USM National Green Campus
News Archive

Week of October 18, 2010

News from Across the USM Campuses

Oct. 20th - Going Green to Save Green: A Panel Discussion on Sustainable Supply Chain Management, from 6-8pm at 2517 Van Munching Hall, on the University of Maryland, College Park campus. Please join us for a unique discussion on sustainable supply chain management. Laura Dunn, VP of Supply Chain and Analysis, HMSHost, Nancy Gillis, Sustainability Advisor, U.S. GSA, John LaPorta, Service Area Leader for Sustainable Procurement Consulting, IBM and Taylor Wilkerson, Senior Consultant, LMI will share their views and answer questions on this important topic.  Co-sponsored by the Smith School's Supply Chain and Operations Club and Net Impact.

Oct. 20th - Salisbury University Celebrates National Campus Sustainability Day (Salisbury University Press Release, 10/15/10). Salisbury University celebrates National Campus Sustainability Day with activities including presentations, recycling opportunities and even bicycle tune-ups from 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Wednesday, October 20, in the Wicomico Room in the Guerrieri University Center, on the Salisbury University campus.

Oct. 21st - The Fate of Ethanol and Meat in a Changing Climate: Integrating the Socio-Economic and Physical Drivers of Land-use Change in the Partial Equilibrium Economic Land-use (PEEL) Model. Presentation is by Dr. Joshua W. Elliott - University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory Computation Institute. For more information, please contact Danniel Kirk-Davidoff. Event will be held in the Computer and Space Science (CSS) Bldg, 2400 (Atrium) on the UMCP campus. Pre-seminar refreshment from 3-3:30pm and the seminar is from 3:30-4:30pm, and is open to the public. Event is sponsored by the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Oct. 22nd - Dr. Melissa McHale of the North Carolina State University's Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources - "Carbon and People - How does the North Carolina Triangle compare to Baltimore " 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.

Oct. 23rd - Plant Trees to Protect the Chesapeake Bay (University of Baltimore Newsroom, 10/16/10). The University of Baltimore community is invited to help the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's volunteer effort to plant trees throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed-an extended effort to slow down runoff and mitigate soil erosion into the bay. A group of UB students, faculty and staff will travel to a large dairy farm in Carroll County on Saturday, Oct. 23 to plant trees and shrubs in strategic locations. The project is part of the Farm Stewardship Program in the Monacacy River watershed. A carpool will leave from campus at 7:30 a.m. and return at about 3:30 p.m. Volunteers are advised to dress for the weather. Equipment and refreshments will be provided. You can R.S.V.P. via UB's Web calendar.

Program keeps food waste from going to waste (Towson University Newsroom, 10/18/10)

Switching to grazing helps farmers, bay (By Nicole Dao, The Capital, 10/16/10) [Article quotes Connie Musgrove of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science]

Toyota Green Initiative HBCU Tour to Launch at Bowie State University Homecoming (By Courtney Rhodes, WUSA9 - Bowie News, 10/13/10)

PRAD educates, entertains (By Carol Harvat, SoMDNesws.com, 10/13/10) [The UMCES's Chesapeake Biological Laboratory presented exhibits about their environmental focus]

Candidates differ on bay, environment: Ehrlich, O'Malley at odds on fisheries, climate, energy (By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun, 10/11/10) [Article quotes Walter Boynton of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science]

Rare, ancient fish in line for protection: Endangered status proposed for Bay's Atlantic sturgeon (By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun, 10/11/10) [Article quotes Dave Secor of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science]

USM Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Initiative

State of Maryland News

Constellation offers its stake in Calvert Cliffs to French partner for $1: EDF had offered to buy Constellation's interest (By Hanah Cho, The Baltimore Sun, 10/15/10)

Sparrows Point makes locomotives more fuel efficient: Effort part of clean diesel program at Baltimore Port (By Andrea K. Walker, The Baltimore Sun, 10/14/10)

Md.-based company leads Google-backed wind project: Transmission network would harvest electricity from wind farms off Mid-Atlantic coast (By Hannah Cho and Frank D. Roylance, The Baltimore Sun, 10/12/10)

National and International News

UN Biodiversity Conference Begins With Call To Action (By RedOrbit.com, 10/18/10)

In Climate Denial, Again (The New York Times - Op Ed, 10/17/10)

GOP Attacks on Stimulus Wind Power Money: Hot Air (By Michael Grunwalk, Time Magazine - Viewpoint, 10/15/10)

Gulf Oil Spill Investigation: Dead Animals Scrutinized By Scientists To Determine BP's Liability (By Phuong Le, The Huffington Post - Green Blog, 10/14/10)

Government to conduct surprise oil rig inspections (By Ayesha Rascoe, Reuters, 10/14/10)

Plug-In Cars Pose Riddle for E.P.A. (By Nick Bunckley and Bill Vlasic, They New York Times, 10/14/10)

Group challenges independence of research contracts: The Center for American Progress' report examines 10 contracts between universities and major oil companies. It says that in nine, the university ceded majority control in oversight of such alliances. (By Neela Banerjee, The Los Angeles Times, 10/14/10)

BPA officially labelled 'toxic': Chemical could cause prostate, breast cancer (By Amy Minsky, The Ottawa [Canada] Citizen, 10/14/10)

On Climate, How Much Could E.P.A. Do? (By David Leonhardt, The New York Times, 10/14/10)

Western lifestyles plundering tropics at record rate, WWF report shows: Living Planet report shows planet's resources are being used at 1.5 times the rate nature can replace them - but long-term decline of animal life appears to have been halted (By Juliette Jowit, The [UK] Guardian, 10/13/10)

BP Cans Cleanup Workers As More Oil Washes Up (By MacMcClelland, Mother Jones, 10/13/10)

Blowing in the offshore wind - Our view: Google-backed plan for power transmission line connecting offshore wind turbines sounds like a winner - if U.S. energy policy can adapt to changing times (The Baltimore Sun - Our View, 10/12/10)

Greens scoff at drilling plan, GOP shrugs (By McClatchy Newspapers as reported by the Salt Lake Tribune, 10/12/10)

Offshore Wind Power Line Wins Backing (By Matthew L. Wald, The New York Times, 10/12/10)

Americans' Knowledge of Climate Change (Yale Project on Climate Change Communication, 10/12/10)

Trying to understand our chemical exposure: CDC studies attempt to measure the presences of man-made chemicals in our bodies and begin to determine their effects (By Jill U. Adams, The Los Angeles Times, 10/11/10)

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