Daily Archives: March 24, 2013

Greek: Where we’ve been, and where we’re going

C.S. Lewis once said, “The next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in a
circle of those who are.” Students have always sought friendship, lifelong memories,
and guidance in their college experience, and students at CSM are no different.
Many seek to fill this requirement by joining Greek organizations. With most fraternities growing well past their centennial year, sororities well-established and thriving, and Mines Greek participation on the rise, it is difficult to imagine this school without the existence of these social organizations.

Updated Campus Drug and Alcohol Policy

With recent changes in Colorado Law, Mines has updated its Alcohol and Other Drugs Education and Prevention Policy. However, due to Mines’ status as a federal contractor, these new laws do not significantly change anything on campus. The Drug Free Schools and Communities Act of 1989 requires universities to have programs that prevent the use of illegal drugs on campus. However, the definition of “illegal drugs” comes from the federal government, not the state. This poses a major dilemma in Colorado.

Scientific discoveries this week: 3/25/13

South Bend, Indiana
In 2011, researchers from the United States Department of Agriculture found a crabapple tree that had been infested by a fruit fly they could not identify. Many feared that the fruit fly was the invasive apple maggot fly, known as Rhagoletis pomonella. If this was the case, it could trigger a quarantine process affecting three counties in the state of Washington. The larvae were sent to a team of researchers from Notre Dame that identified the fly as Rhagoletis indifferens, which is not known to infest apples.

Renewables – Global Futures 2013

Last week Dr. Eric Martinot, Senior Research Director at the Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies in Tokyo, presented “Renewables – Global Futures 2013.” The report, which took two years to write, is an enormous and multifaceted synthesis of the present and projected developments in renewable energy technology. Analysis of 50 recently published scenarios by major market players such as ExxonMobil and GEA are a backbone of the publication. Additionally, over 1000 pages of handwritten notes from interviews with international experts in finance/industry, research/academics, and policy (as well as public representatives), have been analyzed and used in the report.

Myster-E-Days Preview

April 4-6, MysterE-Days will be “A really unique weekend where the Orediggers let loose and have fun,” according to E-Days publicity chair Karen Gilsdorf. The event features T.J. Miller as the comedian Thursday night and AWOLNATION as the headliner of Saturday’s concert.

All-in-one solar lightbulb illuminates developing countries

A simple solar powered rechargeable light does not sound like a revolutionary invention in Western culture, as they are frequently seen lining suburban driveways and walkways at night. However, in the developing world, a world where 1.75 billion people have no access to electricity, this type of lighting can be the only light source for cities without power or with unreliable power grids. More importantly, rechargeable solar lights allow people to move away from kerosene-based light sources. Last Thursday, Steve Katsaros, owner and founder of Nokero, presented on an alternative light source designed for residential areas in developing countries.

Headlines from around the world: 3/25/13

A Congolese warlord, Bosco Ntaganda, also known as “the Terminator,” turned himself in at the US embassy in Kigali. He is being tried at the International Criminal Court and is accused of murder, rape, recruiting child soldiers, ethnic persecution, sexual slavery, and other atrocities. Ntaganda had a 15-year career that spanned a series of rebellions in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was most recently a commander in the M23 rebel movement. His removal from the conflict creates an opportunity to secure a peace agreement to end the year-old rebellion in the region.

Coastal erosion of ice-rich permafrost bluffs

Along the coast of Alaska’s north slope, a record decrease in 2007 of the extent of the Arctic sea ice and an annual increase to 14 meters of coastal erosion spawned research funded by NOPP (the National Oceanographic Partnership Program) that is just now coming to a close. Dr. Irina Overseem of the University of Colorado and the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research presented at Mines on her team’s findings.

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