Category Archives: News

Study: Ag production contributes to CO2 spikes

November 19, 2014Agriculture, News, Press ReleaseTodd Reubold

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (11/19/14) The application of a recently developed crop statistics database at the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment in conjunction with a carbon accounting model developed at Boston University has shown that intensified agricultural production in the northern hemisphere is generating up to a quarter of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide seasonality, reports a paper published in the November 5 issue of the journal Nature.

Deepak Ray, research associate at IonE’s Global Landscapes Initiative, who led the development of the dataset and contributed to this study, said, “This is the perfect example of assembling a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional team of experts tackling an intractable problem of why the atmospheric carbon dioxide seasonality is intensifying.” Continue reading →

Can computers protect us from swine flu?

November 18, 2014IonE Resident Fellow, NewsMonique Dubos

This article is part of a series of profiles of IonE resident fellows highlighting the value of their collaborations across the U of M, Minnesota and the world.

What can computer models tell us about disease transmission in animals?

A lot, says Meggan Craft, an Institute on the Environment resident fellow and assistant professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine who is working to reduce the toll of animal disease by improving our ability to understand disease transmission.

Craft uses computer modeling as an efficient and ethical tool for figuring out how diseases spread within animal populations — and between animals and humans — and beginning to understand how to control them.

Continue reading →

U of M students attend national sustainability summit

November 17, 2014NewsMonique Dubos

Five students represented the University of Minnesota Sustainability Education at the largest conference on campus sustainability in North America last month. The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education conference in Portland attracted sustainability thought leaders from every state and 12 countries to share strategies, research and leadership initiatives, and included a keynote address by Annie Leonard, creator of “The Story of Stuff.” Read the full story.

Photo by David Grant (Flickr /Creative Commons)

6 things we learned about connecting kids with nature

November 13, 2014Education, Event, Frontiers, Health, NewsAnya Moucha

Why should we help children connect to the natural world? And how can we best do so? Cathy Jordan, University of Minnesota Extension specialist and associate professor of pediatrics in the Medical School and Sarah Milligan-Toffler, executive director of the Children and Nature Network, shared their thoughts on the subject at this week’s Frontiers in the Environment talk. Here are six things we learned:

Screen time is full time. Studies suggest that children spend up to 60 hours per week indoors. This mirrors the growing trend of being disconnected from natural world. As technological devices become more prevalent and children are becoming increasingly overscheduled, we’ve reduced the amount of time they’re spending outside. Continue reading →

A healthier diet could save you and the planet

November 12, 2014Agriculture, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Food, NewsMonique Dubos

Eating less meat and fewer empty calories can help people live longer, healthier lives and also dramatically reduce environmental degradation, according to a new University of Minnesota study.

David Tilman, an Institute on the Environment resident fellow and professor in the College of Biological Sciences, and graduate student Michael Clark synthesized data on environmental costs of food production, diet trends, relationships between diet and health, and population growth. They found that adopting variations on three common diets — Mediterranean, pescatarian and vegetarian — on a global scale would not only boost health, but also reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by an amount equal to the current emissions of all cars, trucks, planes, trains and ships on Earth and prevent the destruction of an area of tropical forests and savannas equivalent to half of the United States. Read the full news release.

Banner photo by Michel Bish (Flickr/Creative Commons)

Plants will soak up less CO2 than expected in the future

November 10, 2014Climate Change, NewsMonique Dubos

Scientists have long believed that plants’ ability to soak up carbon dioxide from the air will help mitigate the effects of global warming. But a new a study by Institute on the Environment resident fellows has uncovered limits to that assumption.

IonE resident fellows Peter Reich, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences professor; and Sarah Hobbie, College of Biological Sciences professor, are co-authors with Tali Lee of the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire on the study, which was published this week in the journal Nature Geoscience. In a five-year field experiment, the researchers found that plants grown in poor soils and with less-than-average rainfall lost their ability to use extra CO2. Read the full press release.

Photo by Free Photos & Art (Flickr/Creative Commons)

7 things we learned about the ag transformation

November 6, 2014Agriculture, Event, Frontiers, NewsAnya Moucha

What’s happening to agriculture, and how can we make the most of it? That Big Question took center stage at this week’s Frontiers in the Environment presentation by IonE resident fellow Nick Jordan, a professor in the College of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resource Sciences, and Carissa Schively Slotterback, an associate professor in the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Here are seven important things we learned:

Agriculture is in a period of transition. Agriculture has traditionally relied heavily on only a few crops, but now it’s undergoing a shift to growing a greater variety of crops for more purposes, including bioproducts and biofuels. Sustainable intensification — expanding the potential of farmland production while reducing negative effects on the environment — may be a good way to take advantage of this opportunity. Continue reading →

Big opportunity for cereal manufacturers

November 6, 2014Agriculture, NewscerealMonique Dubos

Manufacturers of breakfast cereal have a far greater opportunity to reduce their supply chain carbon footprint than do the farmers who produce the grain, according to a new study by IonE’s NorthStar Initiative for Sustainable Enterprise.

