The Nelson Institute Blog

Today’s edition of The Gazette, a daily newspaper in Montreal, features a story about Nelson Institute director Frances Westley and her latest book, Getting to Maybe: How the World is Changed. Read the story.

The Los Angeles Times this week profiled John Francis, one of the Nelson Institute’s most unusual alumni. As part of a personal environmental odyssey that continues today, Francis, who earned a Ph.D. in land resources in 1991, did not speak for 17 years and declined to use motorized transportation for 22 years. For part of that time, he was a doctoral student in our land resources program, where he earned a Ph.D. in 1991. Now 60, Francis has logged tens of thousands of miles on foot in North and South America and the Caribbean, advocating Earth stewardship through personal interaction. Read his story.

The following workshops at Steenbock Library require no registration and are free. Check the Lobby sign for locations. All workshops include hands-on practice. As always, individual or small group consultation is available upon request. For more information contact Patricia Herrling at 263-6373 or email. For more information, check out their website. (more…)

Six scientists, including the Nelson Institute’s Zhengyu Liu, say new research indicates that human-induced climate change may have greater impacts on Australasia than previously thought.

In a letter published in the January 18 issue of journal Nature, Lui and his co-authors report that detailed climatic reconstructions from massive corals of the past 6,300 years document previously unknown changes in the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), a recently discovered climatic oscillation that has profound impacts on rainfall in the Indian Ocean region.

These unique records reveal an unexpected connection between protracted IOD droughts in Indonesia and periods of strengthened Asian monsoon rainfall, according to the researchers. Predicted human-induced changes in Asian monsoon strength are therefore likely to have more widespread and varied consequences than previously forecast and will seriously challenge the adaptive capabilities of Australasian societies.

Liu, a professor of atmospheric and oceanic science and environmental studies, directs the Nelson Institute’s Center for Climatic Research.

Read the letter (on-line access may be restricted) and an Associated Press article about the research findings.

Nelson Institute professor Calvin DeWitt was one of a dozen high-profile scientists and Christian evangelicals to announce a new alliance to protect the environment at a news conference January 17 in Washington, D.C.

Speaking at the National Press Club, the group released a joint statement highlighting their shared concerns about human-caused threats to the global environment and calling on all sectors - religious, scientific, business, political, and educational - to join them in this historic initiative. Read more.

Participating in the news conference were:

• Dr. Eric Chivian, Nobel Laureate; Director, Center for Health and the Global Environment, Harvard Medical School
• Rev. Richard Cizik, Vice President for Government Affairs, National Association of Evangelicals
• Dr. Rita Colwell, Distinguished Professor, University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
• Dr. Cal DeWitt, Professor, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, UW-Madison
• Dr. David Gushee, Professor and Senior Fellow, Union University
• Dr. James Hansen, Chief, NASA Institute for Space Studies
• Dr. Joel Hunter, Senior Pastor, Northland Church (Orlando, FL)
• Dr. Randy Isaac, Executive Director, American Scientific Affiliation
• Dr. Cheryl Johns, Professor, Church of God Theological Seminary
• Dr. Jim McCarthy, Professor of Biological Oceanography, Harvard University
• Dr. Peter Raven, Director, Missouri Botanical Garden
• Dr. E.O. Wilson, Professor Emeritus, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University

by David Zaks and Chad Monfreda

In conjunction with the Massive Change exhibit that recently ended in Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the City of Chicago Department of the Environment organized a one-day symposium that brought together experts in urbanization, energy, evolution, information, wealth and politics. The symposium explored the impact of urban life around the world, and laid out visions for a sustainable urban future. Sustainable cities will be built from a mix of the disciplines these changemakers are armed with. We asked each of them the same question, and they gave us a really diverse, yet complementary set of answers.

What tool, model or idea do you see as being the key to bright green cities?

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Spring 2007 Government & Non-Profit Volunteer & Career Fair
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
11am-2pm
Great Hall, 4th Floor
Memorial Union
800 Langdon St. (more…)

The Doris Duke Fellowship committee has selected recipients of the 2007-2008 Doris Duke Conservation Fellowships. The fellows will be:

• Ron Dolen, Land Resources (advisor: Pete Nowak)
• Gini Knight, Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development (advisor: Nancy Mathews)
• Katie Songer, Land Resources (advisor: Paul Zedler)
• Amalia Tholen, Land Resources (advisor: Nancy Langston).

Duke Conservation Fellowship awards provide each fellow with:

• a project assistantship for one academic year
• a generous stipend for a summer internship at a nonprofit conservation organization or government agency
• and funding for participation in an annual fall fellowship retreat.

The fellowships are supported by grants from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation to selected universities and is administered by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. Universities are chosen for the grants based on their superior interdisciplinary environmental programs and a commitment to educating conservation practitioners.

Congratulations!

The Undergraduate Certificate Program Committee met on December 11th. The focus of the meeting was a discussion of the undergraduate major initiative. The committee was introduced to a potential model in response to the idea of a campus-wide major coordinated by the Nelson Institute. That model and the ensuing discussion is attached below.

Notes on the Undergraduate Program Committee Meeting, December 11, 2006