2012 News

Announcing the Dow Sustainability Innovation Student Challenge Award (SISCA)

(5/9) Graduate students enrolled at the University of Minnesota are invited to apply for the Sustainability Innovation Student Challenge Award (SISCA), a program of IonE and the Dow Chemical Company that provides awards of up to $10,000 for research that encourages and promotes sustainable solutions to the world's most pressing social, economic and environmental problems. Read more

Registration Now Open for May 22 Sustainability Summit

(5/8) Environmentalist, entrepreneur and author Paul Hawken will present the keynote speech May 22 for Solutions Summit 2012, a first-ever gathering of corporate, nonprofit, government and academic sustainability leaders at the University of Minnesota to showcase and develop strategies for collaboratively solving key sustainability challenges. Hosted by the NorthStar Initiative for Sustainable Enterprise (NiSE), the daylong summit will bring sustainability leaders from around the world together to share sustainability success stories, identify the biggest sustainability challenges and home in on best strategies for solving them. Read more

Plant diversity is key to maintaining productive vegetation, U of M study shows

(5/3) Vegetation, such as a patch of prairie or a forest stand, is more productive in the long run when more plant species are present, a new study led by forestry professor and Institute on the Environment resident fellow Peter Reich shows. The unprecedented long-term study, published in the May 4 issue of Science, found that each plant species plays a role in maintaining a productive ecosystem, especially when a long time horizon is considered. Read more

IonE Mini Grants Fund Spectrum of Environment and Sustainability Projects

(5/1) An ecomusicology listening room, a wood window and door conference, Lake Superior herring promotion, research on public utility commission renewable energy initiatives and an environmental hack day are among the 13 projects selected for up to $3,000 in funding through IonE's Spring 2012 Mini Grants program. Read more

Nature Conservancy Leader M. Sanjayan to Speak in Twin Cities May 10

(4/30) What will it take to create a truly sustainable relationship with our environment? M. Sanjayan, lead conservation biologist for The Nature Conservancy, will share his vision for rebooting the environmental movement Thursday, May 10, 7:30 p.m., at the Ted Mann Concert Hall in Minneapolis. Read more

Study Sheds Light on Debate Over Organic vs. Conventional Agriculture

(4/26) Can organic agriculture feed the world? Organic techniques may not be able to do the job alone, but they do have an important role to play in feeding a growing global population while minimizing environmental damage, according to the authors of a new study published in Nature this week. Read more

U of M Experts Available to Discuss Earth Day and Ways to Live a Greener Lifestyle

(4/20) This Sunday, April 22, is Earth Day, a day when the health of the planet is put center stage and supporters rally behind environmentally friendly initiatives. But how can we live greener lifestyles and make every day Earth Day? University of Minnesota experts are available to offer insights and advice. Read more

Live Fast, Die Young

(4/17) A new field study led by Jeannine Cavender-Bares, associate professor in the College of Biological Sciences and resident fellow of the Institute on the Environment, shows urban plant communities have traits that make it harder for them to adapt to change than their countryside counterparts. Read more

Environmentalist Paul Hawken to Keynote Solutions Summit 2012

(4/16) Internationally renowned environmentalist and entrepreneur Paul Hawken will give the keynote speech at Solutions Summit 2012, a May 22 gathering of sustainability practitioners and researchers from around the world convened by the NorthStar Initiative for Sustainable Development. Read more

From Wood Waste to Diesel Fuel

(4/4) Bolstered by funding from IonE's Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment, College of Science and Engineering professor David Kittelson and international partners aim to develop an efficient, clean, potentially carbon-neutral substitute for diesel fuel from waste products generated by Minnesota paper mills. Read more

University of Minnesota Alumnus & GIS Pioneer Jack Dangermond to Speak at the U of M April 10

(3/28) Jack Dangermond, founder and president of Esri (Environmental Systems Research Institute), will give a public lecture, “Mapping and Geographic Analysis Supports Collaboration and Decision Making,” at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 10, 2012, in Cowles Auditorium, Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Read more

National Geographic Photographer Paul Nicklen to Kick off Momentum 2012 on April 5

(3/26) National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen kicks off the second season of the Institute on the Environment’s popular Momentum event series Thursday, April 5, 7:30 p.m., at the Ted Mann Concert Hall in Minneapolis. Read more

