science wire

AAAS Notebook: Faculty views range across natural world, human health, more
Last week's American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Vancouver, BC, included 11 speakers from the University of Washington on topics including marine protected areas, the myth of black progress, women's reproductive health and how undergraduates learn best.

’Second Skins,’ featuring painted barkcloth from Africa, New Guinea opens at Fowler April 1
This April, the Fowler Museum at UCLA presents striking examples of painted barkcloth from two regions on opposite sides of the earth — the Ituri rainforest of the Democratic Republic of the Co

Redwood City takes up Stanford building proposals
The Redwood City Planning Commission's review of Stanford's proposed Redwood City redevelopment project begins today, Feb.

'Storm of the century' may become 'storm of the decade'
As the Earth's climate changes, the worst inundations from hurricanes and tropical storms could become far more common in low-lying coastal areas, a new study suggests. Researchers from Princeton University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that regions such as the New York City metropolitan area that currently experience a disastrous flood every century could instead become submerged every one or two decades.

Hold the salt: coastal drinking water more vulnerable to water use than climate change
Human activity is likely a greater threat to coastal groundwater used for drinking water supplies than rising sea levels from climate change, according to a study conducted by geoscientists from the University of Saskatchewan and McGill University in Montreal.

Does history repeat? Using the past to improve ecological forecasting
To better predict the future, Jack Williams is looking to the past. “Environmental change is altering the composition and function of ecological communities,” says Williams, the Bryson Professor of Climate, People, and the Environment in the UW–Madison geography department. Williams also directs the Center for Climatic Research in the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies.

Proposed hunt poorly designed, says UW wolf expert
Legislation outlining a proposed state wolf hunt is likely to hurt wolf populations while failing to resolve existing conflicts with humans, says a UW–Madison wolf expert.

Models underestimate future temperature variability; food security at risk
Climate warming caused by greenhouse gases is very likely to increase the variability of summertime temperatures around the world by the end of this century, a University of Washington climate scientist said Friday. The findings have major implications for food production. Current climate models do not adequately reflect feedbacks from the relationship between the atmosphere and soil, which causes them to underestimate the increase of variability in summertime temperatures, said David Battisti, a UW professor of atmospheric sciences.

Earthducation Expedition 3 heads to Australia
U of M adventure learning team will explore the links between education and sustainability in far-reaching outposts of the driest inhabited continent MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (02/17/2012) —How can education advance sustainability?

Yale’s new innovation and design center to foster ’culture of engineering’
The Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science has begun construction of a versatile innovation and design studio to encourage the invention and prototyping of radically new, socially beneficial te

No Evidence of Groundwater Contamination from Hydraulic Fracturing
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Hydraulic fracturing of shale formations to extract natural gas has no direct connection to reports of groundwater contamination, based on evidence reviewed in a study released Thursday by the Energy Institute at The University of Texas at Austin.

U of M Water Resources Center to bring LiDAR technology, expertise to natural resource managers throughout Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (02/16/2012) —The University of Minnesota Water Resources Center (WRC) is offering statewide workshops designed to put the powerful technology of LiDAR in the hands of Minnesota's natural resource practitioners beginning March 12.

Scientists discuss climate change, biochar, wheat rust
Three Cornell researchers will discuss mitigating climate change, biochar and the challenges of wheat rust, respectively, at the 2012 Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting in Vancouver, Canada, Feb.

Soybean can grow in New York, thanks to climate change
Warmer weather across northern New York could present an opportunity for farmers: soybeans. The low-input crop is currently commanding a high price, making it increasingly attractive for local growers, according to Cornell crop and soil science professor William Cox.

Research that offers 10 ways to improve society, the economy and the environment
University of Toronto research with a direct impact on improving life on Earth – and the planet itself - got a huge boost Feb.

State-owned oil companies increase price volatility and pollution, Stanford researcher says
State-owned oil companies dominate the world's oil supplies, and politicians often cannot resist getting involved.

Marine Scientists Awarded Grant to Study Ciguatera Fish Poisoning
AUSTIN, Texas — Marine scientist Deana Erdner is part of an international team of researchers awarded an anticipated five-year, $4 million grant to study the causes of ciguatera fish poisoning, the most common form of algal toxin-induced seafood poisoning in the world.

’Storm of the Century?’ Try ’Storm of the Decade’
With climate change, today's '100-year floods' may happen every three to 20 years, according to new research. Last August, Hurricane Irene spun through the Caribbean and parts of the eastern United States, leaving widespread wreckage in its wake. The Category 3 storm whipped up water levels, generating storm surges that swept over seawalls and flooded seaside and inland communities.

Low altitude, high-flying beans to benefit Africa
Slender green beans air-freighted from Kenya to markets in Western Europe are a profitable crop for high-altitude farms across sub-Saharan Africa.

Explosive evolution need not follow mass extinctions
In the wake of a mass extinction like the one that occurred 445 million years ago, a common assumption is that surviving species tend to proliferate quickly into new forms, having outlived many of their competitors. But new research shows that tiny marine organisms called graptoloids did not begin to rapidly develop new physical traits until about 2 million years after competing species became extinct.

Gas mileage of new vehicles at all-time high
ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Fuel economy of all new vehicles sold in the United States last month was at its highest mark ever, say researchers at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.

