Maryland's Public System of Higher Education

Week of January 10, 2011

News from Across the USM Campuses

Jan. 11^th - Presentation of the findings and recommendations in the National Oil Spill Commission's final report on the causes of BP's Gulf rig blowout and prevention of future disasters. National Press Club at 11am. The National Press Club is located at 529 14^th St., NW, Washington DC. Credentialed press only. Public viewing available via live stream at www.OilSpillCommission.gov. [Dr. Donald F. Boesch, President of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, is a member of President Obama's National Oil Spill commission]

Jan. 19^th - 21^st - National Council for Science and the Environment 2011 Conference - The conference will be held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, located at 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. [Dr. Donald F. Boesch, President of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, and member of President Obama's Gulf Oil Spill Commission will be on the panel for the 1/19/11 plenary session "Visions for the Future" of the Gulf region after the oil spill.]

Why smart growth falls short: O'Malley has a chance to succeed through more aggressive state action (By Gerrit-Jan Knaap, The Baltimore Sun - Commentary, 1/6/11) [Article cites University of Maryland National Center for Smart Growth Research Report]

State making little progress with Smart Growth, study says: Policies had little impact on sprawl, congestion (By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun, 1/6/11) [Article cites University of Maryland National Center for Smart Growth Research Report]

National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling - Commission Releases Chapter on BP Well Blowout Investigation in Advance of Full Report: "A Failure of Management," "Cumulative Risk Large and Avoidable"(Oil Spill Commission Press Release, 1/6/11) [PDF] [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]

BP, Transocean, Halliburton blamed by presidential Gulf oil spill commission (By Steven Mufson, The Washington Post, 1/6/11) [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]

Oil rig blowout stemmed from systemic management problems, oil spill commission says (By David Hammer, The Times Picayune, 1/5/11) [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]

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

Maryland Surpasses BayStat Land Conservation Goals (MD Department of Natural Resources Press Release, 1/5/11)

'Very large' fish kill reported in bay: Cold believed cause for 2 million dead spot, croakers (By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun, 1/4/11)

The EPA's New Year's resolution for the Chesapeake - Our view: As EPA unveils its master plan for curbing Chesapeake Bay pollution, others are left to wonder - will it really happen this time? (The Baltimore Sun - Our View, 1/3/11)

Looking back - and ahead: As we start a new year, it's worth looking back at the big news of the past year - if only because many of those developments will resonate through 2011 and for years to come. (By Tim Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun - B'More Green Blog, 1/3/11)

National and International News

Canadian study sees global warming for centuries (By Jeffrey Jones, Reuters, 1/9/11)

Warming to devastate glaciers, Antarctic icesheet - studies (AFP as reported by Yahoo News, 1/9/11)

Extreme weather events help drive food prices to record highs (Climate Progress Blog, 1/6/11)

House Republicans Target EPA With Bills That Would Cripple Obama's Global Warming Agenda (By Dina Cappiello, The Huffington Post - Green Blog, 1/6/11)

Peak Oil and a Changing Climate (The Nation magazine, 1/5/10) [Video]

Brown's Inaugural Address Full of Tough Fiscal Talk, Commitment to Green Energy (Green Energy Reporter, 1/4/11)

High-Speed Rail in the U.S. (Moderated by Diane Rehm, NPR - The Diane Rehm Show, 1/4/11)

Environmental Outlook: The BP Oil Spill (Moderated by Diane Rehm, NPR - The Diane Rehm Show, 1/4/11)

Gulf Oil Spill Tarballs Continue To Wash Ashore On Fort Morgan, Alabama Beach (VIDEO) (By Zoe Triska, The Huffington Post - Green Blog, 1/4/11)

Atlantic currents have seen 'drastic' changes: study (AFP as reported by Yahoo News - UK and Ireland, 1/4/11)

Environmental Economist Joins White House Staff (By John M. Broder, The New York Times - Green Blog, 1/4/11)

Oil's Most Accurate See Second-Highest Price in 2011 (By Grant Smith and Mark Shenk, The Washington Post with Bloomberg Business, 1/4/11)

Cuomo Picks ‘Open Space' Advocate for Environment Chief (By Leslie Kaufman, The New York Times - Green Blog, 1/4/11)

Birds, Bees and Fish: Why Are So Many Creatures Dying in 2011? (By David Knowles, AOL News, 1/3/11)

EPA To Enforce New Emission Rules On Power Plants (By Elizabeth Shogren, NPR, 1/3/11)

Battle Heats Up Over Alaskan Petroleum Reserve (By Jeff Brady, NPR, 1/3/11)

New Scrutiny Slams Near-Shore Exploration (By Daniel Gilbert, The Wall Street Journal, 1/3/11)

The city that grows: Officials, local farmers divided on new urban agriculture rules (By Monica Eng, The Chicago-Tribune, 1/3/11)