Jobs and Internships

Ohio University is hiring a Conservation Biologist in Athens.

Honeywell is hiring a Residential Energy Auditor in Dublin.

Xavier University is hiring an Assistant Professor of Sustainability and Global Cultures in Cincinnati.

Bowling Green State University is hiring a Tenure Track Professor in Sustainability Education in Bowling Green.

First Solar currently has 67 open positions in Perrysburg.

The Cleveland Foundation is hiring a Program Officer in Cleveland.

M.S. Graduate Research Assistant in Soil Ecology and Management at the Department of Soil Science, North Carolina State University. Contact Alan Franzluebbers (alan.franzluebbers@ars.usda.gov) and visit the North Carolina State University website.

Seminars and Courses

Review Of EPA’s New Rule For Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Live Webinar: Thursday, November 13, 2014

Regulations change the way we do business all the time, especially when they involve climate change! The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently proposed regulations to reduce carbon emissions by 30% in the next 15 years. This may seem like a daunting task; however, it isn't.

EPA has proposed state-specific rate-based goals for carbon dioxide emissions from the power sector. The agency has also proposed guidelines for states to follow in developing plans to achieve the state-specific goals.

In this 60-minute session, expert speaker Tamar Cerafici will guide you through the new regulations and show how existing state regulations and utility infrastructure have already built a solid foundation for greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction reduction. Along with her review of the regulations, Ms. Cerafici will highlight some of the legal and financial challenges that the EPA faces as it tries to implement the new regulations.

This program will answer:

• Why does EPA want to regulate greenhouse gases (GHG) anyway?
• What do EPA's new regulations really do to limit GHG?
• Do current efforts regulate GHG on a more local level (such as state and regional)?
• The proposed rule is just a proposal – why should we even bother?
• How will these regulations affect you (and your business)?

Benefits of the session:

• Gain understanding of the EPA's new regulations for carbon emissions
• Learn the four building blocks for emissions reduction
• Get a checklist to follow as the regulations develop
• Understand implementation strategies and lessons learned
• State and regional strategies for addressing greenhouse gases

REGISTER on the Audio Solutions website- Apply "SK20" at check-out to get $20 off.

Workshops and Conferences

Campus Conservation Nationals 2015 - Compete to Reduce This Spring

Now in its fifth year, Campus Conservation Nationals is hosted by the National Wildlife Federation, U.S. Green Fiona Fuerte CCN 2015Building Council, Lucid, and the Alliance to Save Energy, and is the world’s largest energy and water reduction competition for colleges and universities. 

It’s an unparalleled opportunity to:

• Foster a culture of conservation on your campus
• Save energy and water
• Boost leadership and career skills while earning points necessary to become a nationally recognized EcoLeader (see below)
• Become a part of the CCN legacy (during CCN 2014, 1330 participating buildings at 109 schools saved enough electricity to take 201 homes off the grid for a year! And saved 476,000 gallons of water the equivalent of 1.8 million water bottles!)

The CCN team will support your campus with training webinars, how-to guides, and templates. Your school will also get its very own Building Dashboard website to communicate competition standings to your community - check out this sample Building Dashboard! - as well as Building Blocks, a brand new product from Lucid that allows you to share competition standings on any website.

Register for CCN today or attend a CCN Kick-Off webinar to learn more about dates, deadlines, best practices, and next steps! The next webinar is scheduled for November 3 at 3:00pm Eastern.

National Energy Education Summit in Washington, DC

The National Energy Education Summit, organized by the Council of Energy Research and Education Leaders (CEREL), will take place on Monday, January 26, 2015 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City at the Washington, DC National Airport.

The National Energy Education Summit will engage energy educators at all levels and students to build, improve, and expand energy education and serve the needs of diverse populations of students and citizens. The Summit will cover what we teach in energy education, how we teach it, how we can collaborate to teach it better, and how we can overcome critical challenges. It is an opportunity to share and learn best practices and to develop partnerships with other energy educators and organizations.

Meet NWF EcoLeaders at AASHE Conference

We’re excited to be offering a number of ways for you to learn more about our new NWF EcoLeaders Community at next week’s AASHE conference. We hope you’ll consider joining one of our sessions or stopping by our table to say hello, learn more and enter our raffle for a $50.00 Amazon gift card!

