On climate change: A handful of resources and reflections

I've been relatively quiet about climate change activism for the past two years because there are so many moving parts involved with the issue, and it took time for me to get my head around what was going on.  Most everyone involved has good intentions, there are many perspectives, and understanding many of the solutions--not to mention knowing which ones are being considered or included can be a daunting task.  Furthermore, there are many groups working toward a similar goal, but I couldn't understand why they didn't work together.  I've finally seen, heard, and learned enough to offer some organizations seeking to coordinate efforts that you can take action with, and handful of quality resources for you to investigate as a supplement to the previous letter.

There are four sections below:

1. Courses+some comments on political efficacy
2. Cap and Trade in climate legislation and how it could improve
3. My take on Repower America
4. Climate change as an issue of sustainability

These draw from my experiences as a student, an attendee at many a conference, and various other ventures in the arena of climate change.  Clearly, it's my perspective, but I hope it serves to be a useful starting guide to you if you're about to dive in.

Climate Change: Our democracy, everyone's planet, a call to action

Green wolverines, wolves, and friends of the SEA:

Harry Reid recently announced that the climate bill will not be addressed this year.  The ethical implications and research beckons us to promptly take prudent action on climate change.

Embracing the issue as civil individuals and acting as a society is among humanity's greatest of challenges.  Respected peers at the Sierra Club and Repower America are looking for volunteers, and you can help unite the voices of Michigan's communities to bring and keep a good bill back onto the national agenda until it has become law.

As informed citizens, we can charge our representatives to hold the national legislation accountable to its people and the well being of our global community--biotic and abiotic.

Furthermore, we can also demand that the legislation includes appropriate solutions to meet the challenges of climate change.  We are the people, this is our democracy.  We are all members of the UM community, we are the leaders and the best.

Sincerely,
Ian D. Tran
-
President, The Student Environmental Association at The University of Michigan-Dearborn
p.s.
I'd feel irresponsible if I urged you to action without providing some credible resources and thoughtful analysis, here's a link to a sustainability project called "The Story of Stuff" by a thoughtful and articulate activist named Annie Leonard.  She nicely communicates the cap and trade system and things we can do to strengthen the bill in a video, and the transcript has citations for her sources: http://storyofstuff.com/capandtrade/

You can view some of my thoughts and supplements here on the blog concerning some of the organizations listed above, metrics for political efficacy, and recommendations for useful classes offered at UM-Dearborn.

The Volunteer Schedule

Campus Sustainability Integrated Assessment Public Forum

(Sigh)

Some day notice of other U of M sustainability events will trickle over to UM-Dearborn and UM Flint more than a week before the event happens, and people from all campuses will rejoice...

I just found out UM Ann Arbor's holding a Campus Sustainability Integrated Assessment Public Forum at the Ross School of Business Monday, July 26th 3:30-5:00 pm in the Ross Building.


http://www.graham.umich.edu/outreach/event.php?nid=418

You may want to see if this counts for ESCI/ENST 395 credit.  The deadline to register is the 23rd (this Friday), and if you're unable to attend, you can submit ideas and suggestions online.  It should be a substantial event for that campus, it'd be interesting to see what you can take back to apply in Dearborn.  Also, if anyone attending can help build relations between campuses I'm certain it would be a benefit to all.



Time to subscribe to their mailing list...

Public meeting for offshore wind energy development--in Dearborn!

I just found out that the Michigan Great Lakes Offshore Wind Council has a public meeting for offshore wind energy development at UM-Dearborn next week!


July 21: Fairlane Development Center, UM Dearborn Campus, Dearborn.  (www.umd.umich.edu/maps_directions/)

There's also one at GVSU the day before:
July 20: Eberhard Center, GVSU, Grand Rapids  (www.gvsu.edu/meetatgvsu/)


(Source: http://www.michiganglowcouncil.org/coastal_community_meetings_spring2010.html Kudos to whoever updates the UM-Dearborn facebook page for posting this announcement yesterday--but why so late?)


