Maryland's Public System of Higher Education

Week of April 19, 2010

 News from Across the USM Campuses

April 18^th - 24^th - Salisbury University Celebrates Green Week - Salisbury University celebrates Green Week with a variety of events on campus.

April 19^th - 23^rd - EcoFest - Celebrate Earth Week with a variety of events on the University of Maryland, Baltimore County campus.

April 20^th - "Out of the Fire and Into the Bay" dinner and science panel. Amy Haines, owner of Out of the Fire, and Mike Roman, director of the Horn Point Laboratory, are joining forces for an "Out of the Fire- Into the Bay" dinner and science panel on April 20. The topic will be Wind Power. The public is invited. Visit the Out of the Fire Restaurant web site for more information.

April 21^st - CSU and CO2: One Student's Study - Student presentation of the University's carbon footprint. 1 p.m.@ Talon Center, room 210, Coppin State University.

April 21^st - Focus Frostburg is FSU's annual Day of Learning on sustainability and climate awareness that is open to FSU students, faculty, staff, and the community.  On April 21, 2010, dozens of 50-minute presentations will be scheduled throughout the day on campus, along with visual displays and outdoor activities.

April 22^nd - Sustainability: Your Action, Your Impact - 2nd Annual Environmental Conference, Towson University campus, Towson, MD. Towson University's second annual Environmental Conference will take place on Earth Day, Thursday April 22, 2010. The conference will be held in the University Union. The conference is designed to raise awareness among students, faculty and staff about environmental topics, issues and solutions. This year's conference theme is sustainability, the impact of individuals and communities on the environment and actions that individuals and communities can take to positively impact the environment and create a more sustainable world. Conference program and registration.

April 22^nd - Tree Planting Ceremony in Honor of Earth Day 2010 - Coppin State University and TreeBaltimore are planting 11 new trees along North Avenue: 12:30@ next to the science building, on the CSU campus.

April 23^rd - Dr. Elena Irwin?  Ohio State University, Department of Agricultural,   Environmental, and Development Economics?- "Spatial Dynamics and Economic Models of Land Use Change." Seminar will be held on Friday at 2pm in the Technology Research Center, Room 206, on the University of Maryland, Baltimore County campus. The seminar, which is a part of the CUERE Seminar Series, 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 the seminar. ?

USM Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Initiative

• Practices
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• Presentations
• Climate Change Definitions
• Facilities Master Planning
• Statewide Sustainability Efforts
• ACUPCC National Benchmarking
• Useful Links and References

They are the trash men: Alumni are on a mission to pick up trash from coast to coast (By Leyla Korkut, The Diamondbacl Online, 4/16/10)

Some American Rivers Show Signs of Warming (EarthWeek, 4/16/10) [Article quotes Dave Secor of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science]

Surface mining's high cost (By Bellarmine University Students, Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal - Commentary, 4/16/10) [Article quotes Margaret Palmer of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science]

UM Earns Spot in International Solar Energy Competition: Team Building House To Run on Sun, Rain, Wind, and Wastes (By Neil Tickner, UM Newsdesk, 4/15/10)

Return of an Underwater Forest (Reported by Tom Pelton, The Environment in Focus - WYPR Radio, 4/14/10) [Article quotes Bill Dennison of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science]

River Heats Up With Warming : Twenty major U.S. streams and rivers have warmed significantly over the last few decades, according to new research. (By Emily Sohn, Discovery News, 4/12/10)

April 20^th  - 25^th  - Earth Day Events in Baltimore - A variety of events celebrating Earth Day will be held in Baltimore.

April 24^th - Baltimore County Compost Bin and Rain Barrel Sale. Baltimore County will host a joint compost bin and rain barrel sale. The sale will be held on the parking lot of IKEA Baltimore in White Marsh, Honeygo Boulevard, across from White Marsh Town Center. This sale will be a one-day event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., rain or shine. This sale will be a joint effort hosted by Baltimore County's Department of Public Works (DPW), Bureau of Solid Waste Management, and the Department of Environmental Protection and Resource Management (DEPRM).

Maryland's Cash for Appliances kicks off on Earth Day: Save on energy-efficient refrigerators, clothes washers and certain water heaters (By Liz F. Kay, The Baltimore Sun, 4/18/10)

A swimmable, fishable harbor? Local group proposes 10-year plan for cleaning harbor (By Edward Gunts, The Baltimore Sun, 4/17/10)

Report: BGE lagging in energy efficiency (By Tim Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun - B'More Green Blog, 4/15/10)

National and International News

Unplugged (The Washington Post - Editorial, 4/18/10)

West Virginia mine disaster calls attention to revolving door between industry, government (By Kimberly Kindy and Dan Eggen, The Washington Post, 4/18/10)

Ecuadorean threat to oil giants: The Ecuadorean government has threatened to take over foreign oil concessions if the companies resist growing state control of the industry. (BBC News, 4/18/10)

Ice cap thaw may awaken Icelandic volcanoes: A thaw of Iceland's ice caps in coming decades caused by climate change may trigger more volcanic eruptions by removing a vast weight and freeing magma from deep below ground, scientists said on Friday. (Allister Doyle, Reuters, 4/16/10)

Buying Back their Infrastructure: Small Towns Take On the Energy Giants (By Ralph Diermann, Spiegel Online International, 4/16/10)

Earth City-based project makes pig manure hit the road - as asphalt (By Steve Giegerich, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 4/15/10)

Senate Climate Bill to Be Unveiled April 26 (By John M. Broder, The New York Times - Green, Inc. Blog, 4/15/10)

A 2nd garbage patch: Plastic soup seen in Atlantic (By Mile Melia, The Associated Press as reported by Google News, 4/15/10)

US military warns oil output may dip causing massive shortages by 2015 (By Terry Macalister, The Guardian News, 4/13/10)

World oil demand to hit record high this year: IEA (Reuters, 4/13/10)

GE Announces new LED bulb will last 17 years (By Weston Sedgewick, GreenTechnologyDaily.com, 4/12/10)

Glacier breaks in Peru, causing tsunami in Andes (Reuters, 4/12/10)

Glacier breaks in Peru, causing tsunami in Andes (By Elisabeth Rosenthal, The New York Times, 4/12/10)

Twelve Ideas. Choose the Best One: Here are the finalists in Slate's energy-efficiency crowdsourcing contest. Please vote for your favorite. (By Jenny Rogers, Slate.com, 4/12/10)