Engineers create tandem polymer solar cells that set record for energy-conversion
In the effort to convert sunlight into electricity, photovoltaic solar cells that use conductive organic polymers for light absorption and conversion have shown great potential.

Environment Canada cuts threaten science, international agreements
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.

Grant to Support Purchase of Helicopter
— The University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science announced that it has received a challenge grant for $700,000 from the Miami-based Batchelor Foundation to support its exploration research efforts.

Advanced power-grid model finds low-cost, low-carbon future in West
The least expensive way for the Western U.S. to reduce greenhouse gas emissions enough to help prevent the worst consequences of global warming is to replace coal with renewable and other sources of energy that may include nuclear power, according to a new study by University of California, Berkeley, researchers.

Medical center-based farmers markets improve community health
HERSHEY, Pa.

Integrated weed management best response to herbicide resistance
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Over-reliance on glyphosate-type herbicides for weed control on U.S. farms has created a dramatic increase in the number of genetically-resistant weeds, according to a team of agricultural researchers, who say the solution lies in an integrated weed management program.

As next supercontinent forms, Arctic Ocean, Caribbean will vanish first
Geologists at Yale University have proposed a new theory to describe the formation of supercontinents, the epic process by which Earth's major continental blocks combine into a single vast landmass. The new model radically challenges the dominant theories of how supercontinents might take shape. In a paper published Feb.

Berkeley Lab Launches New Institute to Build Low-Carbon Pathways to Prosperity
To some, the problems in developing countries may seem intractable: unsafe drinking water, subpar sanitation systems, limited access to electricity, low agricultural yields due to poor irrigation, environmentally unsustainable use of resources, and so on.

Many companies fall short of social responsibility promises
Whether eliminating child labor, creating environmentally friendly technology or working against all forms of corruption, many corporations fail to become socially responsible despite promises to change, a new University of Michigan study found. In an article recently published in the American Sociological Review, U-M sociologists Alwyn Lim and Kiyoteru Tsutsui say that corporations in developed countries "are more likely to make shallow commitments without substance" in response to external pressures from government and citizens to take socially responsible actions.

Biologist Daniel Janzen Honored With BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award

Join the Great Backyard Bird Count, Feb. 17-20
Warmer temperatures and lack of snow in parts of North America are setting the stage for what could be a most intriguing 15th annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), coming up Feb.

Stanford geophysicist: More environmental rules needed for shale gas
Obama's new rule is only one step toward ensuring the safety of hydraulic fracturing, the booming technology that offers economic and environmental benefits, according to Stanford geophysicist and DOE adviser Mark Zoback.

Three new members join Argonne Board of Governors
Constellation Energy executive James L. Connaughton, former U.S. Sen. Byron L. Dorgan, and Invenergy founder and Chief Executive Officer Michael Polsky have been appointed as the newest members of the UChicago Argonne, LLC Board of Governors.

Tree rings may underestimate climate response to volcanic eruptions
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Some climate cooling caused by past volcanic eruptions may not be evident in tree-ring reconstructions of temperature change, because large enough temperature drops lead to greatly shortened or even absent growing seasons, according to climate researchers who compared tree-ring temperature reconstructions with model simulations of past temperature changes.

NorthStar Initiative launches corporate sustainability webinar series
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (02/03/2012) —The NorthStar Initiative for Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment is launching a free quarterly webina

Wireless power could revolutionize highway transportation, Stanford researchers say
Stanford researchers have designed a new technology that could lead to wireless charging of electric vehicles while they cruise down the highway.

Roundabouts emerging as the ideal intersection between driver safety and efficiency
They've become the subject of myriad YouTube "how-to" videos. Entire department of transportation websites explain how to navigate them.

Penn State scientists elected to American Geophysical Union
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Michael Mann and David Pollard, both scientists in Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, have been elected as Fellows of the American Geophysical Union for exceptional contributions in original research in climate change.

Driving the green
New study suggests that electric-powered trucks will save money for businesses.

Tapping into maple success through sanitation
The secret to success for maple syrup producers may lie in the science of sanitation. Simply changing taps and tubing or using special spouts could double the amount of sap seeping from New York's maple trees, according to Cornell experts who have spent six years researching the topic.

Bell Museum Hosts 2nd Annual Sustainability Film Series: Stories From a Changing Planet
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (01/31/2012) —Beginning February 2, the University's Bell Museum of Natural History and Institute on the Environment are inviting visitors to explore sustainability issues through the medium of film.

Penn Receives NSF Grant to Research Geological Record of Chilean Earthquakes
Geological evidence of earthquakes and tsunamis aids in anticipating the timing and magnitude of future events.

Penn Reviews Climate Action Plan Impact Two Years Out
As the threat of global climate change spurred the University of Pennsylvania to reduce its carbon footprint, Penn developed a Climate Action Plan that outlines specific goals and strategies for cons

Photos from disaster show Japan’s people ’don’t live for the past’
A collection of images currently displayed in Rockefeller Memorial Chapel tells two stories—a story of devastation and another about the resiliency of the people of Japan.

National Labs Seek Closer Industry Ties
The network of national laboratories run by the Department of Energy (DOE) has spawned countless scientific discoveries and technological breakthroughs in the last 80 years.

’Father of green chemistry’ plans return to Yale
Paul Anastas, the Yale chemist who has been on leave while serving as head of research for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), plans to return to the University full time later this winter.

