Check out the recent media mentions of sustainability-related programs, practices, and people at UNC:
North Carolina to Sea Level Rise: Go Away
Discovery News
...The problem with all of this, of course, is that predictions of future sea-level rise are neither linear nor consistent with historic trends, as John Bruno of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill points out in a post on his blog, Sea Monster. Bruno notes that "sea level fluctuates naturally by 10s to 100s of meters but has been relatively stable for the last few thousand years," that "greenhouse gas emissions are causing sea level to rise via 'thermal expansion' (warming a liquid increases its volume) and by melting mountain glaciers," and that "the rate of sea level rise appears to be accelerating, i.e., non-linear." Read more »
Smart People Discover Water, and That Could Kick-Start the Blue Revolution
National Geographic
Across the U.S., three major research universities have decided that we need big leaps of progress in water — in water technology, water access, and water management. Those three universities — the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Cal State Fresno, and Michigan State — think they can make a difference. Carolina is about to embark on a two-year campus-wide focus on water issues. The intent is for every school and department to focus on water issues — undergraduates, medical and public health researchers, environmental scientists, law school and public policy folks. Read more »
Orange County Calls Transit-Tax Referendum
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Orange County Commissioners on a divided vote recently agreed to call a November referendum to decide on a half-percent sales-tax surcharge to support public transit. Critics of the rail plan said it’s geared toward Chapel Hill and even more specifically to the needs of people who need to travel between UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University. Read more »
UNC System Wins $28.6 Million Grant
Triangle Business Journal
The University of North Carolina system has received a $28.6-million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The money will be used to prepare students for post-secondary education. The Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) targets low-income communities and will help prepare some 22,000 for college. Read more »
A New Leaf: New Catalyst Boosts Artificial Photosynthesis as a Solar Alternative to Fossil Fuel
Scientific American
Scientists have found a single catalyst for artificial photosynthesis that could create storable solar energy in a liquid or gaseous form that replaces or supplements fossil fuels for transportation or electricity generation. Thomas Meyer, a chemist at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and director of its Energy Frontier Research Center in solar fuels, led this potentially big practical breakthrough by finding the first artificial photosynthesis process with a single catalyst. Read more »
Thanks to UNC News Services for finding these great stories and compiling the summaries! You can find more UNC media coverage and stories online at http://uncnews.unc.edu.