I recommend doing some research on offshore wind and zoning before attending if you have the time. I'm also wondering if the Nearshore Framework has anything to implications on offshore wind development.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find a ready document from the International Joint Commission that speaks directly to offshore wind.  If you're wondering what the nearshore framework is about you read about it here:

http://www.ijc.org/en/priorities/2009/reports/2009-nearshore-framework.pdf
The document is about 1/2 as long as it looks--they alternate pages with note space.

Does anyone know of research on offshore zoning?  I thought the International Joint Commission did a piece on it but it seems like I was mistaken.

Good to know environmental hotlines

Found/knew some useful numbers and am starting to compile them here. Many of these are 24 hour (I won't say all as I haven't used all of them).  Sometimes you see something and wonder who to call (aside from the Ghostbusters), perhaps these might help.

Hopefully you won't have to use all of them, but I found the 211 fantastically useful and you might too.

Emergency (America)
911
Fire, police, ambulance, etc.


Basic needs:
211
"2-1-1 is the health and human service equivalent of 9-1-1 to give or get help spearheaded by United Way."

They can refer you to a huge network of community groups and non-profits.  From food banks, shelters, living assistance, the list goes on...

It's pretty great, I used it recently to ask about food banks for donating food and they said they'd be willing to link campus food services with various food banks and other services in the areas to take care of excess food (which would otherwise be thrown away).  Something about Geographic Information Systems services is also listed too, I'd be interested to find out what they have to offer for that.



Poison hotline ( American Association of Poison Control Centers http://www.aapcc.org/DNN/ ):
1-800-222-1222

Air Pollution
You have the right to breathe clean air.  Report all strong odors, dark smoke, excessive dust, and other suspected air pollution to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ)
(313) 456-4700

Lead Poisoning Prevention
Preventing lead poisoning via information from CLEARCorps Detroit:
(313) 924-4000

[below pulled from Friends of the Rouge's web page]

###

Illicit and Illegal discharges

Oakland County (248) 858-0931

Wayne County (888) 223-2363

Washtenaw County (734) 222-3880 

Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (800) 292-4706

An illicit discharge is the introduction of polluting materials into a pipe that drains to surface water or the dumping of polluting material that can impact surface water. Examples found in the Rouge River watershed include toilets connected to storm sewers, laundry waste discharging to a drain, swimming pool backwash water discharging to a storm sewer or situations where polluting material can move over land to a storm sewer.

Illegal discharges may also take place, such as the one responsible for the large oil spill on the Rouge and Detroit Rivers in 2002. Careless and intentional acts of illicit and illegal dumping are not only expensive to remedy, but they can also have long term affects on the health of the river.

If you see an illicit or illegal discharge, please report it immediately.

###

Let me know if there's anything else that should be here.

FAA Notice of Public Meeting: Proposed modification of Detroit, MI, Class B Airspace Area

FYI
To whom it may concern,

It looks like the FAA's looking for info about an area around Detroit Metro Airport to revise the airspace.  I got this letter in the mail, presumably because I live in Wayne County beneath the flight path of a major airport.  You might too, and they'd like to know your perspectives about what it's like, and any other facts which may be relevant to their revision of the airspace (re-zoning for the sky?).


The letter's contents were pasted from govpulse, which has an online transcription of the FAA Air Trafic Organization (ATO) notice of public meetings:   http://govpulse.us/entries/2010/05/13/2010-11496/proposed-modification-of-the-detroit-mi-class-b-airspace-area-public-meetings

[This site looks like it's a heaven send for US citizens, I'll investigate it more later, but so far I found that they use open source software, they gather together public statements and other things happening at the local level, and they also have decent web design]

Summary:

This notice announces three fact-finding informal airspace meetings to solicit information from airspace users and others concerning a proposal to revise the Class B airspace area at Detroit, MI. The purpose of these meetings is to provide interested parties an opportunity to present views, recommendations, and comments on the proposal. All comments received during these meetings will be considered prior to any revision or issuance of a notice of proposed rulemaking.