NWF’s EcoLeaders is the first online community of its kind where student leaders can:

• Connect with student leaders across the country for support and inspiration
• Access resources, start projects and track actions and share updates
• Earn national recognition for demonstrated leadership skills and positive impact on the environment

Here’s where you can find us at AASHE: Booth 714 in the Exhibit Hall – Come say hello!

A National Online Community for Student Sustainability Leaders

Sunday, October 26, 2014: 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM, Room D136 (Student Summit Session)

We will share stories from student sustainability leaders from across the country that are connecting with one another, building relationships and sharing ideas about how they are making their campuses and communities more sustainable. Students are coming together using the National Wildlife Federation's new EcoLeaders community to spread innovative ideas and resources across campuses and communities. Students, just like others in the sustainability world are not interested in re-inventing the wheel. But up until now, there hasn’t been a “virtual space” where collaboration, lessons learned and best practices could be shared with other students on a national level. This workshop will feature unique ways that students are collaborating, engaging with one another and earning recognition for the work they are doing. The workshop will showcase a variety of successful projects and ideas and how collaboration has spurred successful sustainability ventures.

Using Online Tools to Support Offline Action and Innovation

Tuesday, October 28, 2014: 9:40 AM – 10:00 AM, Room B119

If you plant a tree in the forest but didn't tweet about it did it really happen? While the real results of sustainability projects and programs take place offline and can be measured in concrete terms like gallons of water save and number of trees planted, online tools help tell the story, build support for your projects and help spread innovation and creative ideas for solving tough problems. This interactive session will explore tools and strategies for sharing your story online and engaging supporters such as online communities and social media. We will draw from examples and case studies from campuses successfully using online engagement to build support and recruit participants to their programs. Participants will also have the opportunity to share success stories from their own experience and share their favorite online resources. Of course, we will tweet the best ideas! Finally, we will share planning tools for developing goals for online engagement and measuring and tracking success both online and in the "real" world.

Engaging Students in Years of Living Dangerously

Tuesday, October 28 1:00 – 2:00 PM, Room B112

The YEARS OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY is a journey into the eye of the storm, as Hollywood’s brightest stars and today’s most respected journalists explore the issues of climate change and bring you intimate stories of triumph and tragedy. YEARS OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY takes you directly to the heart of the story in this awe-inspiring and cinematic documentary series event from Executive Producers James Cameron, Jerry Weintraub and Arnold Schwarzenegger. National Wildlife Federation is the education partner for the series working with producers to extend its reach to the community with an emphasis on high school students and college and university audiences. This presentation will feature: an episode in the series and/or behind the scenes footage; the educational resources developed (MOOC, curriculum, case studies); and Q and A (possibly panel format) with experts (producer, correspondent, scientist, featured "cast" member) to discuss the series and learn action steps on how to share this documentary with campus audiences and advance the sustainability efforts on campus.

Not able to make the conference this year but still looking to stay engaged? Head on over to the National Wildlife Foundation EcoLeaders website to get started!

Miscellaneous

Algal Blooms in Sandusky Bay

A new research project at Bowling Green State University, funded by Ohio Sea Grant, is exploring how differences in nutrient loading between Sandusky Bay and Lake Erie can lead to different types of harmful algal blooms, and how to prevent or reduce the blooms when they happen.

Environmental Education Goes Local

NOAA's B-WET education program promotes locally relevant learning through hands-on experiences. In the Great Lakes, B-WET is led by Pennsylvania Sea Grant in collaboration with Ohio Sea Grant, and combines teacher workshops with year-long support for classroom activities.

Thousands Speak Up for the Endangered Red Wolf

With help from friends of wildlife like you, the National Wildlife Federation delivered more than 33,000 comments to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in support of the Red Wolf Recovery Program!

Red wolf populations were decimated by the early part of the 20th century due to predator control programs and loss of habitat. Since the first reintroduction in 1987, there are now just 90-100 red wolves roaming their native range in eastern North Carolina.

In early September, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service announced it was conducting an evaluation of the Red Wolf Recovery Program, leaving the fate of the critically endangered red wolves hanging in the balance. A previous email from us inadvertently indicated that the program, itself, was ending on September 26th when it was actually the opportunity to submit comments that ended on that date.