Agriculture, a leading emitter of greenhouse gas, is often the main target of carbon reduction strategies, leaving food manufacturers off the hook. But not so fast, says the NiSE study. Examining cereal’s supply chain, NiSE researchers found that manufacturing has more than six times more opportunity than ag to reduce the carbon footprint of corn cereal products and more than three times the ability for wheat cereal products. Read the full press release

Photo by Daniel Go (Flickr/Creative Commons)

4 things we learned about the environment and elections

November 3, 2014NewsAnya Moucha

Voters don’t always rank the environment high on their list of priorities during elections. With midterms coming up, Frontiers in the Environment took the problem head on and asked some local experts about the role of the environment in this year’s elections in Minnesota. David Gillette, special correspondent for Twin Cities Public Television, moderated a lively debate between Amy Koch, small business owner and former Minnesota Senate Republican majority leader, and Mark Andrew, a Democrat and former Hennepin County commissioner and president of GreenMark. Here are four things we learned.

Don’t underestimate PolyMet. What is the biggest environmental challenge facing Minnesota this year? Koch said it’s the proposed PolyMet mine. Andrew countered that this proposed copper and nickel mine in northern Minnesota promises to bring hundreds of jobs, but at what cost? Toxic waste and pollution from the mine could pose a real threat to the natural areas of northern Minnesota, especially to the watersheds that feed into Lake Superior. This wedge issue could mean a lot for the future of Minnesota and could influence future decisions as well. Continue reading →

Pandas and agricultural best practices at IonE

October 28, 2014Agriculture, NewsMonique Dubos

There’s a panda at the Institute on the Environment — a World Wildlife Fund “panda,” that is. Derric Pennington, a senior conservation scientist with WWF and part of Natural Capital Project–WWF, has taken up residency here and is collaborating with IonE on several research projects, including one with The Coca-Cola Company and the Luc Hoffman Institute to assess just how effective sustainability certification standards are at improving our environmental footprint.

Sustainability certification of a commodity is like a best-management-practices treaty among stakeholders in the commodity’s supply chain. Take the Bonsucro certification standard, for example. A worldwide sugar cooperative, Bonsucro requires “producers, buyers and others involved in sugar and ethanol businesses to obtain products derived from sugarcane that have been produced according to agreed, credible, transparent and measurable criteria . . . that promote measurable improvements in the key economic, environmental and social impacts of sugarcane production,” according to its website. Continue reading →

Acara: from idea to enterprise

October 27, 2014Education, NewsBrian Bell

University of Minnesota students: Do you have an idea for a business that could help solve a social or environmental problem at home or abroad? Whether that idea has been bouncing around in your brain, written on a napkin or is in the planning stages, IonE’s Acara social venture program can help you make it a reality.

Acara guides students through the steps it takes to turn ideas into viable enterprises. Through course work, competition and collaboration Acara prepares the next generation of leaders to develop practical business solutions that address some the world’s most pressing challenges. Here’s what they have in store for spring and summer 2015. Continue reading →

8 things we learned about a clean water future

October 27, 2014Event, Frontiers, News, Waterfrontiers in the environment, minnesota, water qualityAnya Moucha

What would a clean water future look like for Minnesota? Bonnie Keeler, lead scientist for the Natural Capital Project at the University of Minnesota; Minnesota Pollution Control Agency commissioner John Linc Stein; and Deborah Swackhamer, a professor in the Humphrey School and School of Public Health, explored answers to that Big Question at last week’s Frontiers in the Environment event. Here are eight things we learned:

Minnesota is the most water-rich state in the U.S. Despite this, we still have to careful about our water future. We are currently dealing with high levels of unclean water, a problem that may only be exacerbated by increasing stresses such as population growth. We need to think not just about having enough water for everyone, but also about making sure our water is clean and safe.

Continue reading →

The Big Boreas Booya bash

October 22, 2014Event, Leadership, Newsboreas, boreas leadership program, leadershipKate Knuth

Traveling around the Twin Cities and Minnesota this time of year, you may have seen a sign for a community event that read something like, “Booya on Saturday.” Earlier this month, folks at the University of Minnesota got to experience a booya right here on campus. The Boreas Leadership Program held a Big Boreas Booya that brought together current and future leaders from across campus and beyond to share stories and ideas.

