The Department of Theatre’s production of The Laramie Project, directed by Nyalls Hartman (associate professor), received a review in The Baltimore Sun and Howard County Times by critic Mike Giuliano on December 7, and received a review in Maryland Theatre Guide by UMBC alumna Amanda Gunther on December 9. The production concludes its run at the UMBC Theatre on Sunday, December 11.

By KAL, The Economist

Tensions continue to rise between Iran and the West.

Last week, so-called “college students” overran and ransacked Britain’s Embassy (perhaps they were getting course credits for “community disservice”). In retaliation the British Government kicked out Iran’s diplomats from London.

The center of the problem revolves around western allegations of an Iranian nuclear weapons program. The Iranian government denies these claims suggesting the program is for peaceful power generation.

A recent report from United Nations inspectors claims otherwise.

Should the Iranians get close to producing a nuclear weapon, there are those in the region (Saudi Arabia and Israel) who might back military action against a nuclear weapon site… maybe as early as next year.

This could spark a violent reaction from the Iranians with large repercussions both locally and globally.

Should Iran be allowed to have “The Bomb’?

Thanks to the LA Times!

While the country is snarling at democratic candidates in much of the country, there’s at least one Democrat whose chances of a win in 2012 look bright.

Her name is Elizabeth Warren.

If you’re thinking, “I know that name.”  you are not alone…

Warren previously served as President Obama’s Special Adviser to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which she also created.

But now she’s running for the U. S. Senate in Massachusetts facing the rookie Republican Scott Brown.

Recent polls show the candidate leading Brown by a significant 7 points. The Republican incumbent won the seat in the heavily Democratic state after the death of longtime senator Ted Kennedy. He now must run for his own full term.

The new poll results are bound to send more shockwaves across the country, where Democrats and Republicans are closely watching to see whether the Harvard Law professor can knock off one of the GOP’s rising stars. The Massachusetts race could determine the balance of power in the U.S. Senate and Democrats are making the race one of their top priorities.”

While Warren must first win her state’s primary, big name Republicans are already eyeing her as the eventual competitor.

…the consumer advocate-turned-Massachusetts Senate candidate, is fighting back after a new ad from an independent group founded by Karl Rove accuses her of being too close to big business. Warren has emerged as an early target of Rove’s Crossroads.”

Do Democrats have one thing to look forward to in 2012?

Movie addicts like us got a vacation last week as no new movies opened in theaters.

It ended up being a rather weak weekend with Breaking Dawn holding the top spot for the third week in a row but with 60.3% loss from the week prior.

This weekend two new movies open and one other gets an expansion to a wide release.

The Sitter

This is your last chance to see Jonah Hill as we all know him, before his dramatic weight loss which will first be seen in 2012’s 21 Jump Street. His character in this movie seems like an older version of his character Seth in Superbad meets Adventures in Babysitting plus lots of R-rated humor.

It’s another David Gordon Green directed comedy, so if you’ve been a fan of his other movies, like Pineapple Express or Your Highness, you should be into this.

The Descendants

This movie has been running the indie circuit for 3 weeks now, but is getting a full expansion this weekend. With a 90% score on Rotten Tomatoes it seems to be like a real winner if you enjoy a comedic drama or George Clooney. Clooney plays a father going through life altering circumstances. We’ve heard that it can be pleasantly humorous at times but with emotional depth that can spring a few tears.

We never caught the predecessor to this movie, Valentine’s Day, but it can be assumed that this will be more of the same (whatever that was). Sorry, we’re not much help here…Still, if you’re into intersecting love stories, we recommend Love Actually (which is holiday themed) or Paris, Je T’aime.

Planning to see any of these? Let us know what you thought or opinions about any other recent movies!

Image from NPR! (don't try at home)

Britain declares, no means no.

And then there were eight: Rick Perry gets a little confused…again.

Lessons from Virginia Tech.

Smuggling drugs in cheese?

Is it too early to start reflecting on 2011 yet?

The Phase II National Policy Forum, organized by the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), took place a few days ago in the Cannon Office of the House of Representatives, just opposite the Library of Congress, in Washington, DC. Apt the venue was, I’d later find, as the schedule for the Forum was packed with speeches from our nation’s congressmen.

The morning keynotes, back-to-back speeches given by Charlie Bass (R-NH) and Earl Blumenhauer (D-OR), set the tone for the rest of the conference. It was clear that the purpose of the Forum was a chance for experts to convene and talk policy, to talk "America," and to talk renewable energy policy in America with respect to the time period of 2000-2025 (“Phase I, as defined by ACORE, was 1975-2000).

Rep. Blumenhauer gave a galvanizing speech around the importance of renewing Section 1603 Treasury Program, which is best-known (or notorious) for funding Solyndra, but is also responsible for leveraging $22 billion from the private sector to support 22,000+ projects that utilize renewable energy technology. Since Solyndra filed for bankruptcy, the negative press radiated from the company’s downfall to 1603, the source of its funding. Blumenhauer (and the other Representatives that would speak throughout the day) echoed and emphasized the points made by the 1603 Coalition, a group of over 750 companies and associations, urging politicians to vote for the renewal of 1603 on Dec 31, 2011 – less than 20 days from now.

