at the university of california-irvine, arthur weis is studying how a 5-year california drought caused genetic changes in field mustard, a weedy plant that is common throughout the united states. weis collected seeds from wild plants before and after the drought, then raised them under identical conditions to observe differences between the two samples. even when provided with sufficient amounts of water, plants grown from post-drought seeds bloomed sooner. during the drought, natural selection favored this particular trait because it allowed the plants to seed successfully before conditions became fatally dry. building on this study, weis is organizing an nsf-funded workshop to stimulate a concerted scientific effort to collect and preserve seeds across north america. called project baseline, this undertaking will provide scientists with an important resource for studying future climate change–induced evolutionary events.

on a global scale, raymond huey of the university of washington and george gilchrist of the college of william and mary have found genetic changes in fruit flies that correspond to temperature increases. in their study, they examined a certain type of genetic change known as a chromosomal inversion. more than 40 years ago, scientists documented these genetic rearrangements in wild populations of the fruit fly species drosophila subobscura and noted that the frequency of the inversions correlated with the flies’ latitude. although the exact purpose of the inversion is unknown, it appears to protect the flies against warm temperatures. huey and gilchrist used the past data and added information on present-day fruit flies on three continents. their analysis shows genetic differences between contemporary fruit flies and 1981 populations: flies at higher latitudes have more of the low-latitude chromosomal inversions. in other words, these flies have undergone genetic adaptation to warmer temperatures.

inspired by those who want to improve their own energy efficiency, pascale founded her company, energy efficiency experts, in 2007 to give people the tools and knowledge they need to make the small energy improvements that make the biggest differences in their energy consumption and comfort.

we walk with her through a client’s house as she performs her three hour audit and a “blower door test” which helps them discover where the house leaks energy.

a pertinent exchange took place friday morning in the ronald reagan international building, just two blocks from the white house. climate-change experts presented data on the future of green development on the global economy, learning from the successes of the past and prescribing policy for the future. one symposium in particular highlighted the success of german transportation systems, drawing parallels to potential united states results of similar caliber.

break-out session 12 headlined “green infrastructure, transportation, energy and transatlantic learning” and focused on the development of german infrastructure post world war ii. what researchers found was that after world war ii, german towns spent a large amount of money rebuilding the devastated infrastructure of their country. they introduced cars, parking garages and the like to catch up to their more developed competitors.

however, during the 1970s and especially in the 1990s, there existed a marked increase in the development of alternative modes of transportation. a push towards public transportation such as railway, trolley and bus systems exploded onto europe where real estate is tight.

perhaps most influential was none other than the bicycle. special bike traffic guidelines, biking lanes, and bike garages popped up all over germany. with an increase in commuters finding their way by bicycle, the rate of car accidents dropped dramatically. interestingly enough, so did the number of biking accidents. it’s what dr. ralph buehler, assistant professor at virginia tech university specializing in urban development, calls, “strength in numbers.”

the idea is that the more people you have participating in a certain activity the more infrastructure and regulation surround the increased interest. “we have overwhelming statistics that prove time and time again that the more bicyclists we have, the less biking accidents occur. we see the same statistics for pedestrians and other modes of transportation.”

data of a similar persuasion emphasized the use of small taxes on electricity or oil, money that the european union uses to reduce the cost of social security. during micael mehling’s presentation, the president of the ecologic institute, he drew attention to the electricity tax act of 1998-9. instead of adding the tax haphazardly into the federal budget, government officials defined a clear path for the funds, leading directly to cost-cutting in social security. as a result, employers see a reduction in their cost per employee, allowing them to hire more people. “in 2005 we estimated that over 250,000 jobs have been created because of this tax. in a country of 8 million people, that’s a pretty significant growth,” said mehling.

this particular session, organized by associate professor at the george washington university, melissa keeley, addressed many economic mechanisms through which german has adapted on the path of green infrastructure while mitigating other political issues. each presenter was given 15 minutes to speak on a particular topic and then the panel opened the floor to questions.

most baby boomers grew up in the suburbs, where there lives revolved around cars. cars were a symbol of wealth, and they tended to live by “see the usa in a chevrolet” type model. now, my generation is moving further and further from that model, towards a “walkable urban” model. chris leinberger, a visiting fellow at the brookings institution and real estate developer described “walkable urbanism” as metropolitan areas of high concentration where people work, live, and shop, which as a result, significantly reduces their carbon footprint. one of the problems with this model was discussed by jair lynch, a washington dc real estate developer who stressed the cultural divide that occurs in these areas. his solution to this was intertwining affordable green housing within more affluent communities, while still maintaining the integrity of the neighborhood.

the take away message from this session was that green building and green jobs are imperative to achieving a new healthy, financially sustainable, and environmentally sound economy. but most importantly, we as generation x/y/millenials, whomever we may be, we have to vocalize and continue to be responsible for our environments.