McGill University’s Life Sciences Complex earns LEED Gold certification
Life Sciences video: http://www.youtube.com/watch'v=gV2MFmckUXw McGill University's Life Sciences Complex has been awarded LEED gold certification for new construction from the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC), a significant upgrade from the silver rating that was first sought.

Volunteers sought for simulated Mars mission and study of ’menu fatigue’
Astronauts on a mission to Mars will need much more than freeze-dried ice cream to sustain them, and researchers at Cornell are working to determine the best way to keep them well nourished during their three-year journeys and four-month stays on the Red Planet.

U-M, Sierra Club to study links between outdoor experience, veterans’ mental health
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - For six years, the Sierra Club has organized outdoor trips for U.S. military service members, veterans and their families. Now, the national environmental group is working with the University of Michigan on a research project to measure how those trips affect veterans' mental health.

USDOT awards $3.5 million for UW-based regional transportation center
The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded a grant of $3.5 million to a multi-university, regional transportation center led by the University of Washington.

Satellite renamed to honor UW-Madison space pioneer
NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have renamed their newest Earth-observing satellite after Verner Suomi, a longtime UW-Madison professor who often is called the father of satellite meteorology.

Restored wetlands rarely equal condition of original wetlands
Restored wetlands like this pond converted from agricultural use in Aragon, Spain, may look natural, but a new study shows that it can take hundreds of years for restored wetlands to accumulate the plant assemblages and carbon resources of a natural, undamaged wetland. Credit: David Moreno-Mateos/UC Berkeley Wetland restoration is a billion-dollar-a-year industry in the United States that aims to create ecosystems similar to those that disappeared over the past century.

Intelligent Buildings Project receives gift from Wells Far
Yale's Intelligent Buildings Project has received $200,000 from the Wells Fargo Foundation to support groundbreaking research on energy consumption in buildings.

Intelligent Buildings Project receives gift from Wells Fargo Foundation
Yale's Intelligent Buildings Project has received $200,000 from the Wells Fargo Foundation to support groundbreaking research on energy consumption in buildings.

Composer Steve Reich Storms Campus with ‘Music for 18 Musicians/
In a rare San Diego appearance, renowned composer Steve Reich was honored at a sold-out Jan. 18 concert at UC San Diego's Conrad Prebys Concert Hall.

SDSC’s East Building Receives LEED Gold Certification
The San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at the University of California, San Diego, has been awarded a LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Gold certification for its SDSC East building expansion.

Berkeley Lab Selects Richmond Field Station as Preferred Site
The University of California announced today that it has identified the Richmond Field Station as its preferred site for the proposed consolidation of its biosciences programs of the Lawrence Berkele

’Moving Forward: Life After the Great East Japan Earthquake’ opens March 4 at Fowler
On March 11, 2011, a devastating magnitude 9.0 earthquake hit the coast of northeastern Japan, triggering a tsunami that sent waves as far as six miles inland.

Scripps Oceanography’s Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation Toasts 10 Years
Center celebrates anniversary and looks forward to the decades ahead WHAT: Scripps' Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation (CMBC) celebrates its 10-year anniversary and looks forward to the decades ahead with two special events (both events are free but reservations are required).

As Newest Green Fund Awardees Are Announced, 2012 Signals Start of Past Project Impact

Sustainable seaweed: Researchers explore algae-based animal feed
The pigs and poultry in Professor Xingen Lei's lab have been consuming feed one wouldn't expect in Ithaca: marine algae.

Climate balancing: sea-level rise vs. surface temperature change rates
Guidelines for reporting of child abuse, sexual assault Board chair and vice chair issue statement on questions about Paterno Alumni Town Hall meetings begin in Pittsburgh Panel discussion 'Responding to Child Sexual Abuse' set for Jan.

Berkeley Lab’s Ashok Gadgil Wins Zayed Future Energy Prize’s Lifetime Achievement Award

Engineering and Carnegie Mellon University Receive $3.5 Million for Transportation Research
The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science and Carnegie Mellon University's Carnegie Institute of Technology a $3

Biologists replicate key evolutionary step
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (01/17/2012) —More than 500 million years ago, single-celled organisms on the Earth's surface began forming multicellular clusters that ultimately became plants and animals. Just how that happened is a question that has eluded evolutionary biologists. But scientists in the University of Minnesota's College of Biological Sciences have replicated that key step in the laboratory using natural selection and common brewer's yeast, which are single-celled organisms.

Energy efficiency paves way to a low-carbon future, but barriers persist
Save money, save the world. The promise and problems of getting people to stop wasting energy was the topic of a Stanford conference that gathered business people, government representatives and scholars from the United States and Australia.

Jan. 20 U-M town hall: Cures for climate confusion
DATE: 6:30-8:00 p.m., Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. EVENT: When the scientific experts have concluded that we are changing our climate, why do many U.S. citizens remain confused or skeptical?

Probing Question: Are invasive plants always a threat?
Board chair and vice chair issue statement on questions about Paterno Alumni Town Hall meetings begin in Pittsburgh Panel discussion 'Responding to Child Sexual Abuse' set for Jan.

U-M annual sustainability report shows success in key areas
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The University of Michigan continues to make progress in key areas of energy reduction, alternative transportation and waste reduction, according to its newly released 2011 annual sustainability report.

