In the 2019 Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP), the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) rolled out a "local and specific" strategy to reduce its pollution burden on the Chesapeake Bay by 2025. Counties with land within the Chesapeake Bay watershed were encouraged to engage with local stakeholders to develop localized plans to achieve reduction goals for nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment loads impairing their local waters and the Bay downstream.
Past Events: Penn State Energy and Environment Calendar Archive
You're viewing an archived collection of past energy and environment events from around Penn State and beyond. Please visit our Event Calendar to view current and upcoming events.
Energy code requirements continue to introduce challenges and complexity to the residential construction industry. As building professionals continue to weigh options to achieve code compliance, the various energy code compliance paths that are written into the PA Uniform Construction Code (UCC) should be considered. This webinar will focus on the varying levels of “performance” paths that are available to permit applicants in the UCC.
The Earth and Environmental Systems Institute invites you to their annual Earth Day Celebration event! This event will include a showing of the documentary Photographer, featuring National Geographic photographers, Paul Nicklen and Cristina Mittermeier. During the catered lunch, attendees will also hear lightning talks presented by three of our EESI Environmental Scholars, Sam Cohen, Fran Meyers, and Alexander Massa, and learn about a new curation at Penn State’s Eberly Family Special Collection Library based on the 1899 Harriman Alaska Expedition that included John Muir and Edward Curtis.
This seminar presents two distinct but complementary vignettes exploring innovative approaches to address the mitigation of climate change. The first vignette introduces the GARF algorithm, a novel computational method that integrates a genetic algorithm with random forest machine learning to discover superior metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for methane adsorption. By using only basic information about molecular building blocks and crystal structure as input, the GARF algorithm efficiently identifies high-performing MOFs without the need for computationally intensive simulations.
As concern over climate change spreads, radical ideas are in the air. If cuts in greenhouse gas emissions fall short, some have proposed dimming the sun by reflecting sunlight directly back to space or by making marine clouds brighter. These and other proposed technical fixes often overlook the political, ethical, and social consequences of intervening in the climate system. This presentation examines the long and checkered history of weather and climate control and asks, What could possibly go wrong when “fixing the sky” becomes a dangerous experiment with our future?
Randy investigates the role of air pollution in the establishment and maintenance of racial inequities in US cities prior to World War II, using newly digitized historical data on the spatial distribution of air pollution in Pittsburgh, one of the most polluted cities in the pre-war US.
The agroforestry practice of forest farming is the production of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in forests to produce edible and medicinal crops for personal use and/or income. In this session, you will learn about invasive species management in a forest farming system.
The webinar, at no cost, will provide comprehensive guidance on managing invasive plant species identified in Pennsylvania.
Who is this for?
Municipal planning, socioeconomic factors, and geographic environmental vulnerability are key determinants of a community's livability. Various types of exposure become evident within community functions. Join us to explore how forestry can offer practical solutions to address the challenges faced by individuals and neighborhoods in our community.
Attend this one-hour webinar to learn, and networking with like-minded professionals!
Global problems of greatest importance have become existential, cross geography and peoples, and are of such complexity that no one field, agency, country, or foundation can solve them. Systems solutions to those problems by definition require an unprecedented degree of interdisciplinary collaboration whose routine goal is to achieve goals not achievable within single disciplines. International universities can become the best social structure in society capable of rising to the challenge of finding systems solutions to global problems. Participating in those solutions is a moral respons
Penn State’s NSF-supported Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) will soon invite proposals for a Seed competition that seeks to nucleate interdisciplinary teams in areas of transformative materials research that would be competitive as Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRGs) in the upcoming 2025–26 national MRSEC competition. During the Cafe I will describe the qualities of a successful Seed-IRG. Immediately after the Café (starting at 11a) will be a round table opportunity for anyone interested in further discussion & brainstorming.
In the last century, research on urban systems dynamics has improved our understanding, leading to data-driven tools for effective urban management, including predictive analytics and simulation models. Despite these advances, achieving sustainability goals remains a challenge for cities. The historical focus on system-scale decisions must now consider the influence of urban gradients and their connections to external and internal factors.
Celebrate the excitement of Earth Week and the role agriculture plays in becoming better stewards of the Earth from 1-3 p.m. on Saturday, April 20, at the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Student Farm.
The event, hosted by the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Student Farm, will provide free bus services from the Creamery bus pullout to the farm and back, commencing at 12:45 p.m. The bus will make a loop every 20 minutes.
The realities of climate change and the global need to transition to non-carbon emitting energy generation, distribution, and utilization are creating fundamental national security implications and driving an order-of-magnitude demand increase for a wide array of critical and essential minerals. Significant increases in the production of critical and essential minerals are strategically vital to achieving the desired green energy transition.
Understanding soil health through site assessment and tests, determining future land use, and selecting suitable alternative testing methods will be discussed.
The fields of bioenergy and biorenewables have seen and continue to experience unprecedented growth, as the world seeks to shift its economy to a sustainable, renewable basis. Penn State's Center for Biorenewables works to catalyze this transformation through innovation and education relating to biorenewable food, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, materials, and energy.
The EMS Energy Institute presents the 2024 Energy Xchange Seminar Series.
This presentation will feature Thandazile Moyo, Assistant Professor of Energy and Mineral Engineering in the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, with her presentation titled, "Integrating Sustainability in Minerals and Energy Resource Extraction Education." This event is free and parking is available at the Institute at 4 p.m.
Local governments in Pennsylvania are faced with questions about solar development and what kind of local regulations should be in place. Solar ordinances in Pennsylvania can vary significantly depending on the municipality. However, there are some common themes and considerations that tend to arise in solar ordinances across the state. Join us to hear from a recent study looking at solar ordinances across Pennsylvania so far.
Join this free one-hour webinar as we explore common themes and considerations in Pennsylvania's solar ordinances.
Who is this for?
2024 Women Advancing River Research Seminar Series
All seminars will be presented online live at 11:00 a.m. ET on the third Thursday of each month. Seminar recordings will be posted later. Please register in advance for all talks.
"Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Inland Waters: Reach Through Global Scale"
Amanda G. DelVecchia, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (U.S.)
Taylor Maavara, University of Leeds, (United Kingdom)
The metal fabrication and manufacturing industry is one of the most diverse industrial sectors. The processes inherent to the industry can result in the generation of waste materials, hazardous air pollutants, and volatile organic compounds. In addition, plating and degreasing processes often require metal finishing facilities to treat wastewater prior to leaving the site. This webinar will highlight strategies that manufacturers can employ to reduce energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, the use of hazardous materials, and the pollution generated by their facility.
“What is the weather forecast?” … “Are we going to get a lot of snow?” … “What channel are you on?” … “Do you believe in climate change?” … “I love space!” These are the comments/questions that are all too familiar to a Meteorologist, when often have no relevance to a Meteorologist’s career. I thought I would fit into one or more of these categories when I first began my career in Meteorology at Penn State, but my skillset and interests took me in many other directions. This talk will cover a smattering of topics on which I have focused over the past decade and a half.