Boxes appeared in a few high traffic areas on campus, laden with individually wrapped sanitary pads, labelled "Free samples (for ladies)." On each sign, some alert soul changed "ladies" to gender inclusive wording: "people with menstrual cycles", or "people who bleed from sensitive places." One of these, someone went a step further, adding a post-it note thanking this individual for "validating me a a person" signed "someone who menstruates but is not a lady." More post-it notes appeared, in support of the improved wording or the acknowledgement.
I applaud this person who turned questionable wording into a respectful reminder of not just tolerance, but inclusion. And the respectful conversation that followed was also touching. Well done, good people. Well done!
Our sons also need a societal shift so they can be engaged fathers and partners, in the home and at work, rather than broody, unfeeling workaholic providers. Will last week's Working Father' Summit, which acknowledges the economic reality of dual income families (but not necessarily that very few of those workers can limit their workloads to a mere 40-hours a week), and the upcoming working families summit, pave the way so that all our children can be all that they can in whatever fields they choose to pursue, while also nurturing their own families, and making positive contributions to their communities? It makes good business sense--a 2014 evaluation found that the newly implemented policies for paid sick and family leave (for all workers, not just mommies) found improved worker morale, a reduction in the spread of illness, lower turnover, which likely all attributed to the increase productivity that was also identified. Imagine what would happen if we also embraced paid vacation and capped the number of hours in a workweek like so many other nations have done? Heck, businesses might have happier, more productive workers, and with the savings in overtime pay, maybe could afford to bring back a few of the highly skilled folks that have been layed off since 2008 and that pesky downturn in the economy.
Monday, April 21, 2014
|The experimental green roof, located on |
top of Con Edison's The Learning
Center. Image credit: Tiziana Susca, Columbia University
Botany. Austin is first author. Her co-authors include Mark Teece, and Jesse Crandall from ESF's Chemistry Department, and Amy Sauer and Charley Driscoll, from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Syracuse University.
Cambria Ziemer, an ERE undergraduate honors student tied for second place honors. Ziemer completed her honor's thesis the past summer on "Boundary Layer Conditions of a Shrub Willow Evapotranspiration Cover Syracuse, NY". She worked with Wendong Tao, in ESF's Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, and Tony Eallonardo, a Scientist with O'Brien and Gere.
The award presentation followed a lecture by Dr. Patricia J. Culligan of Columbia University, on Green Roofs and Urban Stormwater Management, which featured projects under evaluation at Columbia University and around New York City. Dr. Culligan is a leader in the field of water resources and urban sustainability. In addition to being a Professor, she co-directs the Columbia University Earth Institute’s Urban Design Lab and is the director of an innovative, joint interdisciplinary Ph.D. program between Columbia Engineering and the Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation that focuses on designs for future cites, including digital city scenarios.
The Slepecky Lectureship and Undergraduate Prize has been endowed by family, friends and colleagues to honor Syracuse University professor Norma Slepecky, who died in 2001. Dr. Slepecky was a distinguished auditory neuranatomist and member of the Institute for Sensory Research. She was a passionate researcher and an advocate for undergraduate student research. Dr. Slepecky hoped that her legacy, with the support of the endowment, would continue to encourage young women to conduct research. As stewards of the Lectureship and Prize, SU WiSE annually coordinates the undergraduate award and lecture by a noted woman scholar and a celebration in Dr. Slepecky’s memory.
The Great Lakes are a special ecosystem, but they are threatened by a number of factors. Invasive aquatic animals such as quagga and zebra mussels, round gobies, and water fleas (as well as the aforementioned sea lamprey) are wreaking havoc in the ecosystem. Invaders compete with native species for food and habitat, and are even capable of altering the nutrient composition in the Lakes.
Some of the emerging threats to the Lakes are thanks to another species – humans. A recent study of water quality in 139 streams conducted by the US Geological Survey identified 82 contaminants in the water column. Contaminants included a number of prescription drugs, ranging from anti-seizure medications to estrogens from birth control pills. Personal care products such as face and body washes are also part of the problem – many of these contain tiny plastic “microbeads.” Because these microbeads appear similar to eggs, many fish may consume them by mistake. Microbeads also tend to attract other contaminants, posing additional problems for aquatic species.
Domske’s presentation wasn’t all doom and gloom, though – she provided some concrete ways we can all work to protect the Great Lakes. We should remember we all live in a watershed, and avoid flushing any prescription medications that could wind up downstream. She also suggested seeking out natural alternatives to personal care products containing plastic microbeads. Through relatively simple actions such as these, we can help to insure that the Great Lakes remain worthy of their name.
The most direct human influence on species presence and interactions in each city relates directly to the two driving factors mentioned previously. Landscaping decisions in each city has a huge affect on which species appear in urban areas and the species interactions within the urban areas. In the western city of Phoenix, AZ where water is the major driving factor, there is a stark contrast in types of yards, largely dictated by neighborhood. There are xeric yards which are drier and support native and non-native vegetation similar to the surrounding flora of the region, and then there are mesic yards which are wetter and more lush that support some native, but mostly non-native vegetation that is very dissimilar to the surrounding vegetation. These different vegetation types support different types of animal species and can therefore influence the presence and interactions of species in the city. In the eastern city of Baltimore, MD, where the primary driver is forest cover, a direct correlation was seen between the canopy cover and amount of dead branches in the area and the number of woodpeckers present.
Under these more direct human influences, there are a variety of human influences that are likely to be interacting with the primary driver in each city that affect species presence and interaction. For example, in Phoenix, there was a pattern seen between the income level of a household and the type of food being fed to birds. The higher income families often left nectar and thistle for birds, which attracted more specialist bird species, whereas lower income families often left bread crumbs, which attracted more generalist bird species. The resulting consequences of these different food types include differences in species richness, competition, and the giving up densities of the birds at each location. Dr. Warren’s research looks at wealth as well as many other social science factors such as policy, institutional investment, consumer tastes and lifestyles to try and untangle the complex association of humans and the unban ecosystem.