EPA administrator to visit the University of Minnesota
Jackson will address the latest national environmental policies and challenges to environmental laws MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (01/13/2012) —Lisa P. Jackson, administrator of the Un

Tongzhang Zheng is appointed Bliss Professor of Environmental Health Sciences
Tongzhang Zheng , who has been named the Susan Dwight Bliss Professor of Environmental Health Sciences in the School of Public Health, studies environmental pollution and human health, particularly i

English literature influenced prize-winning paleontologist
For a short time in grade school, Kevin Boyce lived within two blocks of the La Brea tar pits in Los Angeles, a place where ice age mammal fossils had been discovered.

New Study Identifies Ways to Slow Global Warming
Eliminating leaks from energy-producing facilities would remove large amounts of the greenhouse gas methane from the air. Here, natural gas explodes from a pipe in Middletown, Conn., January 2010 (U.S. Chemical Safety Board) Click to view a NASA slideshow illustrating the story. A study by a large international team of scientists says that relatively cheap, simple measures to cut two common pollutants could substantially reduce global warming and improve human health and agriculture in coming decades.

Take a tour of the virtual future at Stanford
Stanford's newly renovated Virtual Human Interaction Lab is now open for public tours. In the multisensory room, experimental subjects wear a head-mounted display with small screens placed close to each eye to mimic stereoscopic vision and create the illusion of virtual space.

Planets with Double Suns are Common
Austin, TX - Astronomers using NASA's Kepler mission have discovered two new circumbinary planet systems - planets that orbit two stars, like Tatooine in the movie Star Wars. Their find, which brings the number of known circumbinary planets to three, shows that planets with two suns must be common, with many millions existing in our Galaxy.

Here comes the sun
A new sunflower-inspired pattern increases concentrated solar efficiency. Just outside Seville, in the desert region of Andalucia, Spain, sits an oasis-like sight: a 100-meter-high pillar surrounded by rows of giant mirrors rippling outward.

Doomsday Clock moves one minute closer to midnight
Faced with inadequate progress on nuclear weapons reduction and proliferation, and continuing inaction on climate change, the University of Chicago-based Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced Jan.

Carnegie Mellon University’s Chris Hendrickson Appointed To Serve On Prestigious National Transportation Research Board Executive Committee
: Carnegie Mellon University's Chris Hendrickson Appointed To Serve On Prestigious National Transportation Research Board Executive Committee-Carnegie Mellon News - Carnegie Mellon University

Crab sagas yield insight into sustainable fisheries
Decades of wild swings in crab populations – some natural, some human-caused – dramatize the myriad issues surrounding questions about sustainable fisheries and the ecosystems that support them.

Willow biofuels program ignites with new funding and boiler
Prospects for meeting energy needs with a locally grown bioenergy crop are heating up on a Cornell campus.

Revolutionary tool will methodically track fish populations in the ocean
Oceanographer Chuck Greene envisions a day when he will be able to observe the ocean the way a meteorologist observes the weather - with continuous streams of data that allow him to see changes as they happen and predict future impacts on marine animal populations and ecosystems. That day may be coming soon, thanks to a revolutionary ocean-observing tool he is helping to optimize, one capable of collecting and transmitting ecosystem data to his desktop in real time.

Depleted Gas Reservoirs Can Double as Geologic Carbon Storage Sites
A demonstration project on the southeastern tip of Australia has helped to verify that depleted natural gas reservoirs can be repurposed for geologic carbon sequestration, which is a climate change mitigation strategy that involves pumping CO 2 deep underground for permanent storage. The project, which includes scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), also demonstrated that depleted gas fields have enough CO 2 storage capacity to make a significant contribution to reducing global emissions.

Russian river water unexpected culprit behind Arctic freshening - with video
Sandra Hines UW News and Information Alan Buis NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory A hemispherewide phenomenon – and not just regional forces – has caused record-breaking amounts of freshwater to accumulate in the Arctic's Beaufort Sea. Frigid freshwater flowing into the Arctic Ocean from three of Russia's mighty rivers was diverted hundreds of miles to a completely different part of the ocean in response to a decades-long shift in atmospheric pressure associated with the phenomenon called the Arctic Oscillation, according to findings published in the Jan.

The case of the missing gas mileage
Automakers have made great strides in fuel efficiency in recent decades - but the mileage numbers of individual vehicles have barely increased.

Stanford physicist’s moderate approach to climate change gaining supporters
Stanford physicist's prescriptions include more natural gas and nuclear power, doubts about renewable energy goals, and a new way to gain political support.

U-Michigan offers experts on mercury emissions, regulations
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The following University of Michigan researchers are available to discuss mercury emissions and new regulations, expected to be announced today by the U.S. Environmental Prote

Saving on Energy Bills: Meeting Families in the Middle
Technical : Mark Zimring (510) 486-2088, MZimring [a] lbl (p) gov A study released today by researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) identifies steps that energy effi

Antimicrobials, perfumes, drugs pose challenges for sewage treatment
CHAMPAIGN, lll. - Think of it like sourdough. Or beer. Or yogurt. These popular products are all created through a process that involves using bacteria to systematically break down organic matter.

In hot water: Ice Age findings forecast problems
Data from end of the last Ice Age confirm effects of climate change on oceans The first comprehensive study of changes in the oxygenation of oceans at the end of the last Ice Age (between about 10 to 20,000 years ago) has implications for the future of our oceans under global warming.

