Got bumper stickers?
"Watch out for cars with bumper stickers. That's the surprising conclusion of a recent study by Colorado State University social psychologist William Szlemko. Drivers of cars with bumper stickers, window decals, personalized license plates, and other 'territorial markers' not only get mad when someone cuts in their lane or is slow to respond to a changed traffic light, but they are far more likely than those who do not personalize their cars to use their vehicles to express rage — by honking, tailgating, and other aggressive behavior, he said. It does not seem to matter whether the messages on the stickers are about peace and love — 'Visualize World Peace' — or angry and in your face — 'My Kid Beat Up Your Honor Student.' Szlemko and his colleagues, in a paper published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, found that people who do not personalize their cars get angry, too, but they don't act out their anger. They fume, mentally call the other driver a 'jerk' and move on."
—Shankar Vedantam, Washington Post, June 17, 2008
Breathing easy
A team of Colorado State University students is in Nicaragua this summer to study deadly indoor air pollution caused by wood cookstoves. More than 1.6 million people die every year from respiratory illnesses, and indoor air pollution is a major contributing factor, explains Tom Hraha, one of six CSU environmental and radiological health sciences students working on the cookstove project. "The exposure is massive in women and children, pretty much the equivalent of smoking two packs of cigarettes a day," says Hraha. Cleaner cookstoves have been installed in Nicaragua, but few longitudinal studies have documented the new stoves' effectiveness. The students are studying 100 families in Nicaragua, administering health surveys, home and personal monitors, and lung-function and blood testing to establish baseline data.
—Colorado State University, Spring 2008 ERHS Emitter
Instituting livestock
A new institute at Colorado State University aims to solve problems between livestock production and science-based environmental management. The Institute for Livestock and the Environment will consider issues of economic growth in the livestock industry and the environment to help achieve sustainable rural communities. Directed by Jessica Davis, CSU professor of soil science and an Extension specialist, the institute will assess the environmental, economic, and social impacts of livestock production; develop viable management practices; and inform advisors and policy makers. "This is a critical time for CSU to support the livestock industry in its efforts to minimize environmental risks," says Davis. "By working together both within CSU and along with producers and policymakers, our ability to solve real-world problems is magnified."
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