potomac Patch - Opinion, 1/17/11) [Article quotes Bill Dennison of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science]

Lessons from the Gulf (Reported by Sheilah Kast, NPR - Maryland Morning, 1/14/11) [Interview is with Dr. Donald F. Boesch, President of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science about his work as a member of President Obama's Gulf Oil Spill Commission]

Spill Report Accuses Jindal of Showboating (By John Collins Rudolf, The New York Times - Green Blog, 1/14/11) [Dr. Donald F. Boesch, President of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, is a member of President Obama's Gulf Oil Spill Commission]

Impact of smart growth in Maryland scant so far, study says: Researchers say more time may be needed for conclusions (By Margie Hyslop, The Gazette, 1/12/11)

Senior House Republicans lukewarm to spill commission report (By Ben Geman, The Hill, 1/11/11) [Dr. Donald F. Boesch, President of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, is a member of President Obama's Gulf Oil Spill Commission]

Gulf Oil Spill Commission Report Prompts Congress To Improve Regulation (By Dina Cappiello and Matthew Daly, The Huffington Post - Green Blog, 1/11/11) [Dr. Donald F. Boesch, President of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, is a member of President Obama's Gulf Oil Spill Commission]

Tougher Rules Urged for Offshore Drilling (By John M. Broder, The New York Times - Environment, 1/11/11) [Dr. Donald F. Boesch, President of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, is a member of President Obama's Gulf Oil Spill Commission]

State of Maryland News

8 firms vie to put wind turbines off Md. Coast: More companies want to build power generators (By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun, 1/14/11)

Weather Monitoring Company Turns to Greenhouse Gases (By Tom Zeller, Jr., The New York Times - Business, 1/12/11)

USM Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Initiative

Gas, alcohol tax hikes might be on the table: Transportation commission looks at increased levy as way to boost trust fund (By Sarah Breitenbach, The Gazette, 1/12/11)

Greens plan State House 'swarm' for offshore wind (By Tim Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun - B'More Green Blog, 1/12/11)

O'Malley to seek bill boosting offshore wind power: Legislation would require utilities to pledge electricity purchases from turbines (By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun Blog, 1/12/11)

Purple Line planners in D.C. suburbs face many concerns: Look, route, speed of planned Montgomery-Prince George's link in question (By Katherine Shaver, The Washington Post as reported by The Baltimore Sun, 1/12/11)

Maryland Citizens Surpass Tree Planting Goal: 50,000 New Trees Planted in 2009-2010 through Marylanders Plant Trees Program (Maryland Department of Natural Resources Press Release, 1/12/11)

National and International News

Russian oil giant Rosneft buys 5% of BP in Arctic drilling deal: Shares rise as $18bn exchange backed by energy minister Huhne • US congressman Ed Markey attacks 'Bolshoi Petroleum' (By Julia Finch, Tim Webb and Terry Macalister, Mark Kiver, The [UK] Guardian, 1/15/11)

Global food chain stretched to the limit: Soaring prices spark fears of social unrest in developing world (By John Schoen, MSNBC.com, 1/14/11)

Roman rise and fall ‘recorded in trees': An extensive study of tree growth rings says there could be a link between the rise and fall of past civilisations and sudden shifts in Europe's climate. (By Mark Kiver, BBC News, 1/14/11)

Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline To Shut Down Again (The Huffington Post - Green Blog, 1/14/11)

$4-a-gallon gas: What effect would it have? The fallout would be felt far beyond the initial pain at the pump. (By Anthony Clark, The Gainesville Sun, 1/13/11)

Climate change could happen much faster than previously thought: Humans are in danger of making large parts of the Earth uninhabitable for thousands of years because of man made climate change, according to new evidence based on geological records. (By Louise Gray, The [UK] Telegraph, 1/13/11)

World hunger best cured by small-scale agriculture: report - A move from industrial farming towards local food projects is our healthiest, most sustainable choice, says Worldwatch Institute (By Nidhi Prakash, The [UK] Guardian, 1/13/11)

Afghanistan's Green Marines Cut Fuel Use by 90 Percent (By Spencer Ackerman, Wired Magazine  - Danger Room, 1/13/11)

EU looks for long-term energy plans (UPI, 1/13/11)

A Step Toward Car Fuel From Wood Waste (By Matthew L. Wald, The New York Times - Green Blog, 1/13/11)

Spread of Deadly Virus Tied to Forest Decline (By John Collins Rudolf, The New York Times - Green Blog, 1/13/11)

Agency Revokes Permit for Major Coal Mining Project (By John M. Broder, The New York Times, 1/13/11)

Auto Makers Seek Help on Fuel Rules (By Josh Mitchell, The Wall Street Journal, 1/13/11)

NOAA: 2010 Tied For Warmest Year on Record (NOAA News, 1/12/11)

Chile protests turn deadly as Latin America buckles under rising energy prices: With two people killed in the southern city of Punta Arenas during Chile protests against hikes in natural gas prices, President Sebastián Piñera may be facing his biggest crisis yet. (By Steven Bodzin, The Christian Science Monitor, 1/12/11)

Streetcars vs. Monorails: The future of urban transportation looks a lot like the past. (By Tom Vanderbilt, Slate.com, 1/12/11)

Australia Floods: Brisbane Suffers As Water Arrives (By John Pye, The  Huffington Post, 1/12/11)

EPA encourages regular testing for heavy metal in water: Cancer-causing hexavalent chromium, which attracted worldwide attention from the movie 'Erin Brockovich,' was found in tap water from Chicago and more than two dozen other cities. (By Michael Hawthorne, The Chicago Tribune as reported by The Baltimore Sun, 1/11/11)

The Globe's Limitations: How Peak Oil Threatens Economic Growth (By Richard Heinberg, The Nation, 1/11/11) [Video]

On Our Radar: U.S. Chamber Backs Growth of Fossil Fuels (By John Collins Rudolf, The New York Times - Green Blog, 1/11/11)

The Verdict on the Spill (The New York Times - Editorial, 1/11/11)

Please send your ideas and comments regarding campus sustainability to green@usmd.edu

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