UO E-Clips is a daily report prepared by the Office of Communications (http://comm.uoregon.edu) summarizing current news coverage of the University of Oregon.
Media mentions for October 8
Environmentalist finds CO2 rises faster in good times than it falls in bad
Phys.org: Richard York, a researcher with the Department of Sociology and Environmental Studies Program at the University of Oregon, has found that a measured reduction in CO2 emissions during economic downturns is not on par with the increase in CO2 emissions that is apparent during boon times. York made this discovery after analyzing the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of several nations during the period 1960 to 2008, and then comparing these values with the countries' corresponding annual measures of CO2 emissions. The results are published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Media mentions for October 7
EDITORIAL: A step toward autonomy
The Register-Guard: The University of Oregon and Portland State University have taken a big step toward gaining greater control over their own affairs. On Thursday the Legislature’s Special Committee on University Governance approved the draft of a bill that would allow the universities to form their own boards ... the bill would allow the UO and PSU boards to issue revenue bonds, approve labor agreements and set tuition rates within limits. The boards would have the authority to hire university presidents, subject to approval by the state Board of Higher Education. The UO and PSU have been forced to become increasingly self-reliant in their financing, and their governance systems need to catch up. The draft bill brings them closer to that goal.
Greenhouse gases rise with GDP, slower to fall in recession
Reuters: Greenhouse gas emissions rise when economies expand but don't fall as quickly when recession strikes, perhaps because people stick with a higher-emitting lifestyle from the boom times, a study showed ... Emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, rose by an average of 0.73 percent for every 1 percent growth in gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, Richard York of the University of Oregon wrote in his report ... “Economic decline ... doesn't lead to as big a decline in emissions as a comparable amount of economic growth leads to growth in emissions,” York told Reuters.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Late mentions for October 5
Students, teachers protest university privatization, tuition hikes
People’s World: A new coalition of students, teachers, and workers at the University of Oregon rallied and marched Oct. 3 against rising tuition and plans to privatize governance of the university. The event drew over a hundred participants and observers to the student union amphitheater. Sponsored by LESST, the League of Educators and Students Slashing Tuition, the rally included a wide variety of speakers addressed the rising cost of higher education in Oregon and around the country ... “You must throw yourselves athwart the machine that is devouring this generation, capitalism,” Rose said, to cheers and waving signs. “It has commodified education, it has commodified teachers, and it has commodified students. It must stop, it must stop here, it must stop now!”
Signs of an economic rebuild seen in construction
KVAL: After years on life support, signs of life are now beginning to show in the Oregon housing market. That's according to a new University of Oregon report on the state of the economy. Last winter Eugene contractor David Smith was worried that he wouldn't be able to build any new homes this year. Now, business is booming. Smith said the numbers seem to point to a market that is reviving. “I can only judge by my own business but we're as busy as we've ever ever been.” said Smith ... “I think that speaks to improving conditions for builders, particularly since we've had this long period of which very few homes were built,” said U.O. economist Tim Duy.