Dates:

The informal airspace meetings will be held on Tuesday, July 20, 2010, at 1:30 p.m.; Wednesday, July 21, 2010, at 5 p.m.; and Thursday, July 22, 2010, at 7:30 p.m. Comments must be received on or before September 6, 2010.

Addresses:

(1) The meeting on Tuesday, July 20, 2010, will be held at Troy Holiday Inn, 2537 Rochester Court, Troy, MI 48083. (2) The meeting on Wednesday, July 21, 2010, will be held at Eastern Michigan University, Student Event Center, Ballroom B, 2nd Floor, 900 Oakwood Street, Ypsilanti, MI 48197. (3) The meeting on Thursday, July 22, 2010, will be held at Monroe Holiday Inn Express, 1225 North Dixie Highway, Monroe, MI 48162.

Comments: Send comments on the proposal, in triplicate, to: Anthony D. Roetzel, Manager, Operations Support Group, Central Service Center, Air Traffic Organization, Federal Aviation Administration, 2601 Meacham Boulevard, Fort Worth, Texas 76137, or by fax to (817) 321-7649.

For further information contact:

Tim Funari, FAA Detroit Metro (DTW) ATCT, Building 801, Detroit Metro Airport, Detroit, MI 48242; (734) 955-5000.

Supplementary information:

Meeting Procedures

(a) Doors open 30 minutes prior to the beginning of each meeting. The meetings will be informal in nature and will be conducted by one or more representatives of the FAA Central Service Center. A representative from the FAA will present a briefing on the planned modification to the Class B airspace at Detroit, MI. Each participant will be given an opportunity to deliver comments or make a presentation, although a time limit may be imposed. Only comments concerning the plan to modify the Class B airspace area at Detroit, MI, will be accepted.

(b) The meetings will be open to all persons on a space-available basis. There will be no admission fee or other charge to attend and participate.

(c) Any person wishing to make a presentation to the FAA panel will be asked to sign in and estimate the amount of time needed for such presentation. This will permit the panel to allocate an appropriate amount of time for each presenter. These meetings will not be adjourned until everyone on the list has had an opportunity to address the panel.

(d) Position papers or other handout material relating to the substance of these meetings will be accepted. Participants wishing to submit handout material should present an original and two copies (3 copies total) to the presiding officer. There should be additional copies of each handout available for other attendees.

(e) These meetings will not be formally recorded. However, a summary of comments made at the meeting will be filed in the docket.

Agenda for the Meetings

—Sign-in.

—Presentation of meeting procedures.

—FAA explanation of the planned Class B airspace area modifications.

—Solicitation of public comments.

—Closing comments.

Issued in Washington, DC, on May 6, 2010. Edith V. Parish,

Manager, Airspace and Rules Group.

Invitation: Dearborn Sustainability Round Table June 16th

To whom it may concern,

I've been working closely with the Dearborn Sierra Club Cool Cities Group to bring institutional, not-for-profit, corporate, academic, governmental, and community leaders together for comprehensive sustainability efforts in the Dearborn area.

We cordially invite you to join us for a moderated round table discussion in room 1225 of the University Center at the University of Michigan-Dearborn on Wednesday June 16^th, 2010 from 6:00-8:00 pm.

This event is open to all, please RSVP to Mary Ann Baier: maturtle (at) gmail.com

Come when you can, go when you must.  If you believe this invitation may be suited for other individuals or organizations, please share it with them.

Our immediate objectives for this meeting is to increase sustainability awareness and foster informed coalition building and network development in the city.  We hope attendees will have a clear understanding of the local groups currently at work, as well as the regional initiatives which may influence events happening within the Dearborn area.

Among our longer-term goals, we aim to organize interest in establishing a sustainability panel for the city and formalize the University of Michigan-Dearborn's task force to coordinate efforts in sustainability to increase meaningful impact locally and globally through the community.

Feel free to bring a dish to share (it's also a potluck for sustainability) as well.