Following the morning keynotes, the conference featured four panels covering (broadly): the financing of renewable energy in the States; the role of renewables in the power market; weening ourselves off of oil; and making renewables more competitive and palatable. Afternoon keynote speakers were Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Peter Welch (D-VT). The Forum undoubtedly featured an impressive array of thought leaders in renewable energy -- from Michel da Capua of Bloomberg’s New Energy Finance to Dorothy Robyn, Deputy Under Secretary for Installations & Environment at the Department of Defense -- who shared insights that in some cases are just too costly to access, and in others, just too esoteric for those without a profound knowledge of the field to understand.

However, there was little mention of higher education writ large, let alone higher education sustainability. I wasn’t too surprised by this, given ACORE’s primary focus on the financial, policy, and technical aspects of renewables, but the Forum did make me realize that higher ed sustainability leaders have a lot to gain and not much to lose by being an active participant or observer of national and local governmental proceedings on energy policy.

For example, it was “green jobs” -- a common refrain from the current administration since President Obama’s campaign trail -- that was intended to be given weight with the creation of Section 1603. For students looking to break into (and for professionals already) in the renewable sector, any funding money is worthwhile, and the 1603 program, if not renewed, could be a big loss of potential funding. So, getting 1603 renewed mostly likely means an added opportunity to get your idea funded.

But another point I want to make here is that though the word "sustainability" wasn’t used as much as expected in the Forum, the so-called renewable energy or clean tech policies being drafted, voted upon, and rejected or accepted are potential sustainability policies because they have impacts on different industries and institutions. An example is the Farm Bill, which demonstrates the emergence of unanticipated effects from a piece of legislation with good intentions but far-reaching (and long-standing) adverse effects on other industries. At the Forum, the realization that the same holds true for policies that are clearly pro-renewable and nay-oil came to me while listening to John Hofmeister, former President of Royal Dutch Shell Oil North America.

Mr. Hofmeister started off his talk with a stentorian remark and a dramatic pause: “The gas lines will hit.” Gas lines? As in pipelines? Not quite; the gas lines Hofmeister was alluding to were not-so-fond memories of living through the Oil Embargo and waiting for hours at the gas stations to fill the tank. He added a caveat: “This time, it won’t be an oil embargo but a simple supply pinch.”

This was a striking reminder that, especially for those of us working in sustainability, we do have to acknowledge that allies can come in all shapes and sizes; in this case, Hofmeister comes more from a place of anti-oil or perhaps American nationalism, but not so much environmental justice, for instance.

Recognizing where our values and motives align -- and don't align -- could make us more effective at being sustainability leaders. For instance, Hofmeister and his colleagues in the US Energy Security Council are busy working the Hill to “drive home urgency and consistency” to politicians, and “come completely off OPEC oil.” Sounds good, right?

Sure, except that OPEC does not include all of the countries from which the US imports oil (two of the top sources of oil for the US are Canada and Mexico, neither of which are OPEC members), so coming 100% off OPEC oil doesn’t mean we’re getting 100% off oil. Furthermore, the bill that they propose would have strategies such as using 100% flex fuel engines to take advantage of domestic fuel sources, which might mean more corn-based ethanol. And how would this impact other industries that are adversely affected by the far-reaching tentacles of corn at present? And here we are, at that point of confluence between agriculture and renewables, between local farmers and renewables, between Big Corn and OPEC, and so forth, with which the powerful people in the USESC are not necessarily too concerned because, alas, their focus is on getting America energy-independent.

Enter sustainability professionals. With the sharply trained eye to identify and analyze the gaps and omissions that exist in policies that are being developed within silos, and propose ways to fill these gaps, the importance of an education in sustainability can’t be overstated. We all know that higher education institutions are indisputably hubs for innovation, dialogue, and discourse. But there is also this notable opportunity to apply the core concepts that so many are using to integrate sustainability into curriculum and foster cross-discipline dialogue, to the municipal, state, or national governmental level to convey that securing an energy future is a crucial part to sustainability, but not the whole.

Related Resources:
Campus Solar Installations Database
Wind Turbine Installations on Campus
"Energizing the Higher Ed Sustainability Movement -- with Renewables"
Related Blog Posts on Energy

By Ashley Miller ’12, UMBC Athletic Communications Intern

UMBC student-athletes are devoted to giving back to both the campus and neighboring community. These young men and women make significant contributions to society as often as they can. Teams as well as individual student-athletes are involved in numerous charity and community organizations.

“UMBC Athletics is proud of the work our student-athletes do in the community,” said Kelly Fahey ’07, coordinator of student-athlete affairs at UMBC. “We are excited to further develop our relationships with the surrounding community and our partnerships with local organizations.”

This fall has been a busy semester for the Retrievers, as they raised money for various fundraisers, collected shoes for the less fortunate, and even met with younger children to discuss the importance of education and physical fitness.

Read the full story about work done with Soles for Souls, Race for the Cure, Young Life Capernaum, Meadowood Education Center, League of Dreams, and the Casey Cares Foundation here.