Research Warns Drivers About Most Deadly, Accident-Prone Intersections
AUSTIN, TX — The difference between an intersection controlled by flashing lights and one controlled by a stop sign can play a big role in accident prevention, according to a new study by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin.

Abandoned mines hold potential to capture wind energy
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (12/16/2011) —Minnesota's Iron Range is pocked with ponds – abandoned open pit mines – that could help energy providers more efficiently use intermittent renewable energy sources, such as wind, to meet state renewable energy mandates.

Building the smart grid of the future: UCLA teams with Korea’s energy research institute
Imagine a home in which every appliance — computer, television, washing machine, refrigerator, air conditioner — can carry on a minute-by-minute "conversation" with the local power grid,

Nitrogen from humans pollutes remote lakes for more than a century
Nitrogen derived from human activities has polluted lakes throughout the Northern Hemisphere for more than a century and the fingerprint of these changes is evident even in remote lakes located thousands of miles from the nearest city, industrial area or farm. The findings, published Dec. 16, are based on historical changes in the chemical composition of bottom deposits in 36 lakes using an approach similar to aquatic archeology.

Scanning the Arctic skies
Researchers from the University of Toronto's Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics are taking the search for other worlds to a new frontier: the Canadian Arctic.

Acid rain poses a previously unrecognized threat to Great Lakes sugar maples
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The number of sugar maples in Upper Great Lakes forests is likely to decline in coming decades, according to University of Michigan ecologists and their colleagues, due to a previously unrecognized threat from a familiar enemy: acid rain. Over the past four decades, sugar maple abundance has declined in some regions of the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada, due largely to acidification of calcium-poor granitic soils in response to acid rain.

’Fingerprinting’ method tracks mercury emissions from coal-fired power plant
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - For the first time, the chemical "fingerprints" of the element mercury have been used by University of Michigan researchers to directly link environmental pollution to a specific coal-burning power plant. The primary source of mercury pollution in the atmosphere is coal combustion.

After years of ’fracking,’ Pennsylvanians remain mixed about gas drilling
Despite having an eight-year head start on Marcellus Shale natural gas extraction, Pennsylvania residents are just as uncertain about the effects of horizontal hydraulic drilling as New Yorkers, researchers at Cornell and Penn State have found.

Carlson School and Wells Fargo launch Sustainability Initiative
$250,000 grant supports research to help increase consumer demand for 'green' products MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (12/14/2011) —The University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management h

Contingent from UC San Diego Takes Stage at TEDx San Diego
If TED Talks are all about "Ideas Worth Spreading," then the University of California, San Diego - the most well-represented institution at TEDx San Diego - is clearly fertile ground for those ideas to take seed, flourish and grow.

Floods, Drought, Heat Waves: Climate Change Gives State Legislators Something to Plan For
The lineup of presentations at an extreme weather workshop taking place today at Scripps Institution of Oceanography sounds like an overview of biblical plagues, but in fact the event's conveners sai

Report: Geoengineering Plans Must Account for Ecosystem Impacts
As geoengineering planning becomes widespread, researchers note that little thought has been given to its potential effects on ecosystems Scientists attempting to understand the potential effects of human geoengineering efforts often must rely on similar natural events to reach conclusions.

Planting trees may save Costa Rican birds threatened by intensive farming
The fiery-billed aracari is a fruit-eating bird found in the Costa Rican forest or in areas of low-intensity agriculture.

As Earth warms, plants and bees keep pace, study reports
As the warm temperatures of spring start a little earlier each year due to climate change, bees and plants are keeping pace, according to a new study published online Dec. 5 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. An analysis of bee collection data over the past 130 years shows that spring arrives about 10 days earlier than in the 1880s, and bees and flowering plants have kept pace by arriving earlier in lock-step.

Stanford offers its own take on the Occupy movement
On Friday afternoon, students and faculty held Occupy the Future, an event that included teach-ins and a rally on White Plaza.

Climate change blamed for dead trees in Africa
Trees are dying in  the Sahel, a region in Africa south of the Sahara Desert, and human-caused climate change is to blame, according to a new study led by a scientist at the University of California, Berkeley. “Rainfall in the Sahel has dropped 20-30 percent in the 20th century, the world's most severe long-term drought since measurements from rainfall gauges began in the mid-1800s,” said study lead author Patrick Gonzalez, who conducted the study while he was a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley's Center for Forestry.

Chemically scrubbing CO2 from the air too expensive, says Stanford researcher who offers an alternative plan
Scrub carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere? Too expensive, says a Stanford researcher.

For Midwesterners, more boxcars mean cleaner air
Shifting a fraction of truck-borne freight onto trains would have an outsized impact on air quality in the Midwest, according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

CAFE standards create profit incentive for larger vehicles
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The current Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards create a financial incentive for auto companies to make bigger vehicles that are allowed to meet lower targets, according to a new University of Michigan study.

A Better Way to ID Extreme Weather Events in Climate Models
You'd think that spotting a category 5 hurricane would never be difficult. But when the hurricane is in a global climate model that spans several decades, it becomes a fleeting wisp among mountains of data.

Carbon capture? Go for the source
New analysis shows pulling CO2 from the air would not be cost-effective in the foreseeable future. Since most of the world's governments have not yet enacted regulations to curb emissions of greenhouse gases, some experts have advocated the development of technologies to remove carbon dioxide directly from the air.