IREE-Funded Research Leads to New Technology Start-up

(3/23) Research funded by the Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment has led to the launch of a start-up company that aims to commercialize a novel filtration system that could reduce the economic and energy costs of making gasoline and plastics. IREE, a program of the Institute on the Environment, provided seed funding five years ago that gave College of Science and Engineering professor Michael Tsapatsis and colleagues the momentum needed to garner additional support for their innovative idea. Read more

Minnesota Researcher Extracts More Value From Distillers Grains

(3/2) New technology developed by a researcher at the Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) at the University of Minnesota - Duluth with support from the Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment promises to improve ethanol’s net energy balance and enhance the profitability and viability of ethanol plants. Read more

National Security and Our Energy Future

(2/28) Join the Institute on the Environment  for a public forum on economic and national security threats posed by overreliance on fossil fuels this Friday, March 2, 3–4:30 p.m. in the University of Minnesota’s Cargill Building in St. Paul. Read more

Carbon storage – and more

(2/21) Sparked by funding from IonE’s Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment, two University of Minnesota researchers have imagined a new process for generating electricity while at the same time sequestering CO2. The University has applied for international patents, and a start-up company is seeking capital to build a pilot plant. Read more

Partnerships Power a Clean Energy Future

(2/7) Commercializing clean, sustainable home-grown energy is one of America’s most pressing challenges. The Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment has jump-started promising research by building collaborations with an eye toward bringing the best ideas to market. Read more

Mindy Lubber to speak March 1 on incorporating water sustainability into business practices

(2/2) Mindy Lubber, an international leader in efforts to advance environmentally sustainable business practices, will deliver a free lecture, “Investing in Sustainability: Building Water Stewardship Into the Bottom Line,” March 1, 7 p.m. in St. Paul. The lecture, sponsored by the Freshwater Society and the University of Minnesota College of Biological Sciences, will include a panel discussion with Tim Smith, director of the NorthStar Initiative for Sustainable Enterprise at the Institute on the Environment. Read more

NorthStar Initiative launches free corporate sustainability webinar series

(2/2) The NorthStar Initiative for Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment is launching a free quarterly webinar series aimed at identifying new challenges and opportunities for advancing corporate sustainability through research. The first webinar, “Procurement in Sustainability: From Buying Green Products to Creating Green Solutions,” will be held Tues., Feb. 21, 1–2 p.m. CST. Read more

Stories From a Changing Planet: 2nd Annual Sustainability Film Series Starts Feb. 2

(2/2) Beginning Feb. 2, the University’s Bell Museum of Natural History and Institute on the Environment are inviting visitors to explore sustainability issues through the powerful medium of film. From China to Brazil and Europe to Appalachia, this year's four-part Sustainability Film Series takes a global look at the impacts of large-scale human activities on four landscapes and the people that inhabit them. Read more

U.S. and India student teams compete to launch environmental social ventures

(1/31) – Twelve international teams of student entrepreneurs mentored by Acara, a program of the University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment, will present business plans for initiatives that address global societal challenges at the Acara Fall 2011 Challenge Finals Feb. 2 and 3 in St. Paul and India. The St. Paul event is open to the public, and presentations will be webcast live around the world. Read more

Momentum looks at what it would take to solve Earth's biggest challenges

(1/31) What would it take to solve Earth’s grand environmental and sustainability challenges? For our first-ever special issue, Momentum magazine invited more than two dozen experts from around the world to give us their take on how we might craft solutions to some of our planet’s biggest problems. Check out M. Sanjayan’s suggestions for stemming the loss of biodiversity, Peggy Liu’s perspectives on supplying global energy needs with renewables, Alex Steffen's vision for sustainable cities and lots more. View the magazine

Earthducation Expedition 3 explores ecology and education down under

(1/31) Earthducation Expedition 3, the third in a series of seven-continent explorations investigating the intersection between education and sustainability, begins Feb. 27 in Australia. Led by IonE resident fellow Aaron Doering and colleague Charles Miller, faculty in the College of Education and Human Development, the team will discover how education and sustainability intersect on the driest inhabited continent on Earth. Read more

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  • What would it take to shape a more sustainable planet? Check out the Winter 2012 special issue of Momentum magazine for insights from M. Sanjayan, Peggy Liu, Alex Steffen, and some two dozen other experts around the world.

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Note: Any opinions expressed within the news items and coinciding articles are those of the authors and not necessarily of the Institute on the Environment or the University of Minnesota.