Dukenvironment Log
archives since Spring 2009 -- for earlier issues, visit our 'back issues' section here >New Policy Brief Reviews Options for Improving U.S. Residential Energy Efficiency
The American Clean Energy and Security Act, recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, contains multiple provisions designed to improve residential energy efficiency.
Public Trust Doctrine Could Aid Management of U.S. Oceans
Since Congress lifted a moratorium on offshore drilling last year, federal lawmakers have grappled with the issue of how best to regulate U.S. ocean waters to allow oil, wave and wind energy development, while sustainably managing critical fisheries and marine animal habitats.
40 Nicholas School Faculty and Students Presented Research at 2009 ESA Meeting
Forty faculty members, research associates and students from the Nicholas School presented findings from new research at the annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America (ESA), the year’s most important ecological science conference in August in Albuquerque, N.M.
Wyatt Hartman Receives Dean’s Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Paper
Dean Bill Chameides presented the second annual Dean’s Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Manuscript to Wyatt H. Hartman at the Nicholas School’s recognition ceremony in May.
Assessing the Pros and Cons of Geoengineering to Fight Climate Change
Geoengineering techniques aim to slow global warming through the use of human-made changes to the Earth’s land, seas or atmosphere. But new research shows that the use of geoengineering to do environmental good may cause other environmental harm.
Mangroves Save Lives in Storms, Study of 1999 Super Cyclone Finds
A new study of storm-related deaths from a super cyclone that hit the eastern coast of India in 1999 finds that villages shielded from the storm surge by mangrove forests experienced significantly fewer deaths than ones that were less protected.
Statistically SPEAKING
Because we’re rarely far from a well-stocked supermarket or convenient drive-thru, many Americans aren’t aware of the worrisome trend toward monoculture in our agricultural ecosystems. But the loss of diversity in the plants we eat should give us all food for thought.
Personally Speaking: Breathtaking and Wounded
Despite the Rough, Natural Inhospitableness of Antarctica, Human Industry has had an Unprecedented Impact on its Environment
Special Student Awards
Virlis L. Fischer Award, Sara LaBoskey Award and Thomas V. Laska Memorial Award given to graduates.
Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions
Series of Policy Briefs Assesses Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Opportunities 'Beyond the Cap'
Outgoing chair of Nicholas School Board of Visitors has spent a lifetime advocating for the environment
Growing up in New England, Marshall Field V spent much of his time outdoors, enjoying the countryside, the sunrises and sunsets.
Smithsonian Exhibit Showcases Work by Marine Lab's Ari Friedlaender
As a child, Ari Friedlaender loved visiting aquariums and museums. But he never imagined that one day his own work would be on display at one of the best known museums in the world.
Three from Nicholas School and Nicholas Institute Presented at 2009 AAAS Meeting
Three faculty and staff members from the Nicholas School and the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions took part in the 2009 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) held in Chicago in February.
Partnership Targeting Lead Poisoning in North Carolina Wins EPA Award for Environmental Justice
A Duke University-led community partnership that is helping reduce the risk of lead poisoning among children in North Carolina received a 2008 National Achievement in Environmental Justice Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Duke Researcher Receives $2.2 Million NIH Grant to Study Children’s Exposure to Flame Retardants
Heather Stapleton, assistant professor of environmental chemistry at the Nicholas School, has received a $2.2 million, five-year research grant from the National Institutes of Health to examine children’s exposure to flame retardants.
Shifts in Soil Bacterial Populations Can Indicate Wetland Restoration Success, Study Shows
A study led by researchers at Duke University finds that restoring degraded wetlands—especially those that had been converted into farm fields—actually decreases their soil bacterial diversity.
Surveys Confirm Presence of Protected Whales and Dolphins in American Samoa
Research led by a Nicholas School marine biologist is helping document the presence of protected whales and dolphins in the waters of American Samoa, the only U.S. territory in the Southern Hemisphere.
Plans Under Way for ‘Iconic,’ 70,000-square-foot Nicholas School Facility
Design has begun on a new, 70,000-square-foot office and classroom building for Duke University’s Nicholas School.
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