Beth Mercer-Taylor, Sustainability Education Coordinator, Institute on the Environment; Mallory Thomas, College of Biological Sciences; Stephanie Claybrook, College of Liberal Arts
Scandinavia – and Denmark in particular – outrank countries around the world in key measures of both happiness and sustainability. Modern Denmark is known as a collaborative society with a strong social safety net and comparatively even wealth distribution. A team of U of M students will unveil Denmark’s secret through their own eyes with photos and stories from time spent in the country. Beth Mercer Taylor, Sustainability Education Studies coordinator; Mallory Thomas, ecology, an evolution and behavior student in the College of Biological Sciences; and Stephanie Claybrook, an art student in the College of Liberal Arts, will talk about how social responsibility, participation and interdependence operate in a Scandinavian context and underlie the sustainability mindset and the remarkable level of happiness among Danish people.
Kate Brauman, Lead Scientist, Institute on the Environment Global Water Initiative; Steve Polasky, Ione Resident Fellow, Natural Capital Project Lead, and Professor in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences; Sherry Enzler, General Counsel, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources; and Perry M. Jones, Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey
Groundwater is a crucial resource in Minnesota and around the world. You might drink groundwater every day – close to 70% of Minnesotans do. And you’re probably eating groundwater as well – groundwater supplies about 40% of irrigated agriculture worldwide. But what’s the right way to manage this resource? Dropping water tables in India have been front page news. So has the discovery of giant groundwater reserves in Africa. Kate Brauman, lead scientist for IonE’s Global Water Initiative; Steve Polasky, project lead for the IonE’s Natural Capital Project and IonE resident fellow; Sherry Enzler, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources general counsel; and Perry M. Jones, U.S. Geological Survey hydrologist, will discuss the implications – good and bad – of using, and sometimes using up, the water beneath our feet.
Where: Coffman Memorial Union Theater, 300 Washington Ave. S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455
Join us for a public lecture featuring Jim Rogers, former Chairman of the Board at Duke Energy.
Jim Rogers served as Duke Energy’s president and CEO from 2006 until his retirement in 2013. Rogers became president and CEO of Duke Energy following the merger between Duke Energy and Cinergy in 2006. Before the merger, he served as Cinergy’s chairman and CEO for more than 11 years. Prior to the formation of Cinergy, he joined PSI Energy in 1988 as the company’s chairman, president and CEO.
The Institute on the Environment will host a reception following the lecture.
Parking is available in the adjacent East River Garage
Where: Bell Museum of Natural History, 10 Church Street Southeast, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States
The Sustainability Film Series is brought to you by the Bell Museum of Natural History in partnership with the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment/Sustainability Studies Minor and University Dining Services.
Regular museum admission; free to U of M students, faculty and staff with ID
Where: R350 – Learning and Environmental Sciences, Buford Avenue, Saint Paul, MN, United States
The American Red Cross is coming to the St. Paul Campus for a Blood Drive! Contact Kimberly Long at longx296@umn.edu or 612-626-9553 for more information. Walk-ins will be taken depending on availability.
Where: R-350 Learning and Environmental Sciences, 1954 Buford Avenue; St. Paul, MN 55108
This series of paintings by Marjorie Schalles was inspired by satellite photographs from the US Geological Survey/Earth Resources Observation and Science Center (EROS). The images captured by NASA photographers, developed for their aesthetic beauty rather than for scientific value, resonated with her artistic vision, bringing fresh and inspiring glimpses of our planet’s complex surface.
The Natural Capital Project Symposium
Monday, March 23 – Wednesday, March 25
Details
Where: Stanford University
The NatCap symposium is a three-day course in NatCap’s approach and primary software tool, InVEST. It will convene members of the ecosystem services community from around the globe to exchange ideas, research and practical experiences. A variety of workshops, presentations, facilitated discussions and other sessions will be held in three primary tracks each day. In the Tools & Training track, attendees can learn in hands-on sessions with trainers about NatCap’s approach and how to use our open-source tools. The Pathways to Impact and Learning Exchange tracks are designed to foster dialogue, encourage collaboration and help participants learn from one another as a community. Special registration rates are available for students and attendees traveling from low-GDP countries. For more information, to download a draft agenda, and to submit your poster and contributed talk proposals, please visit the NatCap website.
The Natural Capital Project is a partnership of the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment, Stanford University, the World Wildlife Fund and The Nature Conservancy.
Teacher Workshop: Water, Health and the World’s Cities
June 29 – July 2, 2015
Details
Where: R-370 Learning and Environmental Sciences, 1954 Buford Avenue; St. Paul, MN 55108
How does the state of our water resources affect environmental health? What can cities do to improve human health by improving their water infrastructure? And how do these challenges differ between the global north and south? Tackle these questions with water experts using case studies from North and South America. Instructors include Kate Brauman, IonE Global Water Initiative lead scientist; Barrett Colombo, IonE Global Landscapes Initiative educational specialist; and Sonia Davila, of the Global Water Partnership.
The Water, Health and the World’s Cities workshop is part of the Institute for Global Studies Teacher Summer Institutes, which combine lectures by University of Minnesota faculty and guest speakers, small group discussions, course readings, fieldtrips and teaching resources to explore international issues and learn strategies for integrating global topics into existing curriculum. This event is sponsored by IGS and the Institute on the Environment. Register here.
Frontiers in the Environment explores the frontiers of knowledge in climate change, renewable energy, land use, food security and many other environmental hot topics. Our speakers provide the audience with a true understanding of the issue, its global significance and breakthroughs on the horizon. Join us Wednesdays for a presentation and Q&A session, followed by a casual get-together in the IonE Commons. The lectures also air live on the Web.
IonE houses a unique space that serves as an area where the IonE community can gather for meetings or events as well as a location to display artistic works that celebrate the environment and sustainability. IonE’s vision for the Commons: Meeting & Art Space is to highlight the intersection of science and the arts by hosting exhibits that break down barriers between the two. We hope the space will continue to bring different communities at the University together and support IonE’s mission to foster interdisciplinary relationships.