Below is the agenda overview:

-Greetings
-Introduction and objectives
-Organizational introductions, activities, accomplishments, goals
-Local event opportunities
-Mingle, network, etc.

-Next steps and meeting closure

Thank you for your consideration and we look forward to meting you,

Ian D. Tran

--

President, The Student Environmental Association at The University of Michigan-Dearborn

http://sustainableum-d.blogspot.com/

http://www.rcampus.com/Clubhomeshellc.cfm?xsite=sealeader

What's up at the University thusfar in sustainability...

There's a lot of stuff going on under the radar, so I thought I'd let you all know about some of it here as it pertains to the SEA and UM-Dearborn:

• Campus food reform

In response to Provost Davy's Urban Farming summit, a food panel was formed to examine and guide action on changing our campus food system and impacts. 

One agreed upon goal was to offer healthier food options, and to ensure ethical/responsible/sustainable food system practices.  This has also on Student Government's platform of agenda items, but both the panel and vice versa didn't know that they were working on the same thing.

Two visible action items are growing out of this:
-a comprehensive sustainability policy (I think I'm the only one looking into it right now, feel free to prove me wrong)
-a proposal for a cheap vegan sub sandwich to offset environmental and health impacts (a brilliant brainchild of Dr. Skrbina's)

After unsuccessful attempts to reach and join the United Students or Fair Trade via SEA (I'm guessing spotty internet connection when I pressed submit--I'd try again, but it was a detailed form to fill out so maybe later), we have reached out to food justice groups like the Coalition of Imokalee Workers to see what's going on with our current food contracts and food service's operations.  Aramark is at the table with the CIW and recently made an agreement to pay more for tomatoes as of January, so we can move on to watch for Kroger (the grocery store) some time on the horizon.

Through a very helpful person named Meghan from the Student Farworkers Alliance/CIW, I recently came across the Real Food Challenge's resources and was delighted to find a plethora of useful things:  We can find out about all of UM-Dearborn's contracts via FOIA requests (here's a useful guide for food services)  and add them to the contract database!  Plus, there were examples for Sustainable University Policy (Huzzah!!!), which brings us to the next point...

• University Sustainability Policy

We've joined the University of Michigan Student Sustainability Initiative and are waiting to catch up by phone with what's going on at the big campus in A^2.

To strengthen our actions in the food initiatives and other activities in the community, we're proposing that the University passes a sustainable charter that would be used to hold all future contractors to the University's standards of ethical operations within sensible time frames.

The great news is that we don't have to reinvent the wheel--The University of California and Brown University already passed comprehensive Sustainable University Policies and Student Government resolutions!

Eventually, things like sustainability and civic minded curriculum will be at the forefront of the agenda for the University, but one thing at a time...

• Community outreach and engagement

As part of the University sustainability policy and per the discussion at the "End of Suburbia" screening this past month, dissemination of credible education (aka science, and ways to civilly discern and communicate credible information) are key to enriching the community at and around campus.

The Sierra Club Dearborn Cool Cities group is looking to ask the mayor to formalize a sustainability panel for the city (in accordance with the city's proposal for comprehensive sustainable education and outreach) and at the same time, UM-Dearborn's EverGreen Team have been waiting to do the same with the university.  The Detroit Regional Chapter U.S. Green Building Council Green Schools committee is also checking out Dearborn to offer educational consulting services... might I add that the word "coalition" is under discussion?


In other things, SEA's being promoted in several places:  you can find us on the Engineering Society of Detroit's Affiliate Council (we're an affiliate society, which has really nice benefits like meeting lots of non-profit groups in the region, tasty discounts, and other stuff), at idealist.org under the affinity groups, at greeningdetroit.com next to MSU's sustainability group, and the blogs page of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)
I've also found a few articles in The Reporter mentioning our events and activities (Thanks Jennifer Thelen!).