Tropical sea temperatures influence melting in Antarctica
Accelerated melting of two fast-moving outlet glaciers that drain Antarctic ice into the Amundsen Sea Embayment is likely the result, in part, of an increase in sea-surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean, according to new University of Washington research. He noted that sea-surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific last showed significant warming in the 1940s, and the impact in the Amundsen Sea area then was probably comparable to what has been observed recently.

Scientists subject rocks to hellish conditions to combat global warming
A team of Earth scientists at Stanford University is subjecting chunks of rock to hellish conditions in the laboratory – all in the name of curbing climate change.

Today’s Severe Drought, Tomorrow’s Normal
While the worst drought since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s grips Oklahoma and Texas, scientists are warning that what we consider severe drought conditions in North America today may be normal for the continent by the mid-21 st century, due to a warming planet.

Climate change warning deep under the Dead Sea
University of Minnesota professor is part of international team that predicts the volatile region's water may once again vanish MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (12/05/2011) —An international te

Climate change stirs ’Perfect Moral Storm,’ prof says
The world is sailing into some killer storms and its leaders have done almost nothing to protect its boat.

Researchers: Mapping underground water sources for drip irrigation could transform African village life
Investments in small-scale irrigation and geophysical mapping will help relieve food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa, Stanford researchers say.

Two faculty delegations visit Swedish universities to strengthen ties
Two delegations of Cornell faculty members traveled to Swedish universities this fall to plant seeds for future collaborations.

Global winds could explain record rains, tornadoes
Two talks at a scientific conference this week will propose a common root for an enormous deluge in western Tennessee in May 2010, and a historic outbreak of tornadoes centered on Alabama in April 2011.

Penn’s Center for High Impact Philanthropy Lists 10 Opportunities for Effective Holiday Charitable Giving
PHILADELPHIA - Each holiday season, people are moved by the spirit of giving to make a difference in the lives of others.

Sustainable urban design expert to argue for "streetcar cities" at U of M Center for Transportation Studies event
Who : Patrick Condon, sustainable urban design expert, professor and senior researcher with the Design Centre for Sustainability at the University of British Columbia Topic : “Flat City: The

First new dining facility in 20 years celebrates its first quarter
The Arrillaga Family Dining Commons serves up to 1,300 meals a shift, with food also available as part of a pilot project between traditional meal times.

Powerful mathematical model greatly improves predictions for species facing climate change
UCLA life scientists and colleagues have produced the most comprehensive mathematical model ever devised to track the health of populations exposed to environmental change.

SEAS heats up for winter 2012

Jim Brandenburg's 'Chased By The Light' returns to Bell Museum of Natural History
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (11/30/2011) —“Chased By the Light: Jim Brandenburg's 90-Day Photo Journey” comes back to the University of Minnesota's Bell Museum of Natural History for a new showing that opens Dec.

Central Minnesotans to get first look at scenarios for regional master plan coordinated by U of M
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (11/30/2011) —Central Minnesotans will meet to vote on four distinct regional possibilities—four futuristic scenarios—for their region's long-term sustainable development at 4 p.m. Thursday, Dec.

Discovery building marks first anniversary with Gold LEED
When the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery celebrates its first birthday this Friday, Dec. 2 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, visitors can learn a new "first" about the building while taking a behind-the-scenes "green" tour or sharing locally sourced cake with Bucky.

Humans And Climate Both Contributed To Large Ice-Age Mammal Extinction
Football head coach search committee formed University launches hotline for reporting abuse Student government leaders to host forum for students, administrators Penn State faculty offer tea

Ancient environment found to drive marine biodiversity
Much of our knowledge about past life has come from the fossil record — but how accurately does that reflect the true history and drivers of biodiversity on Earth? "It's a question that goes back a long way to the time of Darwin, who looked at the fossil record and tried to understand what it tells us about the history of life," says Shanan Peters , an assistant professor of geoscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

A How-To Guide to Slashing California’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2050
What will a day in the life of a Californian be like in 40 years? If the state cuts its greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050 - a target mandated by a state executive order

Film weaves scientific and religious views of ’The Journey of the Universe’
"Journey of the Universe," a documentary exploring the human connection to Earth and the cosmos, which was produced by Yale historian of religions Mary Evelyn Tucker , will premiere on PBS stations nationwide beginning Dec.

They call it ’guppy love’: UCLA biologists solve an evolution mystery
Guppies in the wild have evolved over at least half-a-million years — long enough for the males' coloration to have changed dramatically.

'Journey of the Universe' premieres on PBS in December
"Journey of the Universe," a documentary exploring the human connection to Earth and the cosmos, which was produced by Yale historian of religions Mary Evelyn Tucker , will premiere on PBS stations nationwide beginning Dec.

Professor Imagines the Limitless Potential of Sewage
Most people would rather not think twice about their waste, but Kartik Chandran spends hours a day considering the limitless potential of sewage.

University of Pennsylvania to Launch New Online Web Tool for K-16 Global Studies Educators
PHILADELPHIA - Four centers at the University of Pennsylvania have joined to create the Greater Philadelphia Education Network Web site, a gateway to global resources for Delaware Valley K-16 educators.

