Celebrate Geography Awareness Week November 16 through 22 with UNL’s Geography Student Organization (GSO). The theme for this year is “The Americas.” The GSO will be sponsoring a Discover Geography poster session and the 13th Annual Geography Bee. Both events will be held at Hardin Hall on Wednesday, November 19. For more information about these events and complete schedule, click here.

Feral hogs, emerald ash borers and the common reed are among the invasive species that are threatening Nebraska’s well-being and costing the state millions, and the public can learn more at 7 p.m. Tuesday, November 11, in the Hardin Hall auditorium. Craig Allen, leader of the Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, will present “Nebraska Invasive Species Project: Monitoring, Mapping, Risk and Management.”

“Biological invasions – when a plant, animal or insect moves into a new territory and has left behind its natural enemies – are a growing threat to humans and nature. Invasive species may out-compete native plants and animals, may irreversibly damage ecosystems, and definitely cost Nebraskans millions of dollars each year,” Allen said. (more)

The Tern & Plover Conservation Partnership is taking its message to the masses with a new You Tube video reminding people to “respect the signs” that protect the birds’ breeding grounds. The video reminds viewers that accidentally stepping on a nest or walking past the “Keep Out” or “Do Not Enter” signs is a violation of federal law, and can lead to fines up to $100,000 or a year in jail. The clip is 4 minutes, 36 seconds long, and in its first five days on-line was seen by more than 1,000 people. (see the video and learn more)

SNR geologist Matt Joeckel will present, "From Fire to Ice: A Geological Perspective on One Billion Years of Landscape Evolution in Eastern Nebraska," November 19, 2008, at 3:30 p.m. at the Great Plains Art Museum, 1155 Q St., in Lincoln. His talk will be part of the Olson Seminar series hosted by the Center for Great Plains Studies.

A new map available from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln details many of the geologic features of all or parts of 11 northeast Nebraska counties. The colorful map and accompanying pamphlet are the result of years
of study and research, said primary author Bob Diffendal, a retired UNL geologist of the Conservation and Survey Division, part of the UNL School of Natural Resources.

The “Geologic Map of the O’Neill 1° x 2° Quadrangle,” as the map is known, covers all or parts of Antelope, Blaine, Boyd, Brown, Garfield, Knox, Loup, Holt, Keya Paha, Rock and Wheeler Counties, which includes parts of Northeast Nebraska, parts of the Nebraska Sandhills and parts of the Missouri, Niobrara and Loup River watersheds. (more)

Climate is not just for climatologists anymore, say the geologist and climatologist who are teaching a new course this spring, “Climate in Crisis?” It’s listed as NRES 299 and will be Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 2 p.m. in Hardin Hall, at the corner of 33rd and Holdrege.

The course “is for anyone, with or without a science background, who is interested in this controversial subject,” said Ken Dewey, a climatologist with the School of Natural Resources. “We as academics can’t imagine any profession that isn’t impacted by the changing climate. Come learn more!” (more)