Sexuality Workshops for Parents of Children With Special Needs Increase in Demand
www.reuters.com, 5/14/2015
Discussing sexual development, behaviors, personal space boundaries or hygiene and self-care during
puberty with a child is difficult enough for any parent, but possibly even more perplexing for a parent of a
child with developmental disabilities on the autism spectrum. A new sexuality workshop for parents of
special needs children, created and presented by Michelle Brill, MPH, Assistant Professor in the
Department of Family and Community Health Sciences at Rutgers University Cooperative
Extension was recently held for parents at Deron School in Union, NJ to assist them in handling these
sensitive issues... "When you're dealing with a child where repetition and routine mean everything, it's
important you teach appropriate adult boundaries and specific behaviors early in life in order to avoid the
difficulties of having to re-teach or substitute new behaviors later on," said Ms. Brill, "This can be as
simple as setting rules about closing a bathroom door to not allowing the child to hug or touch people they
meet."
New Brunswick Community Farmers Market to Open for the Season on June 17
www.thecityofnewbrunswick.org, 5/29/2015
Healthy, fresh produce, local honey and meat and freshly baked goods will be ready for purchase as of
June 17, when the New Brunswick Community Farmers Market officially opens for the season at its
Kilmer Square Park location in the downtown... The market offers a variety of fresh, locally grown
produce, local honey and freshly baked goods from Elijah's Promise. EBT, WIC and SNAP are welcomed
as forms of payment at its locations, as well as cash, debit and credit... The New Brunswick Community
Farmers Market is a joint project in partnership with the City of New Brunswick, Rutgers Cooperative
Extension, and Johnson & Johnson.
Rapid Arctic Ice Loss Linked to Extreme Weather Changes in Europe and US
www.theguardian.com, 6/1/2015
The string of massive snowstorms and bone-chilling cold on the US east coast, as well as flooding in
Britain and record temperatures in Europe, are linked to rapid ice loss in the Arctic, new research appears
to confirm... While the rapidly-thawing Arctic cannot be held responsible for specific weather events like
the "snowmageddon" in 2009, Hurricane Sandy, or European heatwaves, researchers at Rutgers
University said it appears to be a prime reason why the polar jet stream- a ribbon of winds that encircles
the globe- gets "stuck" with increasing frequency... "We are seeing these extremes because the Arctic is
warming faster than elsewhere. The whole lower atmosphere is heating up but the sea ice is the most
observable. This is having this effect on the jet stream, making it extend further south and stay longer,"
said co-author Jennifer Francis.
Was Heavy Rain Enough to Wash Away Drought Fears?
www.nj.com, 6/1/2015
With the scenes that unfolded in parts of New Jersey Sunday night, it would be easy to say the drought
facing New Jersey has been washed away... "Absolutely it has put the brakes on the deterioration of the
drought situation in northern and central New Jersey," said David Robinson, the state climatologist at
Rutgers University. "But has it remedied the situation? Does it remove the (drought designation) in
northern New Jersey? No."... May was the third warmest and third driest on record, Robinson said, while
data from the National Weather Service shows the northern half of the state was operating at a four to
seven inch rainfall deficit over the last 90 days.
What's Behind the Floods in Texas and Heat in India?
www.cbsnews.com, 6/1/2015
Scientists on Monday made an ominous prediction: We'll be seeing more extreme weather like the
flooding that killed at least 30 people last month in the southern plains, while damaging or destroying
thousands of homes. And on the other side of the world, the extraordinary heat wave that killed more than
2,000 in India... In a paper published today, researchers from Rutgers University offered an explanation
for why climate change in the arctic is slowing the jet stream over the northern hemisphere, leaving the
weather increasingly prone to repeat... "Everything slows, and with it weather patterns persist over areas
for longer periods of times that could make a wet situation dangerously wet, it could make a heatwave
dangerously long," said climatologist Dave Robinson.
Global Warming Also Means Global Slowing and Bad Weather
www.mynorthwest.com, 6/2/2015
We've all heard plenty about global warming. But there's another factor in climate change I'll bet you
haven't heard about- global slowing... A paper published by researchers from Rutgers says the climate
change has slowed down the jet stream. So now when a weather pattern develops, instead of moving, it
tends to return to the same spot again and again... "Everything slows and with it weather patterns persist
over areas for longer periods of time," said Climatologist Dave Robinson. "That could make a wet
situation dangerously wet; it could make a heat wave dangerously long."
