In the Media
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Thursday, May 23rd, 2013
There's Something About the Dalai Lama
His Holiness made a swing through town this week to headline the “Change Your Mind Change The World” conference hosted by his old friend Richie Davidson of the UW’s Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the Waisman Center and his new friend Jonathan Patz of the UW Global Health Institute. A star-studded affair, the daylong event featured heavy hitters Arianna Huffington (The Huffington Post) and Daniel Goleman (author of Emotional Intelligence) as moderators along with a high-end cast of thinkers and doers who could only be upstaged by someone like the Dalai Lama. (Madison Magazine)
Friday, May 17th, 2013
Pope joins voices calling us to care for the Earth
As we worked our way through April, celebrating Earth Day and all the caring for the environment that surrounds it, you might think that we’ve done our bit for the Earth this year. Not quite. Even if there is a growing awareness of the realities of climate change, it’s so hard to change those little things that get in the way of our convenience, to say nothing of the big things that require political and societal changes. (Capital Times)
Wednesday, May 15th, 2013
What Unconventional Fossil Fuels Change About Our Energy Picture, and What They Don't
Part of what makes debates about energy confusing to many is that the language of resource depletion allows one to make strong and accurate claims to justify widely divergent positions. Of course, we are running out of fossil fuels; they take millions of years to replace. Yes, we will never run out of fossil fuels; there will always be some amount that we will choose to leave in the ground because they are not worth extracting. You can logically say both or you can emphasize one. In any case, neither statement is helpful in getting to the core about why people care, and disagree, about energy, which has more to do with differences in values, appetite for risk, time horizons, as well as urgency of competing social priorities. (The Atlantic)
Wednesday, May 15th, 2013
Curbing Fossil Fuels to Power a Public Health Revolution
"Once you have the knowledge," His Holiness the Dalai Lama said to me during our conversation on global climate change two years ago, "then the ethical responsibility becomes that much more important." His response referred to a map our research team produced showing the stark contrast between poorer countries most vulnerable to climate-sensitive diseases, versus industrialized nations pumping the majority of climate altering pollutants into the atmosphere. And on average, Americans emit six times more than the typical global citizen. (Huffington Post)
Wednesday, May 15th, 2013
School Spotlight: Sherman Middle School Nature Club explores Warner Park
Every Wednesday after school in the spring and fall, Sherman Middle School students make the trek on foot to nearby Warner Park — a diverse, natural playground full of teaching possibilities. The students call it Nature Club, but it is officially “Last Child in the Park: How Kids & Birds Can Save the Planet.” It is part of a course taught at the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies by Trish O’Kane and Jack Kloppenburg. (Wisconsin State Journal)
Friday, May 10th, 2013
Diminishing Snow Cover Will Lead To Many Extinctions, Research Finds
Rising temperatures are having a profound effect on the level of snow cover throughout much of Northern Hemisphere, in particular winter and spring snow cover is in sharp decline. Many animals and plants rely on this snow cover for insulation during the winter, with diminishing levels many species face possible extinction. (Planetsave)
Friday, May 10th, 2013
Public lecture at UC Riverside to discuss challenges in assessing human impact on ecosystems
Humans are conducting massive experiments on ecosystems around the world by fragmenting habitats, killing predators, introducing exotic species, boosting nutrient concentrations, and altering climates. On May 22, ecologist Donald M. Waller will give the Jane Block Distinguished Lecture in Conservation Biology at the University of California, Riverside in which he will discuss how our ability to assess these impacts and track responses is crippled because we lack baseline data, controls, and adequate monitoring.(Phys.org)
Friday, May 10th, 2013
UW wins greenhouse gas grant
The stench of manure smells like opportunity for the University of Wisconsin-Madison that's getting part of a $10 million federal grant to study greenhouse gases emitted from dairy farms. The five-year project was announced Tuesday by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack who was in Madison for a tour of the USDA's Dairy Forage Research Center on the UW-Madison campus. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Friday, May 10th, 2013
USDA Funds Major Research Initiatives to Study the Affects of Weather and Climatic Variability on Beef and Dairy Cattle
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today awarded $19.5 million to support research, education and Extension activities associated with climate solutions in agriculture aimed at the impacts of climate variability and change on dairy and beef cattle. USDA remains focused on carrying out its mission, despite a time of significant budget uncertainty. Today's announcement is one part of the Department's efforts to strengthen the rural economy. (Scoop San Diego)
Friday, May 10th, 2013
Snow Cover Decline Risks Species: Climate Change Melts Wintry Blanket
During long, severe winters, the thick blanket of snow that blankets the north can actually help preserve plants and animals that remain in the harsh conditions. Yet as climate change causes warmer temperatures, this snow may no longer be as prevalent in some northern ecosystems. Now, researchers have found exactly how much this microenvironment beneath the snow has decayed. (Science World Report)
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