USM National Green Campus
News Archive

Week of October 28, 2013

News from Across the USM Campuses

Nov. 1st - Deadline for University of Maryland, College Park's Applications for Sustainability Fund Grants - $350,000 is available this year! The University Sustainability Fund provides funding for projects that promote environmental sustainability, and positively impact and enhance the student experience at University of Maryland. The Fund will allocate funds to projects that increase the use of renewable energy on campus and/or in the local community, increase the energy efficiency of our facilities, reduce the amount of waste created and material resources used on campus, encourage sustainable behaviors, and integrate sustainability into teaching, research, and service at the university. The Fund is supported by student fees and administered through a student-majority subcommittee of the University Sustainability Council.

Bipartisan Joint Ocean Commission Initiative Announces New Members: Influential Ocean Leaders Join Effort to Catalyze Change in the Way We Manage the Nation's Oceans and Coasts (Joint Ocean Commission Initiative, Press Release, 10/28/13) [Dr. Donald F. Boesch, new member of the Joint Ocean Commission, is President of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science] [PDF]

Sustainability says bye to second director in three years (By Jonathan Munshaw, The Towerlight, 10/23/13)

State of Maryland News

Oct. 31st - Better Choices, Better Results Sustainability Forum - Join Governor Martin

O'Malley and Lt. Governor Anthony Brown to discuss critical issues surrounding three themes:  

(1) Protecting Our Water Quality and the Chesapeake Bay (2) Sustaining our Natural Resources and 

(3) Sustainability Communities. This event will be held from 12:00 - 1:30pm at the North Laurel

Community Center, located at 9411 Whiskey Bottom Road, Laurel, MD. Doors open at 11:30am.

 

Investing in Our Future: Zero-Emission Vehicles (Governor's Blog, The Office of Governor Martin O'Malley, 10/25/13)

Report finds reforms stymied in poultry, livestock industries (By Tim Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun, 10/22/13)

National and International News

BBC coverage criticised for favouring climate change sceptics: A letter from the BBC in response to the science committee's criticism defends airing 'misinformed' arguments (By Fiona Harvey, The [UK] Guardian - Environment Blog, 10/28/13)

Bikes are Outselling Cars in Europe (By Lily Kuo, The Atlantic Cities Blog, 10/28/13)

Big Oil's Bid to Crush Small Town Stand Against Tar Sands: Industry cash and lobbyists pour into coastal Maine town in effort to defeat residents' initiative to block dirty oil project (By Sarah Lazare, CommonDreams.org, 10/28/13)

The U.S. Cities Where the Fewest Commuters Get to Work by Car (By Emily Badger, The Atlantic Cities Blog, 10/28/13)

Leaked Documents Reveal the Secret Finances of a Pro-Industry Science Group: The American Council on Science and Health defends fracking, BPA, and pesticides. Guess who their funders are. (By Andy Kroll and Jeremy Schulman, Mother Jones - Politics Blog, 10/28/13)

Opinion: The climate change era is already upon us (By Jane Lubchenco and Thomas E. Lovejoy, The Daily Climate, 10/28/13)

Major Pension Funds Push Fossil Fuel Companies To Address How They'll Deal With Climate Change (By Katie Valentine, ThinkProgress.org - Climate Progress Blog, 10/25/13)

Fukushima Water Radiation Doubles Overnight: TEPCO says heavy rains to blame; two large typhoons headed for Fukushima over weekend (By Sarah Lazare, CommonDreams.org, 10/24/13)

A Tour of a Whole Country That Has 'Transformed Itself for Cycling' (By Sarah Goodyear, The Atlantic Cities Blog, 10/23/13)

Bike Lanes To Somewhere: On Race, Health, and Equity (By Jay Walljasper, PeopleForBikes.org as reported by CommonDreams.org, 10/23/13)

Chicago makes it easier to put solar panels on roofs (By John Upton, Grist.org, 10/23/13)

Neither 'Hooliganism' Nor 'Piracy': Peaceful Protest a Right for All, says Greenpeace - Drilling protesters arrested in the Arctic still face up to 7 years in a Russian penal colony (By Jacob Chamberlain, CommonDrems.org, 10/23/13)

The United States of Drought (By Ramy Srour, Inter Press Service as reported by CommonDreams.org, 10/22/13)

How 9 major papers deal with climate-denying letters (By Jeremy Schulman, Grist.org, 10/21/13)

Please send your ideas and comments regarding campus sustainability to green@usmd.edu