Week of February 11, 2013

News from Across the USM Campuses

Feb. 12^th - Food and Sustainability at College Park - Colleen Wright-Riva, Director, Greg Thompson, Assistant Director, Dining Services. This talk is a part of the Sustainable Tuesday Speaker Series, which is co-sponsored by the University Office of Sustainability, and ARCH 289i: Sustainability and the University of Maryland, Ralph Bennett, Professor (Emeritus), Instructor. This event will be held at the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Auditorium, at 4:30pm.           

Feb. 13^th -  "Waste to Energy: Anaerobic digestion and implications for the Chesapeake Bay," by Dr. Stephanie Lansing, ENST. Lecture is a part of the Spring CBL Distinguished Scholar Seminar Series - 2013. Seminar will be held on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m., BFL 1101, at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory.

Spring 2013 Sustainability Internships - The green industry is one of the fastest growing sectors of the US economy with many exciting career opportunities for college graduates. Get your foot in the "green jobs" door by working on sustainability initiatives at the University of Maryland, which is recognized as a national leader in campus sustainability. (University of Maryland, College Park; Office of Sustainability)

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

RGGI States Propose Lowering Regional CO2 Emissions Cap 40% (Maryland Department of the Environment press release, 2/7/13)

Board of Public Works Approves Funding for Clean Water and the Chesapeake Bay: Grants and Loans Will Reduce Nutrient Pollution, Conserve Water, Improve Infrastructure (Maryland Department of the Environment press release, 2/6/13)

Nominations Being Taken for the 36th Annual Tawes Award   Individuals and Groups Working to Better the Environment Eligible for Tawes Award, Government Employees Eligible for Coulter Award; Nomination Deadline Is April 12 (Maryland Department of the Environment press release, 2/6/13)

 National and International News

Never mind the State of the Union; here's what Obama can actually do on climate (By David Roberts, Grist.org, 2/11/13)

Did the Snow Storm That Socked the Northeast Have Ties to Climate Change? Climate scientists speculate that the amount of snow and the ferocity of the storm, named Nemo, may well have ties to global warming. (By Igor Volsky, Alternet.org - Environment Blog, 2/10/13)

Kerry: Keystone XL Decision Coming In 'Near Term' After 'Fair And Transparent' Review (By Matthew Daly, The Associated Press as reported by The Huffington Post - Green Blog, 2/8/13)

Obama's Keystone XL decision could doom the tar sands ... or the planet (By Michael T. Klare, Grist.org, 2/7/13)

States' Group Calls for 45% Cut in Amount of Carbon Emissions Allowed (By Felicity Barringer, The New York Times, Energy and Environment Blog, 2/7/13)

Lake Michigan Water Level at Record Low: Above average temperatures, drought bring water level to second record low in a row (By Andrea Germanos, CommonDreams.org, 2/6/13)

Switching Car Coolants Provides Fast Climate Benefits for US, World: Current HFC coolants are super greenhouse gases (Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development press release as reported by Environmental News Network, 2/6/13)

Barack Obama 'cannot cut emissions without decisive new actions': The US will fall short of the president's commitment to a 17% reduction by the end of the decade, a report by the WRI says (By Suzanne Goldenberg, The [UK] Guardian, 2/6/13)

Report: Climate change could devastate agriculture (By Christopher Doering, USA Today, 2/5/13)

Damage From US Navy Ship to Pristine Reef Far Worse Than Estimated: UNESCO World Heritage site still under threat as USS Guardian remains stuck in reef (By Andrea Germanos, CommonDreams.org, 2/4/13)