“Think Globally, Act Locally”...AKA “Love the world,hate your neighbor”
Some great ‘Shutdown’ news!
Shutdown could put NIU’s Antarctica project on ice
Northern Illinois University geology professor Reed Scherer discusses the school’s research project in front of a map of Antarctica last year. (Abel Uribe, Chicago Tribune 2012 / November 9, 2012)
By Jodi S. Cohen, Chicago Tribune reporter
7:04 a.m. CDT, October 8, 2013
The federal shutdown may put on ice a massive, ongoing research project led by Northern Illinois University professors working in Antarctica.
The research by geologists Ross Powell and Reed Scherer is funded by a $10 million grant from the National Science Foundation, and the NSF could cancel the upcoming research season in the Antarctic if the shutdown continues through midmonth, according to NIU.
Now is the time when operations typically ramp up in preparation for the winter research season, Powell said, including shipping the gear, food and systems that support the research. None of that can happen while the government is paralyzed.
“Within the next couple of weeks or so, it will be a critical time when we will learn if our whole project is shafted basically,” Powell said. “The operations take so long and you can’t just turn them on and off.”
The two NIU faculty members have worked for years in the Antarctic, studying ice sheet stability and subglacial life to learn more about global warming and climate change. They, along with two doctoral students, had planned to depart toward the end of the year.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/education/ct-talk-niu-antarctica-20131008,0,551968.story