What Experiments to Block Out the Sun Can't Tell Us
Slate, 1/12/2016
The historic agreement forged in Paris among 195 countries in December holds the promise of triggering
a global shift to combat climate change - and harbors a hidden warning...More research on
geoengineering could help us anticipate the possible ways the technologies could be used. But we should
be clear about what each stage of research can actually show us. In order to prove that the technique of
reflecting sunlight with sulfates can cool the planet consistently without terrible consequences,
experiments must ultimately be large enough in geography and long enough in time frame. And those
characteristics raise the possibility for widespread, unintended consequences. Rutgers climate scientist
Alan Robock has argued that trials in the atmosphere won't show a significant climate response, "unless
an experiment is so large as to actually be geoengineering" and lasts at least a decade. (Experimenters
would need to confirm that any changes in climate were not just coincidental.)
Landscape Resolution for 2016: Create A Pollinator Victory Garden
Fairfield Daily Voice, 1/20/2016
Pollinators are critical to our food supply and are responsible for the pollination of the vast majority of all
flowering plants. But many pollinators are in trouble and most of our home landscapes have little to offer
them... Kim Eierman, a resident of Bronxville, is an environmental horticulturist and Founder of
EcoBeneficial! When she is not speaking, writing, or consulting about ecological landscapes, she teaches
at the New York Botanical Garden, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, The Native Plant Center and Rutgers
Home Gardeners School.
Opinion: Thinking Smaller for more Effective Flood Protection
NJ Spotlight, 1/22/2016
New Jersey was fortunate in 2015 in experiencing no major floods. We have a long history of devastating
floods, going back to the 1800s when our total population was less than 1 million people. Major river
floods come with depressing regularity, including Hurricane Irene, Tropical Storm Lee, Hurricane Floyd,
and many other large storms just in the past thirty years. While Hurricane Sandy is not remembered for its
rains, it did dump over a foot of rain in South Jersey. We now have nearly 9 million people, too many of
whom are in flood-prone locations... Daniel J. Van Abs is currently Associate Professor of Practice
for Water, Society and Environment at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological
Sciences.
Red, Ripe and Ready: The New Jersey Tomato
New Jersey Monthly, 1/25/2016
If the bland pallor of winter's supermarket tomatoes has you yearning for a taste of summer, take heart.
This month, the folks at Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center plan to release the first
batch of seeds for the new Rutgers tomato. The creators of this new gem - Thomas Orton, a professor
and specialist at the extension center; Jack Rabin, director of farm programs; and Morris County
extension agent Pete Nitzche - anticipate it will exceed the juiciness, tang and sweetness of the original,
which ruled the state from the late 1930s through the early '60s. The finer qualities of that tomato were
lost through generations of breeding for shelf life and ease of handling.
Bed bugs that feed are more likely to survive pesticide exposure
Phys.org, 1/26/2016
Many studies have been done on how effective certain pesticides are when they are applied to bed bugs.
However, most have not allowed the bed bugs to take a blood meal after being exposed to pesticides,
which can change the mortality rates, according to an article in the Journal of Medical Entomology.
Researchers from Rutgers University found that bed bugs that were allowed to feed after being treated
with insecticides either had greater rates of survival, or they took longer to die than bed bugs that were
not allowed to feed after being treated.
Bed Bugs That Feed After Pesticide Exposure More Likely To Survive, Study Reveals
Science World Report, 1/26/2016
Tired of those bed bugs? They never seem to die or just go away. Researchers at Rutgers University
found in a study that bed bugs that fed are being treated with pesticides had greater survival rates or took
longer to die compared to bedbugs that did not feed after being treated. "Many of the insecticides labeled
for bed bug control may not be as effective as claimed, because of the inadequate testing method," Dr.
Narinderpal Singh, coauthor of the study, said in a news release. "Current established test protocols
for bed bug insecticides do not provide blood meals to bed bugs during the test period. We suspect the
mortality data typically observed might be different if the tested bed bugs were provided a blood meal
during the observation period."
