CHAMPAIGN, Ill – University of Illinois engineers travel to Haiti to encourage solar cooking in a new program for the Big Ten Network. “Engineering Fire” tracks a team of scientists as it develops and tests a solar-cooking device called a Sun Bucket. The 30-minute documentary video on BTN premiered May 12 at 7 p.m. CDT, immediately following the Illinois baseball game versus Purdue University.

URBANA, Ill. – Who should make decisions about the management and fate of national parks and other protected areas? For a long time, especially in national parks, natural resource management decisions have centered around tourists, leaving local landowners and other stakeholders out of the picture. Now, a movement known as inclusive conservation is bringing local stakeholders to the table, and a research group from the University of Illinois is leading the effort in Alaska’s Denali National Park.    

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Chicago’s vacant lot-repurposing program is enhancing not just the curb appeal of blighted properties across the city, but also the culture and safety of the surrounding communities, residents said in a new study.

Chicago’s Large Lot Program allows existing property owners to buy up to two vacant residential lots on their blocks for $1 each.

URBANA, Ill. – Since they were first released as live bait in the mid-twentieth century, rusty crayfish have roamed lake bottoms in northern Wisconsin, gobbling native fish eggs, destroying aquatic plants, and generally wreaking havoc on entire lake ecosystems. Today, in some lakes, traps can routinely pull up 50 to 100 rusty crayfish at a time, compared to two or three native species. But in other lakes nearby, populations seem to be declining.

URBANA, Ill. – Spending time in nature boosts children’s academic achievement and healthy development, concludes a new analysis examining hundreds of studies.

URBANA, Ill. – During the Vietnam War, United States aircraft sprayed more than 20 million gallons of herbicides, including dioxin-contaminated Agent Orange, on the country’s rain forests, wetlands, and croplands. Agent Orange defoliated the thick jungle vegetation concealing Viet Cong fighters and destroyed a portion of the country’s food crops, but it was primarily the dioxin contaminant that harmed so many Vietnamese and U.S. military personnel.

After they hatch, deer ticks take two years to reproduce. In that time, they morph from tiny larvae to nymphs to adults, with each stage feeding on a different group of host animals. For researchers studying the dynamics of Lyme disease, understanding host-tick interactions could reveal weak spots that may leave ticks vulnerable to control. A recent University of Illinois study simulates these interactions and provides guidance for effective management.

URBANA, Ill. – Many anglers know invasive species cause problems in their favorite fishing spots, but a smaller subset routinely acts to prevent aquatic hitchhikers on boats and other equipment. What sets these anglers apart? A recent study from the University of Illinois attempts to answer that question from a social science perspective.

June 30, 2003

URBANA -- Are animal lovers always nature lovers? Environmental psychologist and University of Illinois professor Joanne Vining has hypothesized that people’s affection for animals may have something to do with how they care about the environment.

Psychologists have done numerous studies on humans and their attachment to animals and/or their pets as well as numerous studies on people’s concern for nature and the environment. Vining is the first to test these factors empirically to see if they influence each other.

June 5, 2003

Urbana - In Russia, scientists have found anthrax bacteria that are close to 100 years old still lurking in the soil. In its spore state, anthrax bacteria are tough, resilient creatures. This is why they have also become one of the most feared biological weapons today, said Benito Mariñas, University of Illinois professor of civil and environmental engineering.