Week of February 27, 2012

News from Across the USM Campuses

Oakland Hall earns LEED gold rating for sustainability: Building first LEED gold dorm on the campus (By Teddy Amenabar, The Diamondback Online, 2/26/12)

New reusable dining container use grows: More than 1,300 used last week (By Allison Gray, The Diamondback Online, 2/22/12)

Sustainable UMD Newsletter (University of Maryland, College Park, February 2012)

State of Maryland News

Land conservation cuts eyed: Senate weighs 25 percent reduction (By Tim Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun - B'More Green Blog, 2/27/12)

O'Malley tweaks offshore wind bill: Changes offered to ease business cost fears (By Tim Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun - B'More Green Blog, 2/23/12)

The biggest problem for the bay: animal waste (By Gerald Winegrad, The Baltimore Sun, 2/21/12)

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

BP's US trial over Deepwater Horizon oil spill is postponed for a week: Multibillion-dollar corporate trial is put back to allow oil giant more time to discuss possible compensation deals with plaintiffs (By Gwyn Topham, The [UK] Guardian, 2/26/12)

High-School Student Tells Heartland Institute To Stop Climate Denial Curriculum (By Brad Johnson, Think Progress - Green Blog, 2/24/12) [VIDEO]

U.S. gangs up with Saudi Arabia to crush European climate initiative (By David Simon, Grist.org - Climate Policy, 2/23/12)

GOP Not Listening to Its Own Scientists on Climate Change: GOP scientists say their attempts to talk about climate dangers with their party's politicians and their aides have largely fallen on deaf ears. (By Katherine Bagley, Inside Climate News, 2/22/12)

Media's Weird Ethics: Pretending to Be Someone Else Is Worse Than Facilitating Global Catastrophe (By Jim Naureckas, CommonDreams.org, 2/22/12)

All fossil fuels must be cut to avoid global warming, scientists say (By Mike De Souza, Canada.com, 2/21/12)

Perpetual Growth Myth' Leading World to Meltdown: Experts: UN-Sponsored Papers Predict Sustained Ecological and Social Meltdown (By Common Dreams Staff, CommonDreams.org, 2/20/12)