Branner Blog

We’ve been posting articles on the bulletin board of our photocopy room for some time now. We hope you’ve enjoyed having news to peruse as you’ve made your copies. In case you want to find something you encountered there, all of the citations for our bulletin board bits will be saved in Branner’s CiteUlike library under the tag “bulletinboard.”

If you have access through Stanford you should be able connect directly to the full text of the articles when available.

If you use CiteULike or would like to join the Branner group, let us know.

Ever wonder what your carbon footprint is and how you can find out? It’s getting easier to do so by the day. Yesterday’s San Jose Mercury News devoted two full pages of their Tech section to helping each of us figure out just how much we contribute to global warming. Included was a simple calculator to assess your impact based on energy usage, driving, and flying. To read the article, go to the Mercury News website and search for carbon footprint.

Numerous carbon calculators are available on the Web including one connected to the Al Gore movie, “An Inconvenient Truth.” PG&E has a much simpler calculator that asks only for energy usage and miles driven. The Nature Conservancy has the most detailed calculator I found. It considers broad categories such as home energy use, driving and flying, food and diet, and recycling and waste.

If these calculators get you thinking about how to live a greener life, check out from the library “How to live a low-carbon life: the individual’s guide to stopping climate change.” It’s on the new book truck this week and then will be on the shelves. Call number: QC879.8 G62 2007.

Stanford readers:

SPE has changed the way our subscription connects to their elibrary. Before our IP authentication linked you through to the elibrary, but this procedure seems to have complicated access to the rest of their site. So, the next time you visit the site, you will need to create a login and register as a new user (if you’re already an SPE member, then you can use that information), then your IP will be recognized as before. More information and instructions follow on the SPE site.

Let us know if you have any questions.

As the people of central Peru continue to struggle with the after effects (and aftershocks) of this week’s 8.0 earthquake, information is being posted online to keep up with events.

The US Geological Survey has created a number of maps showing the location, intensity, density, and historical quakes in the area. The shake map shown above locates the epicenter of the quake off the coast of Chincha Alta.

The Perry-Castenada Map Collections has posted a number of maps of Peru that are helpful in locating place names mentioned in the news.

CNN.com has created a Hot Topics page on earthquakes. Included are news accounts, videos, and pictures of the Peruvian earthquake as well as others. This page allows you to set up an RSS feed in order to remain current about recent events.

The New York Academy of Sciences, along with Falconer Biology Library and Swain Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Library, is sponsoring a seminar on effective presentation skills for scientific communication.

The presentation is designed for Stanford grad students and postdocs in Biological Sciences and Chemistry, but others are welcome and will find this presentation useful. The speaker, Lisa B. Marshall, is an experienced public speaking coach who has presented her seminar at institutions throughout the United States. Read more about the speaker here.

Details:

Title: Speaking Skills for Scientists
Speaker: Lisa B. Marshall
Time: 9:30-11:30am, Wednesday, August 22
Location: Herrin Hall, Room 175
Other: Continental breakfast will be served.
Price: Free!
Register: Send a message to sciencealliancenyas.org or call (212) 298-8616.

Please register and plan to attend this free program.

Just found this site, African Journals Online, a collection of journals published in Africa. The objective of AJOL is to give greater visibility to the participating journals, and to the research they convey. The database covers the full range of academic disciplines, but does have a science section.

Earth Science titles include:

Nigerian Journal of Soil Science
Global Journal of Environmental Sciences
Journal of Mining and Geology

Years available and access vary depending on where you’re located.

The result of one of your requests, our subscription to the conference proceedings of the International Rainwater Catchment Systems Association is now live.

Stanford readers can access the content through the proceedings page of the IRCSA website.

Non-Stanford readers can browse the conference abstracts.

The International Rainwater Catchment Systems Association grew out of a series of international conferences held in Hawaii 1984, Virgin Islands 1984, Thailand 1987 and the Philippines 1989. Since its formation, the association has run conferences every two years, in Taiwan 1991, Kenya 1993, China 1995, Iran 1997, Brazil 1999, Germany 2001, Mexico 2003 and India 2005. The next conference will be held in Australia this year.

Whereas Louis Bromfield focused on sustainability in agriculture, another ecology-minded Ohioan David W. Orr has widened his lens to include architecture, energy, forestry, hydrology and biodiversity. Orr is currently Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics at Oberlin College, and is most eloquent in writing about education and its connection to concern for the environment. Degradation, pollution, and climate change are not happening because there is a lack of knowledge about problems and possible solutions. Education’s purpose should be to “draw out” people’s affinity for life (and the life-sustaining planet), and to make people realize they cannot “opt out” of the land community (although they can choose to be either constructive or destructive members). “Earth in Mind” first appeared in print in 1994, and Island Press issued a 10th anniversary edition in 2004. Read there Orr’s concise and clear exposition of the state of the world and the role of education thereto; and if you want more, google “David W. Orr” and find a host of pertinent and timely articles.