The Arbor Trail is located behind the University Inn and Conference Center on the Douglass Campus. Rutgers purchased the property in 1965. The Inn is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and the trail had its grand re-opening on Rutgers Day 2015 on April 25, as part of the Inn’s anniversary celebration. In 1908, armed […]
Community
Legislators Bemoan 20-Year Delay in Adopting Water-Supply Master Plan
It has been nearly 20 years since the state updated its water supply master plan, a delay that legislators and conservationists said could jeopardize the ability to deliver safe and adequate drinking water to residents in the future… In those two decades, population has grown, water use has increased, and potential problems with providing potable water to consumers have multiplied. These include depletion of groundwater supplies, increased pollution, and uncertainty about where the supplies to meet tomorrow’s needs will come from… “In most cases, it comes down to ratepayers,” said Daniel Van Abs, an associate professor at Rutgers University and a former project manager at the state Department of Environmental Protection, which developed the state’s last water supply master plan in 1996.
Candidate Jennifer Francis Focused on Master Plan
With a new master plan to write, Marion Planning Board candidate Jennifer Francis hopes voters will send her to the board for the first time… “The next few years are going to be really important ones for the town,” said Francis, a research professor at Rutgers University for the past 20 years… The board should consider writing bylaws that have the legal authority to stop developments that might harm the community, she said. Additionally, Francis said she wants to foster positive discussions on the board.
Business Partnership Joins Sustainable Raritan Collaboration
At the recent meeting of the Board of Directors, the Somerset County Business Partnership (SCBP) unanimously approved a resolution to support the Sustainable Raritan River Initiative (SRRI) and become a Collaborative Member… The Sustainable Raritan R…
Rutgers Day, Seed Libraries and More
Rutgers Day, Rutgers University’s annual open house welcome and show-and-tell for New Jersey residents of all ages, is this Saturday (April 25) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m… This year’s highlights include the Tent of Bog Ideas, an Athletics Mini Combine, Alumni Weekend, and “Where Science Happens”… Where Science Happens- Visit the Engineering science fair on the Busch Campus to experience the Faraday lecture and witness how ice cream is made with liquid nitrogen. Stuffed animals will receive checkups in the Life Sciences area while sea creatures will be at arm’s length at the Marine Sciences Building. Guests may also excavate in an archaeological dig and handle 1.5 million-years-old artifacts on the Cook/Douglass Campus.
Opinion: Steering Clear of the 2 Percent Trap for Water Utilities
In 2010, New Jersey adopted restrictions on local government budgets, limiting annual increases in overall property taxes to an average of two percent per year (with certain exceptions). Recent articles and press releases have pronounced this limitatio…
National Park Celebrates Earth Day with Children’s Garden Opening
The scissors were barely through the ribbon at the borough’s newly opened children’s garden, when Mother Nature unleashed a brief Earth Day deluge on the soon-to-be growing crops. It was pretty good timing all around, said National Park School Principal Carla Bittner… “Today for Earth Day, in addition to opening the garden, we had health and wellness activities for the students, with different stations around the school,” said Bittner following the ceremony, which at the end saw about 275 students fleeing from the rain. “Rutgers Cooperative Extension had a station where the students made veggie egg rolls, with food provided by Food Corps.”… In addition, the Rutgers Cooperative Extension is expected to supplement some of the food supplies for some of the garden-related educational events at the school next year.
Centenary College’s Earth Day Celebration Scheduled for April 25
This year, Centenary College’s Earth Week Committee welcomes members of the community to the celebration of Earth Day, which will be held on Saturday, April 25, on the front lawn of the college. This is the eighth anniversary of Centenary’s celebration of Earth Day. This family-oriented event will appeal to children of all ages… In addition, in an attempt to educate our community on Earth-related issues, the college offers a presentation on April 22, with Tony Broccoli, Professor at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University. He will speak at the College at 2 p.m., in the Ferry Building, room 12… Broccoli’s presentation titled “The Climate Ahead: Global Changes, Local Impacts” focuses on the science of climate change, including a discussion of the basic physics, global observations of climate change and model projections of future climate change.
‘Antarctic Edge’ Explores How Much Hope Is Left
“Antarctic Edge: 70 South,” opening April 17, is an extraordinarily beautiful and important documentary about the dedicated scientists who’ve clocked the deterioration of the Antarctic ice sheet and tracked consequential climate change around the globe for the past 20 years. Filmmaker Dena Seidel had unlimited access to scientific data and personnel, both in Antarctica, where she filmed extensively and exquisitely, and at Rutgers University in New Jersey, where she heads the school’s Center for Digital Filmmaking. Seidel taps scientists’ unquenchable quest for knowledge and there’s a lot of information to absorb. More poetic than polemical, the film combines a thrilling presentation of natural wonders with amusing glimpses into the lives of the scientists. It’s a convincing call for action to save the planet; if that is still possible. “Antarctic Edge” is this week’s edgy must-see.
Review: In ‘Antarctic Edge,’ a Region of Retreating Ice
There aren’t many uncharted areas left on the globe, but “Antarctic Edge: 70 Degrees South” takes viewers to a spot where surveying is so scarce that the destinations may diverge from their locations on a map. Exploring that terrain could mean getting caught in ice for a month, as one scientist in the film recounts experiencing… The movie, a collaboration between marine science and film divisions at Rutgers University, takes a dry, educational-documentary approach to its material. But if talk of sampling krill and phytoplankton populations conjures memories of biology class, “Antarctic Edge” illustrates its points effectively, providing vivid evidence of how shrinking ice at the South Pole affects climates across the globe.
