Noted: Methane is considered a greenhouse gas because it traps infrared radiation in the atmosphere and raises air temperatures. Livestock farming represents about 30% of the methane emissions produced from human activities in the U.S., with beef and dairy cattle as the major contributors, according to University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension.
The reality isn’t that clean. Fenske’s video hinges on a new study from researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The study, released last month, suggests that in the real world, ethanol provides no discernible reduction in emissions. In fact, corn-based ethanol is up to 24 percent more carbon-intensive than traditional gasoline. That’s because, while growing corn is a carbon sink, every other part of the process of turning corn into fuel creates intense emissions output.
Religious participation seems to promote individual flourishing in a variety of interlocking ways, beginning with the friendships it fosters. In 2010, Chaeyoon Lim (of the University of Wisconsin-Madison) and Robert Putnam (of Harvard University) estimated that about half of the effect on satisfaction comes from deep and supportive relationships. The effects are also particularly strong with respect to marriage, with weekly service attenders being about 50 percent less likely to divorce than never-attenders. Religious participation also strongly protects against self-destructive behaviors: One of our studies found that, compared with never-attenders, regular attenders were substantially less likely (68 percent less likely for women, 33 percent less likely for men) to die from alcohol poisoning, drug overdose or suicide.
“There is some evidence that the effect of drinking on the brain is exponential,” said co-corresponding author Remi Daviet, now from the University of Wisconsin. “So, one additional drink in a day could have more of an impact than any of the previous drinks that day. That means that cutting back on that final drink of the night might have a big effect in terms of brain aging.”
President Joe Biden and Governor Tony Evers spoke at UW-Superior this Wednesday, where they discussed the expected impact of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which was passed in under the Biden administration in Nov. 2021.
Noted: The University of Wisconsin System and the Wisconsin Idea: The Wisconsin Regional Art Program hired painter John Steuart Curry in 1936 as the first artist-in-residence at a U.S. university. Curry, and later Aaron Bohrod, worked with groups around the state to encourage to encourage small-town and rural artists. The program valued art created not only by professors and artists, but also by regular people, Sawkins said.
Letter to the editor: More than just safety (which is still important), college students have had a tumultuous two years amid the pandemic and could use the relief of a snow day when conditions are snowy and icy. Snow days provide momentary freedom from responsibilities and allow for some well-deserved free time. We have rarely had days off (and got no spring break last year).
The initiative received a seed project grant from the Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment this year, according to the UW-Madison School of Human Ecology. The maximum amount awarded from these grants is $4,000. Other funds are also coming from the School of Human Ecology’s Indigenous EcoWell Initiative.
The few dozen UW-Madison students living in what is likely the state’s last student housing cooperative are pleading with the university for a solution to their destined-to-be-demolished building.
The annual UW System’s Research in the Rotunda will return to the Capitol for its 18th year on Wednesday. Students and faculty are especially eager to share their work after the event was canceled last year due to COVID-19.
UW Health and the UW School of Medicine and Public Health received a $5.5 million grant from the Bernard Osher Foundation Friday to support research and implementation of integrative health for Wisconsin communities.
Madison wouldn’t be Madison without its lakes. At least Hilary Dugan — an assistant professor of aquatic biology and ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison — thinks so. Dugan works at the Center for Limnology right off of Lake Mendota, tucked away behind a frozen Lakeshore Path next to the Memorial Union. She said people either know exactly where the center is, and what limnology is, or know nothing about it at all.
In general, there’s strong evidence that mindfulness-based interventions, including MBCT, are an effective treatment for depression. A meta-analysis of conducted by Dr. Simon Goldberg, an assistant professor in the department of counseling psychology and faculty at the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin, indicates that such programs are as effective as psycho- and behavioral therapies.