The program evaluation is on-going and a final decision to continue, modify, or terminate the Red Wolf Recovery Program is expected from the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service in early 2015.

National Wildlife Federation and our partners will continue to closely monitor this situation and work towards saving the Red Wolf Recovery Program.

Mountain Lions Trapped by Traffic. Give Them a Chance.

P22 is a plucky young mountain lion who has become affectionately known as the “Hollywood Lion”. When he journeyed from his home in the Santa Monica Mountains to find new territory—and ultimately, a mate—he somehow made it across two of America’s busiest eight-lane freeways.

He was very, very lucky. But most wildlife aren’t. Many mountain lions and other wildlife never made it as far as P22 did. They were struck and killed by vehicles. But P22 did survive, and ended up in the urban green spaces of Los Angeles’ Griffith Park. He’s been there now for two years. It’s only a tiny fraction of his natural range, and he’s the only mountain lion there. He’s stuck in a lonely bachelor pad!

Sooner or later, P22 will strike out again to find a mate. Sadly, he will probably die trying to cross back over those same freeways. The story of this lonely lion has captured the imagination of people in Los Angeles and around the world. He survives on the urban edges, in isolation, against all odds. But for how long? If we don’t provide safe crossings for mountain lions and other wildlife, their odds of safely crossing roads are abysmally small.

We CAN successfully help wildlife prosper in an increasingly urban landscape by completing plans and research for this wildlife crossing and securing essential federal support to build it.

Pledge to Vote for Wildlife this Year

Why have record-breaking numbers of manatees recently been dying in Florida?

In part because some of the conservation funds that should be protecting important streams, wetlands, forests, and beaches has been taken away from conserving these critical habitat areas. Nutrient runoff may be contributing to deadly outbreaks of red tide.

Wildlife across the country needs help. In every state, in every district, we urgently need friends of wildlife like you to stand up and fight back against injustices like this.

In states and cities throughout the country, measures that protect wildlife are up for a vote this Election Day. So are candidates who stand for—and against—wildlife interests. A lot is at stake—wetlands protections for great blue herons, limiting carbon pollution from power plants, restoring wild bison to their habitat, and so much more.

We need to vote the protectors in, and the foes of wildlife out!

After you pledge, be sure to share your commitment with others—every vote counts!

Good News for Wild Bison!

There is good news for restoring wild bison to their historic range on western tribal lands.

Just last week, the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission agreed to transfer 146 wild bison to 25,000 acres of rolling prairie on Assiniboine and Sioux tribal lands on the Fort Peck Reservation in Montana.

The 146 bison, from the last wild, free-ranging herd at Yellowstone National Park, have been in quarantine and tested for five years to ensure they are free of disease. Other wild bison on the reservations, all disease-free, continue to be tested.

Fear of disease transmittal from bison to domestic livestock has blocked the restoration of wild bison to larger landscapes in the West for the past two decades—a significant challenge the National Wildlife Federation and our partners have worked tirelessly to overcome.

With the decision to relocate the bison to the Assiniboine and Sioux tribal lands, we have taken yet another positive step forward in bringing wild bison back to roam the western grassland prairie.

We're Going on Offense for Wildlife. You In?

It’s election season, and my phone has been ringing off the hook with political phone calls. From push polls to get-out-the vote robocalls, it’s quite clear that elected officials and candidates want my attention.

Good. Because I want theirs.

I need friends of wildlife like you to be a part of this. Here’s why.

There’s a lot of wildlife in deep trouble right now. Florida manatees are dying at an alarming rate, while conservation funds that protect their habitat disappear. Bottlenose dolphins in the Gulf seem to have been forgotten and are STILL SUFFERING from the disastrous BP oil spill. There’s ZERO money left to protect meadowlands in New Jersey for wildlife like the red fox. And in the West, wild bison are being chased, corralled and sent to slaughter when roaming back onto their native habitat.

Sound like the right path to you?

If we want any shot at passing wildlife friendly ballot measures and electing candidates who will prioritize wildlife protection, we must fight hard and go on offense.

Let’s show the world the power of our grassroots strength.

We’re out in neighborhoods meeting face-to-face with voters and focusing on races where the welfare of wildlife is on the line. In states where wildlife friendly candidates are in tight races, your support can be the difference between winning and losing.