Maryland's Public System of Higher Education

Week of January 28, 2013

News from Across the USM Campuses

Univ. not meeting all sustainability goals (By Madeline List, Diamondback Online, 1/27/13)

Our Bay: Coppin State energy project has Annapolis link (By Pamela Wood, The Capital Gazette, 1/26/13)

Scientists gather in New Orleans to discuss effects of BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill (By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune, 1/21/13 and updated 1/22/13) [Dr. Donald F. Boesch, President of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, served on the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill]

State of Maryland News

Agreement to Purchase Homegrown Clean Energy (Southern Maryland News Net, 1/27/13)

O'Malley's New Bid For Offshore Wind Power (National Public Radio - WYPR, 1/23/13)

O'Malley rolls out offshore wind proposal: Governor says bill is more likely to pass this year than last (WBAL-TV 11, 1/22/13)

National and International News

NASA Retirees Who Have No Climate Expertise Try To Debunk NASA Scientists Who Do (By Dana Nuccitelli, Skeptical Science as reported by ThinkProgress.org - Climate Progress Blog, 1/28/13)

Mississippi River Barge Crash: Barge Carrying 80,000 Gallons Of Oil Hits Railroad Bridge, Leaks (By Janet McConnaughey, The Huffington Post - Green Blog, 1/27/13)

40 Miles to Work, on a Bike (By Abigail Meisel, The New York Times - NY/Region, 1/27/13)

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

Nicholas Stern: 'I got it wrong on climate change - it's far, far worse' - Author of 2006 review speaks out on danger to economies as planet absorbs less carbon and is 'on track' for 4C rise (By Heather Stewart and Larry Elliott, The [UK] Observer as reported by the [UK] Guardian, 1/26/13)

Smoke and Mirrors: Obama DOE Fracked Gas Export Study Contractor's Tobacco Industry Roots (By Steve Horn, DeSmog Blog as reported by CommonDreams.org, 1/25/13)

World Bank President On Climate Crisis: ‘If There Is No Action Soon, The Future Will Become Bleak' (By Joe Romm, ThinkProgress.org - Climate Progress Blog, 1/25/13)

Sandra Steingraber: The Fossil Fuel Body Burden - Acclaimed ecologist and author Sandra Steingraber discusses the need for meaningful reform of toxics regulation and why extreme energy extraction must end. (By Kari Birdseye, Earthjustice's Down to Earth audio program as reported by Alternet.org - Environment Blog, 1/24/13)

Joseph Stiglitz and the World Economic Forum: Making the Connection Between Climate Change and Economics (By Tina Gerhardt, The Huffington Post - Green Blog, 1/24/13)

John Kerry: Climate Change Is A 'Life-Threatening Issue' (VIDEO) (By Matthew Daly, The Huffington Post - Green Blog, 1/24/13)

Corporate Land Grabs Reveal a Hidden Agenda: Controlling the Water - The food crisis and recent droughts have confirmed that controlling the source of food-the land and the water that flows under or by it-are equally or even more important. (By Shiney Varghese, The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy as reported by Alternet.org - Environment Blog, 1/24/13)

Exclusive: Billionaires secretly fund attacks on climate science - Audit trail reveals that donors linked to fossil fuel industry are backing global warming sceptics (By Steve Connor, The [UK] Independent, 1/24/13)

Climate Patriotism: Sierra Club Endorses Civil Disobedience For First Time In Its History (By Michael Brune, Sierra's Blog as reported by ThinkProgress.org - Climate Progress Blog, 1/23/13