Maryland's Public System of Higher Education

Week of February 13, 2012

News from Across the USM Campuses

Time of Year Important in Projections of Climate Change Effects on Ecosystems: Results of study on prairie grasslands show differences across the months (National Science Foundation - News, 2/13/12) [Study co-author, Andrew Elmore, is a staff member of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science]

Guest column: The way to sustain society (By Hilary Staver, The Diamondback Online, 2/12/12)

Our Bay: The moment in time (By Donald F. Boesch, The Capital - Hometown Annapolis.com, 2/11/12) [Dr. Donald F. Boesch, President of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science]

State of Maryland News

Deadly virus hits turtles, tadpoles in Montgomery County (By Katherine Shaver, The Washington Post - Local, 2/12/12)

Natural gas exports eyed through Calvert County: Environmentalists question Maryland role enabling 'fracking' (By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun - Green Living, 2/10/12)

Groups find some localities lag in Bay cleanup plans: City makes "good start;" more than a third of counties require "much work" (By Tim Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun - B'More Green Blog, 2/9/12)

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

Battling The Bottle: Students And Industry Face Off Over Water (By Ted Burnham, National Public Radio, 2/12/12)

Science Weekly: Will Climate Change Unleash Geological Mahyem? Volcanologist Bill McGuire describes how rapid melting of glaciers and ice sheets as a result of climate change could trigger volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis. Plus, the neuroscience of war, the closing of the UK Forensic Science Service, and the downside of longer lifespans (By Alok Jha, The [UK] Guardian - Science, 2/12/12)

Obama administration slows environmental rules as it weighs political cost (By Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post - National, 2/12/12)

Drilling deeper on talk of U.S. energy independence: The idea of a 100-year natural-gas supply depends heavily on sources that may not be recoverable at any price - or may not actually exist. (By Jon Talton, The Seattle Times, 2/11/12)

Fears of British super-drought after record low rainfall in winter: Underground water supplies are being used to keep rivers flowing in the seasons when they are supposed to be replenished (By Robin McKie, The [UK] Guardian, 2/11/12)

Santorum Froths At CPAC About ‘Facade Of Man-Made Global Warming' (By Brad Johnson, Thinkprogress.org - Green Blog, 2/10/12)

Editorial: U.S. House throws transit under a bus (The Sacramento Bee - Editorial, 2/9/12)

U of Vt. commits $13m to green energy projects (The Associated Press as reported by The Boston Globe, 2/9/12)

A Terrible Transportation Bill (The New York Times - The Opinion Pages, 2/9/12)

President of Maldives, Climate Crusader, Ousted in Coup (By Common Dreams staff, CommonDreams.org, 2/8/12)

Congestion Charge Is Traffic-Cutting Magic in Milan (By A.K. Streeter, Treehugger.com, 2/7/12)

Climate change denial's new offensive: Global warming is wreaking devastation, but Big Oil won't give up profits without a planet-destroying fight (By Bill McKibben, Salon.com - Global Warming, 2/7/12)

States Sue to Block Smog-Pollution Rules to Help Polluters Avoid Cleanup Costs (By Climate Guest Blogger, Climate Progress Blog,  2/6/12)

Exclusive: "Exciting" Public Opinion Study Debunks Claim Al Gore Polarized the Climate Debate and Many Other Myths (By Joe Romm, Climate Progress Blog, 2/6/12)