Week of March 19, 2012

News from Across the USM Campuses

March 27^th - "Getting Here is All the Fun" - David Allen, Director, Transportation Services. This lecture is a part of the Smart Growth Goes to School: Sustainability and the University of Maryland, Hosted by Ralph Bennett, Professor Emeritus and Instructor, and co-sponsored by the University Office of Sustainability, and ARCH 289i. Lecture will be held at?3:30pm on Tuesday, Lecture Hall, School of Architecture Planning and Preservation on the University of Maryland, College Park campus.

April 16 - 17^th - Register now for the "Smart and Sustainable Campus Conference" to be held at the University of Maryland, University College Inn and Conference Center. This conference is hosted by the University of Maryland, College Park. Conference tracks are: Life Cycle of the Built Environment; Community Connections; The Campus as a Learning Laboratory; Fostering Behavior Change; and Strategic Implementation.

One Downside of Early Spring: a Drop in Rocky Mt. Butterflies (University of Maryland, College Park - University Initiatives, 3/15/12) [Article cites study co-authored by University of Maryland]

State of Maryland News

March 13 - 25^th - 20^th Anniversary DC Environmental Film Festival. Environmental films at a variety of locations in and around the DC-metro area, including Maryland.

Sea level rise from global warming magnifies coastal flood risk in Washington, D.C., mid-Atlantic (By Jason Samenow, The Washington Lost - Capital Weather Gang, 3/14/12)

North Point dump declared a Superfund site: EPA finds site has leaked toxic wastes into Back River (By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun, 3/13/12)

O'Malley to appeal for gas tax: Governor testifies today as proponents' hopes fade (By Michael Dresser, The Baltimore Sun, 3/13/12)

USM Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Initiative

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U.S. oil resources: President Obama's ‘non sequitur facts' (By Glenn Kessler, The Washington Post - The Fact Checker, 3/15/12)

Greenhouse Gas Will Soar by 50% if Policy Does Not Change Immediately: Report: Organization pleas to avert grim future (By Common Dreams Staff, CommonDreams.org, 3/15/12)

Interactive Map Reveals Whether You're One of 4 Million Americans Threatened by Sea Level Rise (By Brian Merchant, TreeHugger.com - Science/ Climate Change, 3/14/12)

Surging Seas: Sea level rise, storms, and global warming's threat to the U.S. coast?(Report by Climate Central, 3/14/12)

‘Invisible tsunami' of rising sea levels puts US coasts at risk, expert says (By msnbc.com staff and news services, US News on MSNBC.com, 3/14/12)

An Inconvenient Statement, Retracted (By John M. Broder, The New York Times - Green Blog, 3/13/12)

The new oil reality: Get used to $4 a gallon. The cost of extracting and refining petroleum is higher than ever -- and that won't change (By Michael Klare, Salon.com - Energy, 3/13/12)

Surge of Climate Change-Caused Mass Migrations to Hit Asia-Pacific

Inaction will lead to "humanitarian crises" (By Common Dreams staff, CommonDreams.org, 3/13/12)

Tar sands emit more carbon than previously estimated (By Jeremy Hance, MongaBay.com, 3/12/12)

Records from Henry David Thoreau Reveal New Evidence of Climate Change (By David A. Gabel, Environmental News Network, 3/12/12)

Dogs take lead in sniffing out Arctic oil: Shell has been training a dachshund and two border collies to detect oil spills beneath snow and ice (By Suzanne Goldenberg, The [UK] Guardian, 3/12/12)