11 Crazy Gene-Hacking Things We Can Do with CRISPR
Popular Mechanics, 1/26/2016
CRISPR/Cas9 is a futuristic gene-editing technology that is either the key to a number of medical
breakthroughs or a terrifying step toward an unnatural future of altered organisms. Possibly both.
Regardless of what you think about genetic engineering, people are already using the tool to make
changes to organisms that could revolutionize agriculture, lead to new treatments for diseases with no
cure, or even modify human embryos... A research team from Rutgers is working on a long-term project
to genetically modify wine grapes and turfgrass in such a way that the methods can be implemented in a
variety of other crops. The grapes will be edited to resist downy mildew, and a type of grass commonly
found on golf courses called creeping bentgrass will be modified to resist dollar spot disease, a problem
that is usually combated with fungicides.
Bed Bugs that Feed Are More Likely to Survive Pesticide Exposure
Pest Control Technology, 1/27/2016
Researchers from Rutgers University found that bed bugs that were allowed to feed after being treated
with insecticides either had greater rates of survival, or they took longer to die than bed bugs that were
not allowed to feed after being treated, ESA reports.
Rutgers study to help Paterson with new initiative for start-up food businesses
NorthJersey.com, 1/28/2016
In an effort to convert a 6th Ward warehouse into a center for assisting start-up food businesses, the City
of Paterson has awarded a $70,000 consulting contract to a Rutgers-based group. Paterson already has
allocated more than $2 million for the project, including $1.3 million in federal community development
funds to buy the building at 163-177 Pennsylvania Avenue. Included in the $2 million already allocated is
$700,000 in federal money to acquire equipment for the program. The contract with the Rutgers Food
Innovation Center will help the city determine the scope of the program and how it will operate..."We are
very excited to have been given the opportunity to assist the City of Paterson in moving forward with this
project," said Lou Cooperhouse, director of the Rutgers food center.
Zika Virus 'Spreading Explosively' in Americas, W.H.O. Says
The New York Times, 1/28/2016
The World Health Organization rang a global alarm over the Zika virus on Thursday, saying that the
disease was "spreading explosively" in the Americas and that as many as four million people could be
infected by the end of the year..."As long as we are on the ball, if somebody is sick they get removed from
proximity to mosquitoes," said Dina M. Fonseca, an entomology professor at Rutgers University-New
Brunswick. She added that her state, New Jersey, has a plan in place for chikungunya, another related
virus, that includes testing mosquito pools, and if any are positive, taking action, which could include
spraying.
Is there enough sand to go around?
The News Journal delaware online, 1/30/2016
The sand we spread our towels on in visits to the Delaware beach towns was once at the bottom of the
sea, before engineers pumped it onto the shoreline in a wave of beach replenishment projects... Karl
Nordstrom, a Rutgers University geologist whose work has focused on how beaches and dunes
change, says he expects beach replenishment to remain states' main tool for protecting their coastlines.
Gloucester County student wins Rutgers' Bell Scholarship
nj.com, 2/1/2016
Alyssa Lehman, 21, Williamstown, a senior at Rutgers University, received the Ernest Bell
scholarship. The recipient must be a New Jersey resident and demonstrate a high level of scholastic
achievement, involvement with New Jersey's horse industry, and financial need.
Zika virus could reach N.J. by July
nj.com, 2/1/2016
So long as it's cold out, New Jersey has no need to worry about the Zika virus spreading here. But once
the weather changes, the Zika virus could become a problem here, said Dina Fonseca, an entomologist
and director of the Invasive and Emerging Disease Vectors Laboratory at Rutgers University.
Where did January rank in N.J. snow history?
nj.com, 2/2/2016
Before the big blizzard of 2016 struck, New Jersey was on the verge of having one of its least snowy
Januarys on record. All it took was one big snowstorm to reverse that scenario. January 2016 turned out
to be the fifth snowiest January by inch-count in the Garden State, according to records compiled by the
office of New Jersey State Climatologist David Robinson at Rutgers University.
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