• Habitat restoration/preservation (invasive species removal right now, native plantings June 5th--assuming we have a landscape plan in place)

The past two weeks were all about Garlic Mustard removal, and it's an ongoing challenge.  Six people have removed over 300 pounds of the invasive plant in a beautiful nature preserve nestled inside of Livonia MI--ferns, trillium, spicbush, jack in the pulpit, and some very old elm trees are a mere smattering of the wonders to be found there.  We've been reporting our "harvests" to the Stewardship Network's Garlic Mustard Removal Challenge.

Henry Ford Estate (yes, the one on our campus) is also looking for help--and it's not too late!  They plan to remove more Garlic Mustard this Friday, and are.

JUNE 5th:  SEA and Volunteer Dearborn are hosting UM-Dearborn's Rouge Rescue Day (and all are invited to join!).  Before then, we're figuring out how we could squeeze in some bioswale site surveying and are looking for some landscape architects who'd be willing to contribute some time in coaching us on how to make a viable remediation plan so that we can propose the bioswale to campus Facilities Planning and Management.

That's all for now I think...

Henry Ford Estate and Grounds transfer approved by Board of Regents

As some of you may have known, the Henry Ford Estate and its grounds have been given to the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House (tax exempt non-profit private ownership).  You can view the official press release here: http://www.umd.umich.edu/fullstory/article/University_unites_with_Ford_House/ 


The University will retain much of the land surrounding the Estate, but it looks like everything from the Rose Garden and Jensen's Meadow Southward will be part of the new ownership (see the University Action Request to the regents here ), with exception to the forested areas.

I honestly didn't know what to do with the news as there was very little information in all publications that would clarify how the grounds would be used and apportioned.  I found it contentious, not so much because of the sale, but because very few people knew about it until after the deal was made.  Several students and I would have at least appreciated knowing what it would be used for, and what the terms of agreement would be as we've been regular visitors to the forest--it's open to the public and the field biology class regularly uses it as their classroom.  That's why the grasses in Jensen's Meadow grow out every summer, it makes a great example for early ecological succession.  It's also a fair example of how you can get a lawn space to look good without intensive treatment.

But there's some great news!  I just realized that we can at least find out what went into the terms by requesting to see the contract via the Freedom of Information Act.  (I'll tell you how this crossed my mind in another post)

However, it doesn't make the University's procedures any different from before unless new policies are adopted to inform faculty, staff, and students about major exchanges like this.  All organizations benefit from engaged membership, and UM-Dearborn especially stands to do so.  Having short or late notice of these events minimizes the opportunity for participation, and many if not most students don't know how to engage the process even if they are interested and available to do so.

I guess I'd be aiming for something akin to shareholder's rights... we pay the school every semester, and it would seem reasonable that we should be allowed the opportunity to have a say in what happens to the educational assets of the community (campus and beyond--the estate and forest are open to the public).  Also, we'll bear the institution's name for the rest of our lives as attendees and graduates so we certainly do have some kind of stake in its future as its representatives.

The second thing I'd like to see is a comprehensive guide to the University Administration and their general roles online and in print issued to every student at orientation or as part of the student handbook.  Most students don't understand what the Provost, Deans, Vice Chancellors and Chancellor do.  However, some do know when there are gaps in their educational experience, and can concisely articulate their insights given the appropriate point of contact.  It might even save Ombuds services some time.


First things first, anyone else interested in reading up on the contract with me?

You can view all Board of Regents meeting minutes here: http://www.regents.umich.edu/meetings/04-10/index.html

[edit 12 July 2010]  There will be a Board of Regents meeting this Thursday the 15th  at 3:00 pm.


Thanks to Ken Kettenbeil, UM-Dearborn Director of Communications, for his clarification, sharing the Regent's minutes, and link to the press release.  Anyone interested in the status of the Henry Ford Estate are encouraged to reach the Office of University Relations:

PHONE: 313-593-5518
The Office of University Relations
Room 1040, Administration Building
University of Michigan-Dearborn

The Suburban Expedition

With the conclusion of UM-Dearborn's 2010 winter semester drawing near, members of the SEA decided it would be an appropriate time for a suburban expedition to a wetland in Livonia.