New projection shows global food demand doubling by 2050
Increasing yield in poor countries could lower environmental impact Media Note: Embargoed until 2 p.m. Nov. 21 MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (11/21/2011) —Global food demand could double by 2050, according to a new projection by David Tilman, Regents Professor of Ecology in the University of Minnesota's College of Biological Sciences, and colleagues, including Jason Hill, assistant professor in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences.

Taking bushmeat off the menu could increase child anemia
A new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, finds that consuming bushmeat had a positive effect on children's nutrition, raising complex questions about the trade-offs between human health and environmental conservation.

Peruvian villagers how to protect adobe buildings from earthquake collapse
Children playing with wooden blocks that were used to represent adobe blocks during the training on earthquake basics and earthquake preparedness for children.

Rice workshop attracts international participants
The First International Workshop on the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Latin America and the Caribbean was held at Earth University in Costa Rica Oct.

A Corny Turn for Biofuels from Switchgrass:
Many experts believe that advanced biofuels made from cellulosic biomass are the most promising alternative to petroleum-based liquid fuels for a renewable, clean, green, domestic source of transportation energy. however, does not make it easy. Unlike the starch sugars in grains, the complex polysaccharides in the cellulose of plant cell walls are locked within a tough woody material called lignin.

Media Advisory: Princeton's Oppenheimer offers comments on IPCC’s special report on extreme events and disasters and new focus on human toll of climate change
by Morgan Kelly The significant feature of the special report released Nov.

Report Says New York State May Soon Suffer Outsize Effects From Climate Change
Street flooding that occurred during Hurricane Irene could become more common in the decades ahead.

Report predicts impacts of climate change on New York
In 2080, will New York City residents take a submarine to work instead of the subway‘ Will vast irrigation networks be as commonplace in western New York as they are in the western United States?

Long-term study shows acid pollution in rain decreases with emissions
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Emissions regulations do have an environmental impact, according to a long-term study of acidic rainfall by researchers at the University of Illinois. The National Atmospheric Deposition Program collects rainfall samples weekly from more than 250 stations across the United States and analyzes them for pollutants.

Poll: Pennsylvania citizens doubt media, environmentalists, scientists, governor in ’fracking’ debate
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Pennsylvanians have significant doubts about the credibility of the media, environmental groups and scientists on the issue of natural gas drilling using "fracking" methods, a new poll says.

Mann to receive Hans Oeschger Medal from European Geosciences Union
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Michael Mann, professor of meteorology and geosciences and director, Earth System Science Center, Penn State, was awarded the Hans Oeschger Medal of the European Geosciences Union.

Erratic, extreme day-to-day weather puts climate change in new light
by Morgan Kelly The first climate study to focus on variations in daily weather conditions has found that day-to-day weather has grown increasingly erratic and extreme, with significant fluctuations in sunshine and rainfall affecting more than a third of the planet. Princeton University researchers recently reported in the Journal of Climate that extremely sunny or cloudy days are more common than in the early 1980s, and that swings from thunderstorms to dry days rose considerably since the late 1990s.

Harm not those strangers that pollinate, study warns
by Morgan Kelly In an irony of nature, invasive species can become essential to the very ecosystems threatened by their presence, according to a recent discovery that could change how scientists and governments approach the restoration of natural spaces.

Insects offer clues to climate variability 10,000 years ago
CHAMPAIGN, lll. - An analysis of the remains of ancient midges - tiny non-biting insects closely related to mosquitoes - opens a new window on the past with a detailed view of the surprising regional variability that accompanied climate warming during the early Holocene epoch, 10,000 to 5,500 years ago.

Study Quantifies Health Costs of Climate Change-Related Disasters
Groundbreaking Study Quantifies Health Costs of Climate Change-Related Disasters in the U.S. Health costs exceeding $14 billion dollars and involving 21,000 emergency room visits, nearly 1

Expert in occupational and environmental medicine to lead Dalla Lana
The Dalla Lana School of Public Health's new director brings with him an impressive pedigree from teaching and research stints at Harvard and the University of Michigan.

Trees on Tundra’s Border Are Growing Faster in a Hotter Climate
Trees in Alaska's far north are growing faster than they were a hundred years ago says a study led by Lamont-Doherty scientist Laia Andreu-Hayles. Credit: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. Evergreen trees at the edge of Alaska's tundra are growing faster, suggesting that at least some forests may be adapting to a rapidly warming climate, says a new study.

At Stanford, Kofi Annan warns of worldwide hunger, political unrest if climate change persists
The former United Nations secretary general and Nobel Peace Prize winner called a lack of food security for nearly 1 billion of the world's population "an unconscionable moral failing" that is also a stumbling block to a strong international economy.

Aerosols make fixing climate change even costlier
Remediating long-term effects of fossil fuel combustion and other human-driven processes filling the atmosphere with invisible particles will be even costlier than previously thought, a Cornell earth scientist is claiming in a new study. Natalie Mahowald, associate professor of earth and atmospheric sciences, reports , Nov.

New book shares life lessons from ’wisest Americans’
For 25 years, Cornell gerontologist Karl Pillemer has researched answers to many facets of aging - coping with Alzheimer's disease, improving nursing home care and supporting family caregivers.

Satellite technology enables rapid, accurate mapping of forest harvest in upper Midwest
Mutlu Ozdogan, assistant professor of forest and wildlife ecology at the UW–Madison, processes images from the Landsat satellite to reveal changes in forest composition over time.

