Lucas Harris ’12 has been awarded a Fulbright Grant to Finland. He will spend the 2012-13 academic year working under Dr. Miska Luoto at the University of Helsinki, studying how individual plant species in subarctic Finland will react to climate change.

An international team of scientists - including Associate Professor of Biology Mike McCormick, alumna Elizabeth Bucceri ’11 and students Natalie Elking ’12, Manique Talaia-Murray ’12 and Andrew Seraichick ’13 - have embarked on the third cruise of the LARISSA program aboard the U.S. Antarctic Program ship Nathaniel B. Palmer.

An article titled “Study: Does enduring extreme weather make you vote liberal?,” appearing on the USA Today website on Dec. 30, reported on a study written by four Hamilton economists. Henry Platt Bristol Professor of Economics Ann Owen, Assistant Professor of Economics Emily Conover and Associate Professors of Economics Julio Videras and Stephen Wu co-authored the study, “Heat Waves, Droughts, and Preferences for Environmental Policy.” The Weather Channel also reported on the study on Jan. 2. 

Environmentalist, climber, filmmaker and author Jonathan Waterman will present a lecture on his latest book, Running Dry: A Journey from Source to Sea Down the Colorado River, on Tuesday, Nov. 1, at 7:30 p.m. in the Kennedy Auditorium, Taylor Science Center.

Over the weekend of October 1-2, the combined sections of Environmental Studies 220, The Cultural and Natural Histories of the Adirondacks, taught by Onno Oerlemans and Robin Kinnel traveled to the Adirondack Park for some first-hand experience.

As an intern for the Monmouth County Park System in New Jersey, Paul Zarella ’12 is working with the acquisition and design department which provides land preservation and planning services through land acquisition, resource-sensitive design and restoration. He'll conduct surveys of the park system’s many lakes, ponds and streams using GIS, or Geographic Information System, and GPS technology, and his findings will be used for data collection, analysis and mapping.

In an opinion piece in the Naples Daily News titled "Land Bought By the Gallon? Today Not So Much," rising senior Glenn Watkins wrote about the environmental crisis unfolding in Florida and specifically the Everglades. A volunteer for the Everglades Foundation in Miami, Watkins described how “the restoration of the Everglades is not just about restoring an ecosystem, but it’s also an economic development and economic security project. South Florida’s ability to foster economic growth and create jobs hinges on the success or failure of protecting and enhancing our water supply.”

Climate change is a major topic of discussion among economists, lawmakers, businesses and the general public. As climate change becomes an increasingly pressing issue, environmental law gains importance for society. Victoria Grieves ’12 will spend the summer contributing to environmental efforts by serving as an intern at the Environmental Law Institute in Washington, D.C.  Her internship is funded by the Levitt Center through its new Leadership Program.

Anders Halverson, author of An Entirely Synthetic Fish: How Rainbow Trout Beguiled America and Overran the World, will present a lecture on Monday, April 11, at 7 p.m., in the Science Center's Kennedy Auditorium. The lecture is free and open to the public.

The 2010 Lake, Stream and Watershed Issues Conference is being hosted and co-sponsored by Hamilton on Friday, Oct. 22, in the Fillius Events Barn. Associate Professor of Geosciences Todd Rayne will discuss the influence of surface water on municipal groundwater supply systems. Other speakers include individuals from Honeywell International, U.S. Geological Survey, SUNY-ESF, Natural Systems Engineering and Cornell University.