I'll reiterate:  SUBURBAN EXPEDITION!  Livonia wetland!

Tentatively this will happen on the weekend of the 8th/9th of May (hopefully the 9th as I'll be in Chicago or Detroit the day before).

The idea is to go into the field, get in touch with the great outdoors, do an on-site study where we all take some samples/do some scientific monitoring, explore, meet new people and have fun.

It's a good opportunity for everyone to learn new/swap field research techniques too.

New registrars to be interviewed

FYI I just found out via e-mail and thought you should know too.  I personally don't know a lot about this end of University Administration, but I can safely say that this is a good opportunity to express your desire for administrative/academic transparency and accessibility (you know, like how it's near impossible to find out what lab fees are used for what class, or to see an itemized credit by credit cost estimate by class).

Logo Progress!

These are preliminary sketches for SEA's new logo and t-shirt.  It's a collaborative adventure between Alanna Punch and I.

Alanna's sketches are excellent, the ginkgo leaf one is a little reminiscent of a sand dollar too (which might be appropriate for an organization whose acronym spells out SEA)!  The bottom one is where we started agreeing.

 

 

Mine are sketchy at best, drawn on 100% recycled paper, with a bic pen I found in the computer lab.  It includes supplemental text to suggest that the viewer see what I meant rather than what I did...

At the bottom is our banner logo, unabashedly Michigan wetland and bird biased.  I've yet to decide the first bird, it'll probably be a heron of sorts because of the neck, but I haven't ruled out old "Galunk! Galunk!"--better known as the American Bittern (which is often seen with beak skyward).  Anyhow, I hope I can get a mix of these designs on a t-shirt soon in combination with the other logos from SEA's history.

Each leaf is to be shaded/filled a little differently (for monocolor printing purposes), with a dark leaf on the bottom left, a veined leaf on the bottom right, and a light leaf on top.  We've settled on (but haven't yet drawn) using three leaves with a Celtic knot (as roots like in Mary Fastiggi's [edit: Sharianne Ziola's] Celtic Knot Tree) inside of a ring to include Roots and Shoots.  Alanna describes it poetically:

"Ordinary roots would be needlessly complex and distracting, but what about symbolically representing the inter-connectivity of the triple bottom line with interwoven loops, like those of Celtic calligraphy? I'll draw up a sketch, but we could scrap the ring and split the leaf-stems, in a way having the stems themselves form the ring and loops for the symbols you speak."

She also assured me that "Describing it makes it sound complicated, but the design itself is quite simple."  I believe it.  Later on, we'll add letters on top of the leaves to spell out SEA.


What are your thoughts?

Hooray, Sustainable Seeds Microloan recouped!

FYI, as of last month at the EIC's Ice Cream Social SEA has earned a total of $57 for its Native Seeds Project.  That mean's we made a $6.50 profit (now $9.50 as of 12 IV 2010--3 packets were sold to the USGBC's Detroit Regional Chapter Green Schools committee chair!) on top of the grant (which we've yet to really put to use)!


We've got more prairie plant seed packets remaining:
Wild nodding onion (yes it's edible)
Black Eyed Susan (member of the Echinacea)
Wild Bergamot/Bee Balm
Rough Blazing Star

If you'd like to help out, we've got the following seeds which would be happy to find a package (and soon a habitat):

Lots of aster and golden rod spiecies (to be a mix)
Wild Mountain Mint
Thimbleweed (the seed's papus is really fluffy!)
Wild Nodding Onion (a little bit left, most were given away during the Urban Farming Summit or sold at the EIC ice cream social--I'm calling dibs on at least one packet)

Thanks for all of your help so far, especially to Rob Schubert, Dana Wloch, Mike Perrin, and Dr. Susko.

Putting the earth in OES with free trees

For Earth Day, UM-Dearborn's Organization for Earth Studies will be giving away free 1-2 foot saplings of Black Walnut, Tulip Tree, and White Pine (all Michigan natives).  I'm especially excited about the Tulip Tree (DIBS!), but also that address information will be collected from each person who takes a tree so they can map the spatial distribution of trees handed out.  It looks like a substantial way to follow up with what and where the trees are going.

