Tag Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
Isolated forest patches lose species, diversity
Failing to see the forest for the trees may be causing us to overlook the declining health of Wisconsin's forest ecosystems. Read More
Sustainability to be focus of annual bioethics forum
Sustainability will be the focus of the eighth annual International Bioethics Forum to be held in Madison Thursday and Friday, April 23 and 24. Read More
Earth Day conference explores Wisconsin’s energy future
The Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies will hold its third annual Earth Day Conference on Wednesday, April 22. Read More
Landscape found to influence spread of malaria in Amazon
The spread of malaria, one of the world's most prevalent insect-borne diseases and a leading killer of children, may have more to do with landscape than precipitation as the world warms, according to a new study. Read More
Hurricanes not likely to disrupt ocean carbon balance
Hurricanes are well known for the trail of damage and debris they can leave on land, but less known for the invisible trail left over the ocean by their gale-force winds - a trail of carbon dioxide. Read More
Hydrologist named Gaylord Nelson Professor
A University of Wisconsin–Madison hydrologist widely known for his work in watershed protection has been named the university's next Gaylord Nelson Distinguished Professor. Read More
Seminar explores Wisconsin’s response to climate change
How is climate change affecting Wisconsin, and how can the state adapt? A series of free public seminars beginning Feb. 26 at the University of Wisconsin–Madison will address those questions. Read More
Research uncovers surprising lion stronghold in war-torn central Africa
Times are tough for wildlife living at the frontier between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Armies are reportedly encamped in a national park and wildlife preserve on the Congolese side, while displaced herders and their cattle have settled in an adjoining Ugandan park. Read More
Common soil mineral degrades the nearly indestructible prion
In the rogues' gallery of microscopic infectious agents, the prion is the toughest hombre in town. Read More
Nations that sow food crops for biofuels may reap less than previously thought
Global yields of most biofuels crops, including corn, rapeseed and wheat, have been overestimated by 100 to 150 percent or more, suggesting many countries need to reset their expectations of agricultural biofuels to a more realistic level. Read More
Study: Did early climate impact divert a new glacial age?
The common wisdom is that the invention of the steam engine and the advent of the coal-fueled industrial age marked the beginning of human influence on global climate. Read More
History of Wisconsin’s wolf policy filled with compromise, meddling
To some, last month's federal decision that put the gray wolf back on the endangered species list in the Great Lakes region was an unmitigated triumph. Siding with the Humane Society of the United States and other groups, the court ruling placed the wolf once again under federal protection after it was removed from the list last March. Read More
Restoring order: UW Arboretum runoff solutions combine ecology and engineering
In spring 2008, a class of undergraduate and graduate engineering students studied a section of Wingra Marsh to learn more about the hydroecologic effects of the massive stormwater inflow. "Stormwater management infrastructure throughout the Arboretum is failing due to age and increased flows of runoff from the surrounding watershed," says David Liebl, a UW–Madison engineering professional development faculty associate who chairs the Arboretum stormwater committee. Read More
Waterborne disease risk upped in Great Lakes
An anticipated increased incidence of climate-related extreme rainfall events in the Great Lakes region may raise the public health risk for the 40 million people who depend on the lakes for their drinking water, according to a new study. Read More
Forum to focus on climate change in Wisconsin
Regional impacts of global warming will be the topic of the third annual Wisconsin Climate Change Forum on Tuesday, Oct. 14, at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Read More
Conference targets solutions for Yahara Lakes
The woes of the Yahara Lakes are obvious: murky waters, noxious algae blooms, choking weeds. The real question is how best to address these problems. Read More
University names interim director for Nelson Institute
Gregg Mitman, a science historian at UW–Madison, has been named interim director of the university’s Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. Read More
A ‘red flag’ for expanding biofuels in the tropics
Biofuels, by recycling atmospheric carbon, are a potential boon to the world's ailing climate. But efforts in the tropics to significantly expand biofuel production by replacing tropical forests with oil palm, sugarcane and other agricultural biofuels could, in fact, accelerate climate change, according to a new study published this week (July 9). Read More
Pioneer of climatology dies at 88
Reid Bryson, a towering figure in climatology and interdisciplinary studies of climate, people and the environment, and the founder of the University of Wisconsin–Madison's meteorology department and Center for Climatic Research, and the first director of the Institute for Environmental Studies, died in his sleep early June 11 at his home in Madison. Read More
UW-Madison students restore New Orleans Lower Ninth Ward bayou
A group of UW–Madison students are working to help restore the Bayou Bienvenue, an urban wetland in the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans, to ecological health. Read More