Why You Should Be Worried About Declining Snow Cover Across North America
www.washingtonpost.com, 6/3/2015
Snow cover- the extent of the Earth's surface that is covered with snow- was the third-lowest on record
this May for North America, according to researchers at Rutgers University who track snow cover each
year based on an analysis of satellite images... "Whether we have a record or not, it's still indicative of a
period of time where May and June snow extents are still much lower than they were earlier in the
satellite era," says Rutgers geography professor David Robinson, who tracks snow cover each
year, adding to a record that now goes back 49 years (to 1967). "It's just another year at the low end.
You're not going to break a record every year, but it's going to be low every year."... "Take the north slope
of Alaska," explains Robinson. "They lost their snow cover about two weeks early this year. For those two
weeks, you've got the sun shining 24 hours a day, and instead of that sun falling on snow cover, and
some of it being reflected right back out to space, and some of it going to melting the snow, well, it's now
falling on darker, snow-free surfaces, and being absorbed, warming the ground, starting to melt
permafrost, and also warming the atmosphere."
Why is Your Cat Such a Picky Eater? Scientists Reveal Clues.
www.csmonitor.com, 6/4/2015
With names like Fancy Feast and Pedigree, it seems that, when it comes to feeding our feline friends,
only the finest foods will do. But even if you open a can of Solid Gold, sometimes your cat will turn up her
nose. Feeling defeated, you look around, can of meat-like substance in hand, wondering what went
wrong... Cats are notoriously picky eaters, and veterinarians, nutritionists, and pet food makers are just a
few of those interested in unraveling Felix's fickle taste... For all animals, the sense of taste is a product of
evolution, and "there's a pretty good relationship between bitter things and toxins," says Paul Breslin of
Rutgers University Department of Nutritional Sciences and Monell Chemical Senses Center.
Rutgers Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners of Hunterdon County Welcomes New
Graduates
www.nj.com, 6/4/2015
The Rutgers Cooperative Extension Master Gardener program of Hunterdon County welcomes 13
new graduates to the volunteer program. On May 28, thirteen Hunterdon County residents graduated
from the Rutgers Master Gardener training program and will begin their internship under the guidance of
Rutgers Cooperative Extension faculty and staff, and Certified Rutgers Master Gardeners on the Rutgers
Master Gardener Helpline and other public outreach programs in June... The Rutgers Master Gardeners
of Hunterdon County are volunteers trained and coordinated by Rutgers Cooperative Extension faculty
and staff to provide county residents with advice of home horticultural issues; including pests of the home
and garden. Last year, the Rutgers Master Gardeners were assisted more than 650 county residents with
real research based answers to problems.
Learning More to Help Restore the Barnegat Bay
njtvonline.com, 6/4/2015
It's home to countless organisms, spanning 660 square miles. NJTV News joined Department of
Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin aboard a boat on the Barnegat Bay... Nearby,
ReClam the Bay- a local non-profit- rakes for clams. Rutgers University's Monica Bricelj says since the
1980s, there's been a huge decline in the clam population... "Not very clear on what the reasons are at
all, whether it's habitat loss or changes in water quality, it's not clear at all," she said... Bricelj and her
team placed cages with juvenile clams in four sites throughout the bay to study their growth rates and
survival. The highest growth rates occurred within relatively undeveloped protected areas. Aside from the
research projects, a bay clean-up has become an annual event.
Solvay Consultants Attack Panel's Recommended Limit for Chemical in Water
www.njspotlight.com, 6/5/2015
A South Jersey chemical manufacturer attacked a scientific panel's recommendation to set a healthbased limit for a toxic chemical on Thursday, saying the proposed standard was arbitrary and
unscientific... The standard is the first to be recommended by the DWQI since about 2009, said Dr. Keith
Cooper, a Rutgers University toxicologist who chairs the panel, and follows a period between 2010
and 2014 when the panel did not meet, prompting accusations from environmentalists that it had been
muzzled by the Christie Administration... Cooper dismissed the criticism by Solvay's consultant,
maintaining that the DWQI's work was done to strictly scientific standards. "Our MCL is based on
science," he said, in an interview.
