| 
Carbon trap
Professor of International Relations Kathleen McAfee commented for a July 24 Earth Island Journal article on the Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) program for trading carbon offsets to compensate for greenhouse gas emissions. "When you look at how these policies are implemented, it’s basically making nature itself into a kind of tradable commodity; it’s setting up markets to trade clean air or other natural assets around the world. But the problem with markets is that they generally tend to distribute wealth upwards – from the less wealthy to the more wealthy," McAfee said.
Pointing to success
Professor of Psychology Patricia Miller's new study that indicates that children who use gestures perform better with problem-solving tasks was the subject of a July 26 article in Science Daily. "The findings are a reminder of how strong individual differences are among children of a particular age. Certain 3-year-olds look like typical 4-year-olds. This likely reflects an interaction of natural talent and particular experiences -- both nature and nurture, as usual," Miller said.
Blowin' in the wind
Associate Professor of Biology Vance Vredenburg commented for a July 26 San Francisco Chronicle report on revelations that pesticides have been found in the bodies of amphibians and pond sediment in remote parts of the High Sierra. The research "provides solid evidence that pesticides are making their way into natural ecosystems. I would guess that pesticides could have major effects, but now we need to test it," Vredenburg said. "What we still don't know is how important those pesticides are in driving the collapse of many frogs in the region."
Top ten
SF State is ranked the seventh largest public master's institution in the United States, and is ranked third nationwide among master's-level institutions for enrollment of international students, according to an Aug. 19 report in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
For more media coverage of faculty, staff, students, alumni and programs, see SF State in the News.
|
