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Farmers in the U.K. using “renewable energy”

More than a quarter of all farmers have led to a surge in the use of solar panels and wind turbines, according to The Guardian. “Renewable energy is promising to overtake rural tourism as a secondary income for the agricultural sector, with 200 megawatts of power – enough for 40,000 households – installed, according to joint research by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) and NatWest bank,” according to the article. Research found that one in six farmers will have solar photovoltaic

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Debris from 2011 Japan tsunami still washing ashore in America

A year has passed since a devastating tsunami hit Japan, but the U.S. government and the states along the West Coast still don’t have a unified plan for cleaning up the debris floating to American shores, according to Yahoo! News. According to the article, “The Japanese government estimates that 1.5 million tons of debris is floating in the ocean from the catastrophe. Some experts in the United States think the bulk of that trash will never reach shore, while others fear a massive, …

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Wellness and Sustainability Tips: 6/22/12

I. Wellness

  • Plan a stay-cation!

“Taking a vacation can relieve stress by alleviating the responsibilities of your everyday routine. It is also a great impetus to get outdoors, be active, and enjoy time with friends or family. While the summer is a great time to plan a vacation, you don’t have to leave town to relax and have fun! Try being a tourist in your own neighborhood. Visit local parks or museums, and try the food at a local restaurant. Take pictures of the sites you see as you …

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Brazil Hosts Rio+20, International Sustainability Conference

Brazil will host Rio+20, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, on June 20. Rio +20 is an international effort to reduce poverty, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection, according to the conference website. The conference serves both as a follow-up and twentieth anniversary of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), which Rio de Janeiro also hosted. A final result of this conference was Agenda 21, described by …

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Climate Change Weekly Roundup 6/11/12 and 6/18/12

Publication – NewsWise Date: June 5, 2012 “Divided Public: Climate Survey Shows Skepticism and Alarm Rising Over the Past Decade” Between 2002 and 2010, the images of emotions that the American public associates with global warming significantly shifted, according to a study conducted by researchers at the Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. According to the article, “Four consecutive nationwide surveys found both increasing skepticism and growing alarm among …

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Local eats: review of Spice 6

Bottom line: Good place for a quick Indian “fast food” fix   I like the sapphire blue/silver decor of the place, located down the lane from Tara Thai/Busboys&Poets in Hyattsville. And the disco-ball-inspired tandoor oven is pretty. Small, basic menu where you build your own meal – I had the rice bowl with chicken, korma masala and green chutney ($7, tasty and spicey – took about a minute for my face to start sweating). Seems they serve premium beers, too. You could go to Krazy Kebob for …

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First class of ESSIC web journalists graduates

When former University of Maryland undergraduate Wynne Anderson stepped into the ESSIC IT office for an interview, she did not know she would be chosen as the Center’s new web journalist. She also did not know that she would later call a second applicant her savior. Anderson was hired in September 2011, at a time when she said ESSIC’s existing website was based on an older static HTML model, while work on a new content management system was ongoing. Before the new website went live in …

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UMD researcher helps find steep drop in winter bee mortality

An annual survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Bee Informed Partnership and the Apiary Inspectors of America shows that the death rate of managed honey bee colonies during the past winter dropped significantly. The survey, which was co-led by researcher Dennis vanEngelsdorp of the University of Maryland Department of Entomology, showed that total honey bee colony losses from all causes fell from 30 percent to 21.9 percent in one year. While not confirmed, the relative …

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Farquhar and researchers publish article in PNAS

Dr. James Farquhar with first author Dr. Harry Oduro and Dr. Kathryn Van Alstyne published an article in PNAS, May 14, providing a tool for tracing and measuring the movement of sulfur through ocean organisms, the atmosphere and the land in ways that may help prove or disprove the controversial Gaia theory. Media coverage included Wired News, Daily Mail, Science Daily, University Today, Science Codex and Market Watch….

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Climate Change Weekly Roundup: 06/04/12

Publication – Environmental News Network
Date: May 28, 2012 Climate change doubt not due to ignorance of the science A new study by Yale revealed if Americans knew more basic science, and were more proficient in technical reasoning, a gap would still occur between public and scientific consensus. According to the article, “ … as members of the public become more science literate and numerate, the study found, individuals belonging to opposing cultural groups become even more divided on …

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