Hope for Haiti
(6/16/2008) The University's chapter of Engineers Without Borders is helping Haiti recycle plastic waste into useful products.

New digs at Cedar Creek
(6/9/2008) Where else but the U's Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve can students rig heat lamps in a field to test the effects of global warming? Last week the U honored Raymond Lindeman, who revolutionized the field of ecology there 60-plus years ago, with a new laboratory at the site.

E20 and late-model vehicles
(4/16/2008) A 13-month study conducted by U professor Dave Kittelson shows that E20--a blend of fuel containing 80 percent gasoline and 20 percent ethanol--has no negative impact on the drivability and maintenance of late-model cars and trucks.

UMM chancellor speaks to Congress
(4/4/2008) Chancellor Jacquie Johnson was chosen to testify before the U.S. Congress because of her leadership at the Morris campus, which is nearly energy self-sufficient.

Doing your part for the environment
(4/2/2008) Recycling offers opportunities for everyone to help reduce climate change, save energy, and conserve natural resources. Here are some tips from the University of Minnesota's Recycling Program.

Every napkin counts
(3/28/2008) Last fall, University Dining Services collected 78 tons of compost material from its kitchens and restaurants, and the UDS Green Team played a big role--helping the lunch crowd identify its compost-friendly waste.

Documenting carbon storage and biodiversity
(3/25/2008) A University of Minnesota professor's research in Costa Rica's dry tropical forests could help explain large-scale variations in the carbon cycle.

Conscious collaborator
(3/18/2008) Some rock bands, like Black Eyed Peas, are known for espousing green causes. Others, for gas-guzzling tour buses and over-the-top consumerism. University of Minnesota student Erick Boustead is helping rock bands keep their shows as green as their words.

Eco-friendly fronds for Palm Sunday
(3/12/2008) The University of Minnesota works with communities in Guatemala and Mexico provide church congregations in the United States with eco-friendly fronds for Palm Sunday.

Tilting toward turbines
(3/11/2008) The University's Morris campus has received bonding authority to add new wind and steam turbines. The campus is on track to energy self-sufficiency by 2010.

A welcoming climate
(2/28/2008) Climate change has many causes besides emissions from vehicles and power plants. Three new faculty are uncovering the often overlooked roles of vegetation.

Converting pristine lands to biofuel farms worsens global warming
(2/7/2008) Biofuels may be a source of renewable energy, but destroying pristine land to produce them makes global warming worse. A new study documents the damage.

Slime sublime
(1/25/2008) University researcher Roger Ruan knows algae can remove pollutants from water and make usable fuel. But can their abilities be scaled up and put to commercial use?

The role of oil prices in renewable energy
(1/9/2008) Experts who attended the University of Minnesota's E3 conference on renewable energy say the price of oil will have the greatest impact on renewable fuel development in the Midwest.

Extreme film
(11/30/2007) University of Minnesota, Duluth alumnus J.J. Kelley is an environmental educator, an extreme adventurer, and as of September 2007, a production coordinator at National Geographic Television.

The unusual biology of lichens
(11/27/2007) Lichens are extraordinary organisms, at once commonplace and exotic. They are actually complex organisms comprising a fungus and an alga living in symbiosis.

At the front lines of interdisciplinary inquiry
(11/9/2007) The U's Network of Interdisciplinary Inquiry, which will meet Nov. 19, is a sign of a sea change in higher education in which the University of Minnesota is leading the way.

A new look at urban sprawl
(9/21/2007) A few fun facts about common patterns in city growth

Clearing the way to collaborate
(9/18/2007) Minnesota's largest county and its research university signed a historic agreement that will give Hennepin County easier access to U-wide expertise and students.

Light on the subject
(8/28/2007) The Twin Cities campus will save more than $1.5 million over the next five years by changing light bulbs building by building instead of bulb by bulb, and by using a more energy-efficient bulb.

Cool country, warm ties
(7/23/2007) The universities of Iceland and Minnesota celebrated 25 years of collaboration when a U of M delegation visited the island nation in May, conferring an honorary degree on the prime minister, a U alumnus.

Salamanders of Appalachia
(7/17/2007) For Kenneth Kozak, the Appalachian forests are salamander heaven. The University of Minnesota herpetologist is trying to find out what it is about this environment that enables the more than 15 salamander species to flourish there.

The St. Paul campus shows off its research on July 19
(7/12/2007) The St. Paul campus will open its doors to its neighors on July 19 to show what research and discoveries come out of it labs and fields.

Growing greener
(6/29/2007) Want the walleye to disappear someday? Neither do we. The U's Sustainability Initiative is out to help the state preserve and conserve its natural resources.

Long live the peregrine falcons
(6/15/2007) The U's Raptor Center is a mover and shaker when it comes to safeguarding the once-almost extinct peregrine falcon. On June 14, volunteers from the center banded three chicks at their nesting site in downtown Minneapolis.

Business is booming at the U
(6/5/2007) New buildings on the Duluth and Twin Cities campus mean more business graduates.

