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Environmental Studies


URL: http://news-info.wustl.edu/group/page/normal/26.html

Media Assistance:

Tony Fitzpatrick
Senior Science Editor
tony_fitzpatrick@wustl.edu

(314) 935-5272
Director, Environmental Studies, associate professor of earth and planetary scie: Jan Amend (amend@wustl.edu)

Home Page: http://levee.wustl.edu/enst/

Location: 108 Wilson Hall

Email: enstadmin@levee.wustl.edu

Telephone: (314) 935-7047

The natural systems that shape the Earth's environment are dynamic and highly interactive. As an example, ash injected into the upper atmosphere during volcanic eruptions, lowers atmospheric temperatures and leads to changes in weather. In addition to natural phenomena, human activities have begun to influence Earth's environmental systems in significant ways. The warming of the atmosphere by increased carbon dioxide associated with burning wood and fossil fuel - the "greenhouse effect" - and ozone destruction by the chlorofluorocarbon gases are examples of how human activities can also affect climate. The release of waste products into the Earth's rivers and oceans is another way in which human activities affect naturally dynamic systems. These and other processes profoundly affect the diversity and distribution of life on Earth and are major factors to contend with in conservation efforts.


News Stories & Tip Sheets:

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Be prepared

Seminar to address ways to lessen earthquake damage (http://news-info.wustl.edu/news/page/normal/12107.html)

Aug. 11, 2008 --
What should the Midwest do before and after a major earthquake?
The earthquake that hit the lower Midwest on April 18 of this year was a hearty 5.2 on the Richter scale and got the attention of the St. Louis region. What if a larger quake — occurring either in the New Madrid Fault or Wabash Valley Fault — were to hit the region? How would we respond? To address these concerns, the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Structural Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis is presenting a series of seminars and workshops on the topic of reducing the damage that could occur if a strong earthquake strikes the area again.


How green is their valley?

Phoenix mission to Mars will search for climate clues (http://news-info.wustl.edu/tips/page/normal/11767.html)

May 21, 2008 -- Raymond E. Arvidson, Ph.D., the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and chair of the earth and planetary sciences department in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, and a number of his student and personnel have major roles in the Phoenix mission to Mars. The space craft lands in the northern plains on May 25, 2008, and Arvidson is a key operations manager during the critical first week of operations. (Video available)


All shook up

Midwest now worries about a different fault (http://news-info.wustl.edu/tips/page/normal/11630.html)

April 24, 2008 -- Two seismologists at Washington University in St. Louis think the New Madrid Fault may have seen its day and the Wabash Fault is the new kid on the block. "I think everyone's interested in the Wabash Valley Fault because a lot of the attention has been on the New Madrid Fault, but the Wabash Valley Fault could be the more dangerous one, at least for St. Louis and Illinois," said Doug Wiens, professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences. "The strongest earthquakes in the last few years have come from the Wabash Valley Fault, which needs more investigation."



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Faculty Experts:

Showing 2 Experts.
Ralph Quatrano

Ralph S. Quatrano, Ph.D., is the Spencer T. Olin Professor in Arts and Sciences and chair of the Department of Biology at Washington University in St. Louis. He is internationally known for his plant science work on patterns of embryo formation, and how the patterns lead cells to acquire traits or ...


Expertise: Plants, plant biology, botany, moss, genome, algae, genes, …

Direct contact: (314) 935-6850 / rsq@wustl.edu
Glenn Davis Stone

Professor of Sociocultural Anthropology and Environmental Studies in Arts & Sciences (http://news-info.wustl.edu/sb/page/normal/477.html)

Stone is an ecological anthropologist who has studied indigenous agricultural systems for the past 20 years. He has written extensively on intensification, labor organization, sexual division of labor, ethnicity and production, spatial organization and especially relationships between population, conflict ...


Expertise: ecological anthropology, political and historical ecology, agricultural biotechnology, settlement patterns, population, ethnoarchaeology, Web-based scholarship, …

Direct contact: (314) 935-5239 / stone@artsci.wustl.edu



Showing 2 Experts.
Related News Clips:

Showing 2 Clips.
A Climate 'Policy Wonk' in the Making
NPR Morning Edition

April 14, 2008 -- WUSTL junior Kelley Greenman is featured is today's Morning Edition program on climate change with Richard Harris. Greenman is interested in cliimate change policy issues.
The story included a segment about an advising appointment with career counselor Karen Morton and Kelley.
Includes an audio link to the story.


Depression: hidden cause of heart attack?
The Wall Street Journal and 2 others

April 26, 2004 -- You may have one of the biggest risk factors for heart attack, and your doctor doesn't even know it. While doctors screening for heart problems know to monitor smoking, high cholesterol and high blood pressure, few pay attention to a potentially more serious foe: depression. "In cardiology there have been dozens of studies done on hypertension," said Kenneth Freedland, professor of psychiatry at the School of Medicine, who has been studying the link between depression and heart disease since the 1980s. "We need to make sure the public and medical community understand that this is an important problem, too."


Additional Information: Environmental issues have achieved a prominent position on the agenda of many political systems in many societies. Today, these issues---and their economic consequences---are shaped by political leaders, interest groups, public opinion, and international concerns that invade both the industrial and the developing worlds. Several courses including Freshman Seminar in Environmental Studies (EnSt 181), Physics and Society (Phys 272A), Environmental Science (EPSc 220), Human Use of the Earth (EPSc 221A), Conservation Biology (Biol 317A), and Evolution of the Earth (EPSc 200A) provide introductions to many topics relating to environmental issues.

The Environmental Studies Program at Washington University offers students an opportunity to undertake a major or minor in natural sciences or in social sciences associated with the environment. The Program is interdisciplinary; it takes advantage of faculty expertise in Anthropology, Biology, Economics, Earth and Planetary Sciences, History, Political Science, and Engineering.



Contact Information


Contact Information

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Related Links:
Environmental Studies Program Web site (http://levee.wustl.edu/enst/)
Energy, Environment and sustainability Web site (http://ees.wustl.edu/)
Graduate Program in environmental engineering (http://eec.wustl.edu/)
Jan Amend Web site (http://epsc.wustl.edu/admin/people/amend.html)
WUSTL Pathfinder Program (http://levee.wustl.edu/enst/pathfinder_program.htm)

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