Tag Environment
Digitization project promises lichens and mosses at our fingertips
Lichens and mosses are well-known barometers of the environment. But soon lichens and mosses could assume a new and much broader importance as harbingers of environmental change, thanks to an effort to digitize the lichen and moss collections of U.S. herbaria.
Warming climate likely to dramatically increase Yellowstone fires by mid-century
Climate is changing fire patterns in the west in a way that could markedly change the face of Yellowstone National Park, according to new research.
Landscape change leads to increased insecticide use in the Midwest
The continued growth of cropland and loss of natural habitat have increasingly simplified agricultural landscapes in the Midwest.
Study details how heat waves drive hospital admissions
A new study appearing this week (June 22, 2011) in the journal Climatic Change, documents the medical conditions aggravated by hot weather, the age groups most affected, and forecasts an increase in hospital admissions in urban areas due to predicted climate change and accompanying weather extremes.
Wisconsin boaters, anglers doing more to halt spread of invasives
Wisconsin boaters and anglers seem to be doing a better job of following rules aimed at curbing the spread of aquatic invasive species, according to the results of UW–Madison surveys taken in 2009 and 2010.
Humans and the clean-energy debate: Lectures to address carbon emissions, solutions
In his 2011 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama called for a clean-energy standard, increased funding for clean-energy technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and the ambitious goal of generating 80 percent of the country's electricity from clean-energy sources by 2035.
Stan Temple: A life saving threatened species
As a UW–Madison wildlife professor, Stan Temple is heir to the outsized legacy of Aldo Leopold and, until his retirement, held the chair occupied by Leopold and his intrepid successor, Joe Hickey, the wildlife biologist whose work helped put the nails in the coffin of the insecticide DDT.
UW-Madison conservation goals heeded and exceeded
In a season traditionally devoted to reflection and new beginnings, a campus program is celebrating its successes and looking ahead to new goals.
New technique shows 50-year history of toxic algae in Lake Wingra
As public health officials worry about rising concentrations of cyanobacteria - often called blue-green algae - in lakes, scientists are concerned that a warming climate will stimulate the growth of cyanobacteria.
UW-Madison earns an “A” for sustainability efforts
The University of Wisconsin–Madison has received the highest possible grade, an A, in a national college sustainability ranking released today.
Report casts world’s rivers in ‘crisis state’
The world's rivers, the single largest renewable water resource for humans and a crucible of aquatic biodiversity, are in a crisis of ominous proportions, according to a new global analysis.
Climate Leadership Challenge launches competition with $50,000 grand prize
University of Wisconsin–Madison students have an opportunity to win $50,000 with their innovative ideas and creative solutions for climate change. The Nelson Institute Center…
Global grassroots lake science network has roots in Wisconsin
Inspired and led by freshwater scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, researchers eager to understand global ecosystems from end to end are now monitoring a series of buoys in lakes on every continent except Africa. Each buoy carries instruments to measure fundamental data on the weather above the water and the temperature and chemistry below it.
Confronting toxic blue-green algae in Madison lakes
Harmful algal blooms, once considered mainly a problem in salt water, have been appearing with increasing severity in the Madison lakes, and a team of University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers has geared up to understand the when, where and why of these dangerous "blooms."
In Europe, bison find plenty of room to roam
The European bison, a close relative of the American bison, has been on a slow road to recovery for almost a century. Europe's largest grazing animal once dwelled from central Russia to Spain, but by the beginning of the 20th century, habitat loss and hunting had reduced them to 54 animals.
New scholarships boost environmental studies, community service
Seventeen undergraduate students at the University of Wisconsin–Madison are the first recipients of new need-based scholarships in environmental studies that promote community service.
Earth Day events honor birth of environmentalism
For some of us it seems like just yesterday, but Earth Day turns 40 this year. The first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970. Some 20 million people participated in environmental teach-ins across the United States. The event’s founder, U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, took a page from the antiwar movement to educate people about the environment and to put the cause on the national agenda.
Wisconsin’s environment inspires Earth Day Concert
Can we hear ecology? Sixteen musicians - including four composers - from the University of Wisconsin–Madison believe we can.
New book explores widespread, troubling legacy of synthetic chemicals
Environmental historian Nancy Langston started her latest book planning to highlight the lasting legacy of manufactured chemicals that touched the lives of millions of Americans in the 1950s and 1960s.
Heating plant renovation ushers in greener era
The Charter Street Heating Plant, an aging but critical source of energy for campus, is about to undergo a transformation that will take the state and university to the 21st century frontiers of cleaner, coal-free power.