Why booya?

A booya is an upper midwestern tradition of community stew, generally held in the fall. “Booya” refers to both the stew and the event. Booyas are often held by churches, fire departments and other community groups.

So, why a booya on campus for an environmental leadership development program?

Continue reading →

Resilient community on the rise

October 21, 2014Education, NewsMike Greco

Only one month into the fall semester there is already an unseasonable chill in the air. But things are heating up in classrooms across the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and Duluth campuses as more than 200 students in dozens of classes begin work on an impressive array of projects with the City of Rosemount, this year’s Resilient Communities Project partner community.

RCP, an initiative of the Sustainability Faculty Network at the University of Minnesota, with funding and administrative support provided by the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs and the Institute on the Environment, organizes yearlong partnerships between the University and Minnesota communities. The partnership is bringing the expertise of hundreds of graduate students to sustainability-related projects identified by Rosemount city staff and community partners. Continue reading →

6 things we learned about valuing nature

October 16, 2014Economics, Ecosystems, Event, Frontiers, IonE Resident Fellow, Newseconomics, ecosystem services, natural capitalAnya Moucha

Should we put a price tag on nature? IonE resident fellow Steve Polasky, Regent’s Professor of Applied Economics, Ecology, Evolution, & Behavior, and Fesler-Lampert Chair in Ecological/Environmental Economics at the University of Minnesota, explored that Big Question at this week’s Frontiers in the Environment event. Following the talk, attendees participated in a lively Q&A session. Here are six things we learned: Continue reading →

Earth science for your viewing pleasure

October 12, 2014Climate Change, Education, IonE Resident Fellow, NewsNational Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, Science Museum of MinnesotaMonique Dubos

Did you know that humans eat more water than we drink? That tidbit is explained in “Eating Water,” one of four three-minute films that use data and imagery to explain scientific concepts. The films were created by the Science Museum of Minnesota as part of Science on Sphere, a project of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration that aims to explain complex environmental concepts in easy-to-digest portions. Continue reading →

5 things we learned about urban development

October 7, 2014Cities, Event, Frontiers, Newscities, frontiers in the environmentAnya Moucha

Frontiers in the Environment sat down with Patrick Hamilton, IonE resident fellow and director of the Science Museum of Minnesota’s Global Change Initiative, Wednesday for a lively panel discussion on urban development featuring Anne Hunt, the environmental policy director for the City of Saint Paul; Peter Frosch, director of strategic partnerships for Greater MSP; and Mike Greco, program director for the Resilient Communities Project at the University of Minnesota. Here are the five key things we learned: Continue reading →

Ten things we learned about the energy transition

October 3, 2014Energy, Event, Frontiers, IonE Resident Fellow, Newsenergy, environmental law, frontiers in the environment, regulation, resident fellowAnya Moucha

This week’s Frontiers in the Environment was presented David Letterman–style by Energy Transition Lab executive director Ellen Anderson and Energy Transition Lab faculty director Hari Osofsky, who is also an IonE resident fellow and Law School professor. The pair explored the “Top 10″ key areas of energy transition and the Energy Transition Lab’s role in them. Continue reading →

New exhibit pays homage to ’60s “Earth art”

October 2, 2014Event, IonE Mini Grant, Newsearth art, environmental art, land artMonique Dubos

A new exhibit opening Thursday, Oct. 2, in IonE’s Commons Meeting & Art Space pays homage to the earth art movement of the 1960s. Also called land art and earthworks, the movement, according to Wikipedia, was an “artistic protest against the perceived artificiality, plastic aesthetics and ruthless commercialization of art at the end of the 1960s in America.” The exhibit features four prize-winning artworks created in spring 2014 by student groups from the University of Minnesota Art History course “Art and the Environment” (ArtH3434).

The title of the exhibit, 3434, is both practical and intriguing. “3434 was the course number, but it also characterizes some of the works’ experimental nature. Students from all over the University, including mechanical engineering, IonE, some science disciplines, music and studio art, learned about the history of the earth art movement,” says Jane Blocker, the College of Liberal Arts professor who taught the class. “Then they emulated the collaborative style of earth art groups working around the world today by contributing their distinctive skills and abilities to create art in response to an environmental problem.” Continue reading →

5 things we learned about food safety

September 30, 2014Event, Food, Frontiers, IonE Resident Fellow, NewsAnya Moucha

Our Fall 2014 Frontiers in the Environment event series kicked off last week with a lively discussion about new ways to boost food safety. Here are five things we learned from the presentation by Matteo Convertino, IonE resident fellow and assistant professor, School of Public Health; and Craig Hedberg, Professor, School of Public Health: Continue reading →