Summertime Shade and Shelter
www.thehorse.com, 6/5/2015
With careful planning and consideration you've built the perfect shelter for your horses. You look out to
their pasture and admire its optimal design and placement. You look over to your horses. They are not in
the shelter. Rain or shine, day or night, your horses are standing out in the elements, quite happily, no
less, and completely impervious to all the trouble you have gone to on their behalf... Familiar though this
scenario may be, it's still important to provide shelter for horses, says Karyn Malinowski, PhD, director
of the Rutgers Equine Science Center at the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. Whether
it's a natural windbreak provided by the terrain, shade from a tree, or rain refuge by a man-made
structure, there are times when horses do seek and use shelter... "Horses don't necessarily need run-in
sheds, but certainly access to some form of shelter is key," says Malinowski.
THE STATE WE'RE IN: Try Out Your Green Thumb This Spring
www.newjerseyhills.com, 6/5/2015
After a long winter of garden dreams fueled by seed catalogues, this is the moment Garden State
gardeners have been waiting for: the weather is finally warm enough to plunge hands in dirt and do some
serious planting... If you've never gardened but have always wanted to grow your own healthy food,
there's no better time than now to dig in... The American Community Garden Association estimates that
there are more than 18,000 community gardens in the United States. The exact number in New Jersey
isn’t known, since there’s no master list. But if you search "community gardens New Jersey" on the
Internet, dozens of community gardens across the state pop up... Need gardening advice? One great
resource is the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station at Rutgers University, online at
http://njaes.rutgers.edu/garden. Another is the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Jersey
website at www.nofanj.org.
'Month of the Horse' Celebration Kicks Off at Burlington County Farm
www.nj.com, 6/5/2015
New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher and New Jersey Equestrian of the Year Kirsten
Jeansson kicked off June as the Month of the Horse in New Jersey with a visit to Hidden Acres 4-D Farm
in Burlington County, a thoroughbred breeding facility on June 3... New Jersey has many top equine
centers, facilities, and events. The Equine Science Center at Rutgers University, a valuable resource
for everything equine in the Garden State, is dedicated to better horse care through research and
education. The United States Equestrian Foundation headquartered in Gladstone funds programs that
train and support top athletes and horses to compete at the Olympics, World Championships, Pan
American Games and other top international competitions. The Horse Park of New Jersey at Stone
Tavern in Allentown hosts the Jersey Fresh Three-Day Event, which has become one of the world's top
eventing competitions. And, the Gloucester County Dream Park is a state-of-the-art equestrian complex
created to provide opportunities for horse owners to participate in shows and competitions and for the
public to experience horse events firsthand.
Wild Bees: It's How Many, Not Which Ones, That Counts
www.njenvironmentnews.com, 6/7/2015
Farmers should concern themselves with how many individual wild bees they have pollinating their fields,
not how many kinds of bees, according to new research from Rutgers and the University of Calgary... In
their study of fruit plants in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and California, Rachael Winfree, a Rutgers
ecologist, and her co-authors found that the abundance of a few dominant species of wild bee is more
important than the diversity of bee species pollinating crops...
N.J.'s 10 Most Romantic Spots: Islands, Parks, and one Passion Puddle
www.nj.com, 6/8/2015
Spring is here, and love is in the air, even if it's clogged with pollen and that winsome whiff of Jersey eau
de Turnpike Exit 13. The nation's most densely-populated state -- not to mention its most mocked and
maligned- is brimming with romantic spots and places... There are parks, gardens, towns, beaches and
islands perfect for long walks and heart-to-heart talks, maybe even for popping The Question... Passion
Puddle, between Cook and Douglass campuses, Rutgers University. If a male student from Cook
College and a female student from Douglass College hold hands and walk three times around the puddle
-- more of a pond -- they'll get married. Or so the longtime campus legend goes. Passion Puddle ranked
sixth on a list of the nation's 25 most romanic spots on a college campus.
Students Assist Project PORTS (Oyster Restoration)
www.vineland.org, 6/9/2015
Students at Mennies Elementary and Veterans Memorial Middle School recently participated in "Project
PORTS (Promoting Oyster Restoration Through Schools)", an outreach initiative of the Haskin Shellfish
Research Laboratory, Rutgers University. The program includes classroom activities that teach
students about oysters and the maritime history of the Delaware Bay and culminates with students
building shell bags that will be placed in the Delaware Bay to form oyster reefs... The project was directed
by Jenny Paterno, a laboratory technician and Lisa Calvo, program coordinator of the Haskin
Shellfish Research Laboratory (Rutgers University). It was a homecoming of sorts for Paterno, who
attended Mennies as an elementary school student. She later went to Landis Middle School and
graduated from Vineland High School in 2008... Paterno earned a Master's degree in Ecology and
Evolution from Rutgers University this year.
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