There is a trend afoot in higher ed to capitalize on the growing interest in local and sustainable agriculture and food
Program listings: http://sustainableaged.org/projects/degree-programs/
A couple examples:
Author: brandesd (Page 1 of 2)
Their board of trustees voted to stop making investments in companies that mine coal. This was in response to a student group “Fossil Free Stanford” (all it takes is a few energetic students with passion, which then ignite more students and rabble-rousing faculty, and a movement begins)
But other elite universities like Harvard have declined to do so.
There are lots of kits and do-it-yourself instructions on-line to convert your diesel car to biodiesel – for example http://www.greasecar.com/products
This recently-released study suggests that the benefits of using corn waste for cellulosic biofuel will be reduced sustantially, due to carbon loss from soil that does not have the residue remain on the field.
According to a 2012 study by DOE, biofuels made with corn residue were 95% better than gasoline in greenhouse gas emissions.
This article in the NY Times paints a rather scary picture of the beginnings of fracking in rural China.
In case you missed it – see NYTimes story
One advantage of converting to renewables would be less of these messes (recall the much larger Deepwater Horizon spill in spring and summer 2010).
This article in the Huff Post is an interesting followup to “No Impact Man”
A sustainable architecture firm proposes what a self-sufficient NYC might look like – check out the images at the bottom of the article
This link discusses some recent negotiations regarding the development of a new set of goals (the current ones expire in 2015) that will incorporate sustainable development concerns.
One of the main issues, which is totally consistent with our Engineers without Borders experience in Honduras, is that the communities must be involved in the decision-making and responsibility at every step of the process, rather than a paternalistic system where “solutions” are provided by developed countries.
This op-ed in the NY Times explains how drought, water, California agriculture, and increasing consumption of beef in Asia are all connected.
Russia has long been a major supplier of natural gas to Europe (Germany is its largest customer), giving it much influence in the region. But this could change in the not too distant future – see this NYtimes article
In regards to the earlier post about how global warming gets ridiculed during winters like this one – see this link. It turns out we just had the fourth warmest January every recorded, GLOBALLY.
Check out this cartoon:
No Impact Man (the movie) came out in 2009. I was curious about what he is up to these days and how many of his sustainable living practices he continues. The most recent article I found was this 2012 NYTimes piece
There is also this no impact project website where you can sign up to do a no impact week.
Phila-area colleges were big winners in this round of EPA green infrastructure grants.
Phila has made a name for itself in this area – using green space and vegetation to reduce stormwater inflow to storm sewers. Quite a few Lafayette CE alums now work for Phila Water Dept in the green infrastructure area.
A biologist friend sent me this link about birds getting scorched at a new concentrated solar plant in the desert along the CA/NV border.
While the numbers of birds killed is probably much lower than the number that are killed by domestic cats and windows, ecologists look at what species are being killed in the context of their overall populations. If your cat kills 10 starlings or English sparrows this has much less ecological impact that if a wind farm kills 10 golden eagles.
First a chemical spill, now a coal slurry spill – see story in LA Times
As promised, here are a few pics of snow geese, all from within 10 miles of campus. The first shows several flocks passing high over my barn when I got home yesterday. Click for larger image.
A few weeks ago a legend of American folk music passed away at the age of 94 (just imagine the changes experienced since 1920!). I suspect many of you have not heard of Pete Seeger, as his heyday was well before your time (and mine). Known for his activism and protest songs regarding the Vietnam War, civil rights, and other social issues, he also was a champion of the environment especially the Hudson River. His music inspired a generation of artists like Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.
Check out this short article about Pete Seeger’s environmental legacy.
And here is his obit in the NYTimes. I like the quote at the end
Reading about Grand Rapids, MI in the TBL article reminded me that Easton is working on something similar. See link. It will be interesting to see how these ideas are implemented.
MetLife Stadium touts its progress toward sustainability
I saw this article while reading NPR news on my phone the other day.
Out in the Dakotas there is a formation called the Bakken shale, which contains a lot of oil and gas that has recently become economically recoverable due to hydrofracking technology. Basically they are flaring off (burning) huge amounts of cheap natural gas to get at the oil, which is a much more lucrative product on the open market. Sustainable????
And industry has apparently promised to do better, see this NYT article
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