Keep an eye out for details (time tba) from the oes.

Our food system: Aramark and the Imokalee FL issue

Finally catching up with the old posts!

The University sent out a food services survey under momentum of the Provost's Urban Farming Summit. Aramark is our Campus' contracted food service provider.

After almost a year of on and off searching, I finally found the news I've been looking for:
http://www.ciw-online.org/
What's this place have to do with Aramark?

Aramark's buying practices drives legal slave-like conditions for farmworkers in Imokalee Florida (where most of the tomatoes in America are grown).

[edit 14 Apr. 2010] Having read relatively recent news, the question now is whether Aramark's agreement to increase pay for tomato farmworkers is sufficient to put the issue at rest.

My response to the survey (was long...):

Bioswale project: Department of brainstorm

I spoke with our friends at the Friends of the Rouge the other day to invite them to visit the SEA to re-introduce themselves and share some sage advice with us about putting in bioswales and reclaiming Phragmites-covered(conquered? FYI, Fragmites are tall, densely growing invasive plants that look like major league flowering grasses on steroids) vernal ponds with landscaped native plants.

Please let us know if there's anyone interested in helping SEA lead the educational, conservation, or coordination of the project.

Hopefully, the SEA and others can recruit volunteer landscape architects, graduate students, project managers, and anyone else who'd be interested in sharing their expertise by teaching us useful things to do for our campus starting with the 'swale.

Also, be sure to sign up for Rouge River Rescue day June 5th at your local site or maybe even UM-Dearborn (SEA will be working there on the swale at that time, as well as several other sites in conjunction with Volunteer Dearborn)!


Currently, a group of students (including myself) enrolled in Dr. Riebesell's Environmental Science lab plan to lay out a landscaping plan as part of our lab project. I'd like invite you to call us "Team Land Plan". Also, you're welcome to join us for that too!

Posted career opportunitities

For those of you looking for internships or summer placement, there are several resources I've seen so far. Don't forget to ask your concentration advisor, and be sure to investigate the resources available on campus too. Career services (in the UC), the co-op office (in CASL for environmental science/studies majors), and several department offices can direct you to people to ask about internships and other placement opportunities.

Here are a few more that might be worthy of investigation:

Michigan Reptiles, Amphibians, and citizens?

This Thursday, Jim McGrath and his son Glenn of Nature Discover returned to our campus to present their Michigan Reptiles and Amphibians exhibit at Global Fest.

Having heard some of his comments about environment and citizenship (which he articulates very well), I'm writing them here along with some observations:

The SEA presents: A Global Citizenship Initiative in birief

The Global Citizenship Campus Initiative

This is a half baked description (definition is ongoing) of the Initiative:

In a nutshell, it's like most compelling educational events on campus. Participants are really encouraged to participate in engaging real-world issues (like by watching, critiquing/roasting a movie in the company of some professors). But just when we've seen what the issue at hand is and why it's important, the SEA plans to follow up with answers to what we can do.

In other words, it's all about informing, educating, and empowering people to take sustainable action. I should mention that fun will likely be involved too as soon as cleverness graces our scheme.

The Bioswale Project READ: FREE RESEARCH IDEAS!

Bioswale project: We hope that the bioswale project will illustrate how native plants can be used as traditional garden plantings at the bridge between the ScienceBuilding and the Mardigian Library.  Using similar principles described in the Native Seeds Project, we hope to provide signage that encourages students to interact more intimately with the ecosystems found on accessible areas of the campus.  We aim to establish and increase inter-organizational coalition strength, leadership, and demonstrate interdisciplinary place-based project learning.

Here are some experiments I came up with that others might be interested in trying (fair warning to UM-Dearborn, I'll offer this to you guys first, but don't be surprised if I put up research projects on Craigslist and open it up to the rest of Michigan academia):