The Marcellus Shale natural gas play is having a significant impact on Pennsylvania's economy, and Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences is helping to position students to benefit from associated employment opportunities. (more)
In a single new scientific publication, 24 new species of lizards known as skinks, all from islands in the Caribbean, have been discovered and scientifically named. According to Blair Hedges, a professor of biology at Penn State University and the leader of the research team, half of the newly added skink species already may be extinct or close to extinction, and all of the others on the Caribbean islands are threatened with extinction. The researchers found that the loss of many skink species can be attributed primarily to predation by the mongoose -- an invasive predatory mammal that was introduced by farmers to control rats in sugarcane fields during the late 19th century. The research team reports on the newly discovered skinks in a 245-page article published April 30 in the journal Zootaxa. (more)
Penn State's Lion Surplus will hold its annual Spring Auction at 9 a.m. on May 10 at its store on Penn State's University Park campus.
This season's auction will feature gently used bicycles, cars, scrap metal and shop equipment. All items can be viewed from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the May 9 preview. (more)
Penn State York students, faculty, staff, and friends and neighbors will clean-up the campus woods from noon to 2 p.m. on Friday, April 20 as part of an Earth Day Celebration. The event is being organized by the campus' recently formed Green Team, the Penn State York Student Government Association, and the Penn State Sustainability Office. Sunday, April 22 is the 42nd anniversary of Earth Day and a variety of events are set to take place across the University. (more)
The Blue and White is going green. Penn State is celebrating its Earth Week with a large Earth Day celebration on Friday, April 20, at Alumni Hall in the HUB-Robeson Center. The celebration, sponsored by the Campus Sustainability Office, Center for Sustainability, Office of Student Affairs, Dining Services and others, will feature leaders from around Penn State dedicated to teaching the community about sustainability. Attendees can learn more about how they impact the world around them by talking with the exhibitors, participating in interactive games, sampling local foods offered by Penn State Dining Services and Catering, or attending one of the many workshops offered that day. (more)
CHANCE (Connecting Humans and Nature through Conservation Experiences), has been chosen to receive the Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Educators (PAEE) 2012 Outstanding Environmental Education Program award. The award, which recognizes an exemplary environmental education program which could be used as a model, will be presented at the PAEE annual conference to be held March 16-17 at the Raystown Lake Resort and Conference Center in Entriken, Pa. (more)
The Student United Way is sponsoring the winter Trash to Treasure sale. The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4, in 108 Fisher Hall (East Halls) on the University Park campus of Penn State. The sale is open to the public. Admission is free. Parking is available in the East Parking Deck on Bigler Road. (more)
The Office of Physical Plant and Housing have worked together on recycling efforts before. But in their quest for "zero waste," one group in particular needed to be included -- students. Starting this semester, Runkle Hall in North Halls is venturing to become zero waste, a goal of reducing trash output to zero -- or to as close to zero as possible. (more)
Shaver's Creek Environmental Center is in the process of becoming a zero-waste facility. Trash cans are gone along with the dumpster and employees have created an elaborate system of recycling and composting bins to use instead. "We're shooting for zero; a true zero," said Mark McLaughlin, director of Shaver's Creek Environmental Center. "We don't want things that we have at Shaver's Creek ending up in a dumpster or landfill somewhere." (more)