Aiming for zero waste
(5/29/2007) The ninth annual CSBU Staff Day will celebrate the energy and innovation of Twin Cities campus civil service and bargaining unit staff.

Topical geography
(5/15/2007) Steven Manson studies the earth's surface in order to help people understand what is happening to our planet, why it is happening, and what we can do to avert potential crises. This understanding is made possible through extensive research, grants, and outreach programs.

The giving trees
(5/15/2007) Examination of past landscapes can help better manage land, forest, and water resources today. Susy Ziegler and other physical geographers are delving deeper into the dynamics of the Minnesota landscape in order to share knowledge with residents on how they can protect their own environments.

Ceilings affect our thoughts and feelings
(5/1/2007) U researcher Joan Meyers-Levy found that the height of a ceiling can make us feel expansive and encourage abstract thought, or it can focus us, fostering attention to detail.

Fallout from environmental policy
(4/18/2007) For Moira McDonald, the human fallout of a natural disaster raises questions about race, class, and public policy. The U student is examining federal flood control and agricultural policies and the relationships federal agencies have with local interest groups.

Trouble in pollen nation
(4/11/2007) Honeybees have died in droves this winter, and people around the country are wondering why. University entomologist Marla Spivak offers a glimpse at the life of this hard-working insect.

Winter is losing its bite
(3/14/2007) Minnesota winters are warming up, and animals and plants are learning to adapt.

Be wary of new hardiness zones
(2/21/2007) Horticulture experts with University of Minnesota Extension recommend caution with regard to a recently released map that shows changes in the state's plant hardiness zones.

Pulling the plug on excessive energy use
(2/16/2007) Several colleges and universities across Minnesota are participating in the Campus Energy Wars to raise awareness, especially among students, of the energy and climate crises facing our planet.

Up to the task
(2/13/2007) In two reports to the Regents, vice president for research Tim Mulcahy outlined the U's strengths and challenges regarding research, as well as strategies for moving forward.

Evolving with the climate
(2/2/2007) Understanding how plants evolve could suggest ways to help them adapt to global climate change.

Climate change is easy; breaking habits is hard
(1/30/2007) A University-hosted meeting of experts on how to get action on global warming gave a rare peek into the psychology and politics of the issue.

The rotten truth
(1/26/2007) For U biologist Sarah Hobbie, decomposition matters. It's the key to growing prize tomatoes and better understanding global change.

First flight for fledgling institute
(1/18/2007) A contract from the Legislative and Citizen's Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) to develop a comprehensive Conservation and Preservation Plan for the state of Minnesota will help the University's new Institute on the Environment put its ideas into practice.

The forest of the future
(1/9/2007) A perfect storm--the combination of climate change and tree-munching invaders--could be heading for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. And what we may end up with, says University forest ecologist Lee Frelich, is vanishing pine trees and moose within 50 years.

Research without borders
(12/8/2006) A new institute at the University of Minnesota promises to break down barriers between academic disciplines--and between the U and the public--in order to find comprehensive and practical solutions to global environmental issues.

Prairie grasses emerge as rich energy source
(12/8/2006) Diverse mixtures of prairie grasses yield the biggest bang for the buck as renewable energy sources, beating out corn grain ethanol, soy biodiesel and switchgrass

Ascending U
(11/22/2006) Two years into an aggressive strategic positioning campaign, the University of Minnesota is already on its way to becoming a top-three public research university.

Africa calling
(11/17/2006) For University of Minnesota student Mark Foster, his yearlong study abroad in Tanzania won't just be about studying chimps. It will also involve learning Swahili, sharing his knowledge of theatre performances with African actors and helping a community learn more about sustainable waste-disposal habits.

Services industries and global warming
(11/8/2006) Sangwon Suh's research contradicts assumptions about global warming often preferred by some economists and national policy experts. The University professor has found that the shift toward services industries won't reduce global warming.

Fuel in a flash
(11/3/2006) Biomass has huge potential as an energy source, but converting it into a manageable fuel is slow and expensive. That could change now that a team led by Regents Professor Lanny Schmidt has found a way to transcend some of the difficulties and convert vegetable oil and sugar directly into hydrogen.

Raindrops keep falling
(6/8/2006) Within the city of Duluth, 42 creeks run into Lake Superior. Last year, University of Minnesota, Duluth, took a major step to protect Oregon Creek, a principal water pathway from the campus, by building one of the biggest rain gardens in the nation.

Building a global garden
(6/5/2006) University of Minnesota master gardeners developed a junior master gardener component as part of the science curriculum for fourth and fifth graders at Riverview Specialty School in Brooklyn Park, Minn. Recently, the program was expanded to include a community global garden that will feature plants representing the students' heritage.

Natural prairie holds key to sustainable fuels
(5/31/2006) After 12 years of collecting data, University ecologist David Tilman shows unequivocally that fields harboring numerous types of plants will yield the most biomass as a source of renewable energy. Tilman, the world's most cited ecologist of the 1990s, wants to get out the word that the best source of biomass or biofuels will be a multiple source.