Early Results from Hydraulic Fracturing Study Show No Direct Link to Groundwater Contamination
FORT WORTH, Texas — Preliminary findings from a study on the use of hydraulic fracturing in shale gas development suggest no direct link to reports of groundwater contamination, the project leader at The University of Texas at Austin's Energy Institute said Wednesday. "From what we've seen so far, many of the problems appear to be related to other aspects of drilling operations, such as poor casing or cement jobs, rather than to hydraulic fracturing, per se," said Charles 'Chip' Groat , a university geology professor and Energy Institute associate director who is leading the project.

Carbon mitigation strategy uses wood for buildings first, bioenergy second
Proposals to remove the carbon dioxide caused by burning fossil fuel from the atmosphere include letting commercially managed forests grow longer between harvests or not cutting them at all.

Management support is crucial for success of worker wellness plans
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Buy-in from the boss, along with signs posted to encourage stair use and walking paths, result in more exercise and fewer sick days for employees, a University of Michigan study shows.

Link Established Between Air Pollution and Cyclone Intensity in Arabian Sea
Pollution is making Arabian Sea cyclones more intense, according to a multi-institutional study that included scientists at UCSD's Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Traditionally, prevailing wind shear patterns prohibit cyclones in the Arabian Sea from becoming major storms. A paper appearing in the Nov.

To dredge or not to dredge: Class analyzes inlet options
Every fall, students in Restoration Ecology (HORT 4400) take on a real-world project in the local community, working together to gather data, analyze the issues and report their findings.

How should society pay for services ecosystems provide?
Two U of M faculty join the world's leading ecologists in addressing this issue MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (11/03/2011) —Over the past 50 years, 60 percent of all ecosystem services have declined as a direct result of the conversion of land to the production of foods, fuels and fibers.

Scientists hone the power of grass fuel -- with help from New York school district
It takes 70 million years to grow a crop of fossil fuel but just 70 days to grow a crop of grass pellet fuel.

Join U of M lion researchers in bringing the Serengeti to the web
“Crowdfunding” strategy relies on small donations MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (11/03/2011) —Imagine being an invisible presence in Serengeti National Park, watching lions, zebras, wildebeests and hyenas stroll a couple of feet away, with no idea that you are watching them.

U of M College of Design Dean Tom Fisher and Department of Architecture Head Renee Cheng named two of top 25 design educators in the country

Microbes and toxins might be making you fat or diabetic
Could persistent pollutants like DDT and PCBs or chemicals found in plastics be making you fat or diabetic? The answer may depend on what sort of bacteria you have churning around in your gut, according to Cornell scientists.

Geologic Carbon Sequestration Comes to Big Sky Country
The quest to reduce carbon emissions is coming to Big Sky country.

Wavechasers condemn gummy bears to crushing ocean depths
Follow the serious science – and the development of novel “Will it crush?” segments inspired by the YouTube hit “Will it blend?” – as University of Washington Wavechasers work in the South Pacific near Samoa.

Increased use of bikes for commuting offers economic, health benefits
Cutting out short auto trips and replacing them with mass transit and active transport would yield major health benefits, according to a study just published in the scientific journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

Humans and climate contributed to extinctions of large Ice-Age mammals
The history of six large herbivores - the woolly rhinoceros, woolly mammoth, wild horse, reindeer, bison, and musk ox - is the subject of a study by an international group of scientists investigating how climate fluctuations and human activity affected mammal populations at the end of the last ice age.

Berkeley Lab to Build Cost Model for Fuel Cells
Fuel cells seem like an ideal energy source - they're clean, efficient, silent and don't require transmission lines.

How Energy Analysis Can Create More Bang For the Energy Research Buck
Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) are working on a wide variety of clean energy technologies - from biofuels to batteries to solar energy - but now these disparate effo

Rankin co-authors book on the experiences of transgender people
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - A new book co-authored by Sue Rankin, associate professor in education policy studies at Penn State, details the experiences of transgender people in today's society.

Penn State scientists part of new stink bug research project
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences are part of a new, multi-state project to study the brown marmorated stink bug.

NASA Launches JPL-Built Earth Science Experiment
October 31, 2011 An experiment developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., to test technology for future NASA Earth science missions was aboard one of five small "CubeSat" research satellites that hitched a ride to orbit Oct. 28 with NASA's newest Earth-observing satellite, the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project, or NPP.

Study evaluates bat deaths near wind turbines
It's something of an ecological murder mystery — countless numbers of bats are turning up dead near wind farms. But what is killing them? A new study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison links on-the-ground sleuthing and clinical diagnostic techniques to sketch a better picture of how the bats are dying.

NSF Grant will help deepen our understanding of Arctic climate change
Daniel Jacob and Loretta J. Mickley are part of an NSF effort to improve predictions of climate change Daniel Jacob, Vasco McCoy Family Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry and Environmental Engineering in the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), is the lead primary investigator of a grant for $477,787 to develop an improved understanding of the distributions and decadal trends of aerosols and ozone in the Arctic and study the implications for Arctic climate change during 1980-2010.

Probing Question: How important is coming out of the closet?
By Melissa Beattie-Moss Research/Penn State What is life like for young gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered people in our nation today? Your impression might depend on which news report you happen to catch.