As Chris hinted, the two of us have been hard at work on something extraordinary to be announced next week! Get ready for BIG news that we're real excited to share here... In the mean time, posts today will introduce a couple of bright young authors. You see, last month I gave a lecture here at Duke in Prasad Kasibhatla's class entitled 'What on Earth? An Investigation of Contemporary Environmental Issues.' A fantastic course - just check out the description:
This first-year seminar will delve into the scientific and public policy perspectives on contemporary environmental issues. In recent decades, there has been increasing awareness of the need to understand and manage diverse environmental challenges, such as global climate change, regional air pollution, water scarcity, loss of biodiversity, and beach erosion. This course will examine topics such as these, exploring both the scientific study of and societal response to these issues, with a specific focus on developing an integrated way of thinking about contemporary environmental issues.
I discussed the political arena, communication, new media, blogging, and the multifaceted ways they interact in the science realm. I simply love the opportunity to speak with undergraduates because they bring a fresh and interesting perspective to the table. Sometimes these dialogs even result in my own reexamination of familiar topics through a different lens. Prasad and I challenged students to explore The Intersection and compose their own posts. The subject had to be related to the environment and many great submissions found there way to my inbox over the next weeks. Today I post the winners here... So throughout the day, you're invited to check back and my hope is that readers will welcome these first-year students to the blogosphere. Initially, 'winners' were to receive extra credit, but Prasad and I are so impressed, we agree everyone deserves merit. The enthusiasm and interest displayed by these young people encourages me that the next generation of environmental leaders are thinking globally and ready to hit the ground running. Congratulations to everyone for a job well done!
