Eleanor Fausold ’13 penned a letter to the editor that was published in The New York Times in response to an op-ed titled “Is It Time to Bag the Plastic?” Referencing her senior thesis research on the costs and benefits of charging a fee for both paper and plastic bags in New York City, Fausold answered the article’s title question with, “The answer is overwhelmingly yes!” The letter appeared on the publication’s website on the day she graduated from Hamilton, May 26, and in print on the following day.

Eugene Domack, the J. W. Johnson Family Professorship of Environmental Studies, and students under his direction, have determined why Sylvan Beach has been eroding for the past century and have discovered how to address the situation. A ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by local politicians on May 21 was held to open the beach for the season and to recognize the contributions that Domack and his team have made toward solving the problem.

Richard Donovan, vice president of forestry for Rainforest Alliance, will give a talk, “Rainforest Alliance, Conservation and Sustainable Forestry in Latin America,” on Monday, April 1, at noon, in the Kennedy Science Auditorium, Taylor Science Center. The lecture is free and open to the public.

New Scientist magazine quoted Ernest Williams, the William R. Kenan Professor of Biology,  in “The chilly secret to monarch migration,” an article that examined possible trigger prompting these butterflies to leave the warmth of Mexico to travel to the United States in the spring. In the Feb. 17 article, Williams commented on how warming temperatures might change migration patterns.

Arlene Blum, founder and executive director of the Green Science Policy Institute (GSPI), will deliver a lecture titled “The Flame Retardant Dilemma: Balancing Fire Prevention, Human Health, and Environmental Protection,” on Thursday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m., in the Bradford Auditorium, KJ. Blum’s lecture is sponsored by the Environmental Studies department and is free and open to the public.

Ernest Williams, the William R. Kenan Professor of Biology, led his Adirondack class -  Environmental Studies 220, Forever Wild: The Cultural and Natural Histories of the Adirondack Park - on a snowshoe hike into the wilderness near Old Forge on Feb. 10. The group hiked to a frozen-over beaver pond and identified tree species growing in the Adirondacks. It was a beautiful day for exploring the northern forest, with fresh snow and blue skies.

An All Things Considered report on National Public Radio that focused on the upside of Iowa’s drought last summer included an interview with Ann Owen, the Henry Platt Bristol Professor of Economics. In “The Silver Lining In Drought: 5 Upsides To Rain-Free Weather,” Owen discussed the study, “Heat Waves, Droughts, and Preferences for Environmental Policy,” that she co-authored with Assistant Professor of Economics Emily Conover, Associate Professor of Economics Julio Videras and Professor of Economics Stephen Wu.

Associate Professor of Government Peter Cannavò published an op-ed, “The Real Frankenstorm,” on The Huffington Post (Oct. 26, 2012).  In the piece Cannavò questions why the subject of climate change has not been addressed in this year’s presidential race.

National Public Radio science reporter Richard Harris interviewed Eugene Domack, the Joel W. Johnson Family Professor of Geosciences, for a segment on All Things Considered on Aug. 22 titled “Humans’ Role In Antarctic Ice Melt Is Unclear.”  Domack’s research, published in the journal Nature in 2005, provided evidence that the break-up of Antarctica’s Larsen B ice shelf was caused by a combination of long-term thinning over thousands of years and short term cumulative increases in surface air temperature that have exceeded the natural variation of regional climate during the Holocene period.

A review of the research conducted in the last decade by Eugene Domack, the Joel W. Johnson Family Professor of Geosciences, comprises a notable portion of Antarctica, An Intimate Portrait of the World’s Most Mysterious Continent, published recently by Bloombury Press, UK. The book was written by Gabrielle Walker, a consultant to New Scientist and a regular BBC contributor who has taught at both Princeton and Cambridge Universities. She has been on five Antarctic assignments for Nature magazine and the BBC.