1) K-State to Offer Public Session With Experts on Climate Change
2) Critters Play Role in Weather Folklore
3) One-of-a-Kind Conference Offers Ideas for After-School Hours
4) 28- to 32-Degree Weather Won’t Always Bring Frost
5) Kansas AgrAbility to Host National Training Workshop
1) K-State to Offer Public Session With Experts on Climate Change
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Heartland residents can hear international experts discuss global climate change Tuesday, Oct. 21, at Kansas State University.
The 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. program will be in the K-State Student Union’s Forum Hall. Originally designed as in-service training that examines an evolving, worldwide challenge, the event will be the first-ever session that’s open to the public during a K-State Research and Extension Annual Conference.
Two of the presenters served on the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shared the Nobel Peace Price last year with former Vice President Al Gore. One is lead scientist and a director with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service. Another heads Oregon State University’s Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. The experts’ fields range from soil tilth and microbiology to carbon sequestration and geography.
The afternoon’s major topics will include:
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The impacts of global climate change,
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Adapting to climate change,
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Mitigating further change by sequestering greenhouse gases underground,
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The policy and economics of climate change, and
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The soil carbon credits that can provide farmers access to U.S. carbon market trading.
Details about the workshop are available on the Web at www.oznet.ksu.edu/annconf and from organizer Chuck Rice at 785-532-7217 or cwrice@ksu.edu.
Visitors to the K-State campus must purchase a $4 parking permit at the information booth on 17th Street, just north of Anderson Avenue. While a new parking building is under construction, parking is available in Lot C1, east of the Bill Snyder Family Stadium and accessible from Kimball Avenue through Gate 8 or 9. Shuttles run every 10 minutes to the K-State Student Union. (Allow about 30 minutes for permit, parking and shuttle service.)
2) Critters Play Role in Weather Folklore
MANHATTAN, Kan. -- A change in seasons always brings questions, said climatologist Mary Knapp.
“In the fall, people ask, ‘What do the wooly bear caterpillars say about the coming winter?’ and ‘What about the squirrels and the nuts they bury?’” she said.
Humans have always looked for signs and portents of what the weather will be like in the coming season, said Knapp, who as the state climatologist for Kansas. She runs the Kansas Weather Data Library, based at Kansas State University.
“Folklore has it that when the brown band on the wooly bear is wide, the winter will be mild. But, research shows this just isn’t the case,” Knapp said. “While we may have a mild winter when the wooly bears have a wide brown band, it’s just as likely to be harsh. That is because the caterpillars reflect what’s happening right now in fall or what happened when they hatched.”
As for the other old “reliable” – if the squirrels are burying a lot of nuts this year, that’s because they’re benefiting from a really good crop of nuts, she said.
Information about the Kansas Weather Data Library is available on the K-State Research and Extension Web site: http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/wdl.
3) One-of-a-Kind Conference Offers Ideas for After-School Hours
WICHITA, Kan. – Planners are focusing a new Out-of-School Program Idea Conference on adding value to after-school hours and activities for Kansas children, a Kansas State University specialist said.
The one-day conference, sponsored by K-State Research and Extension, is Monday, Oct. 27, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It’s recommended for certified teachers, after-school program directors, community- and faith-based after-school providers, summer and community recreation directors, and Extension educators, said Pam Van Horn, state 4-H youth development specialist.
She is working with Beth Drescher, Sedgwick County 4-H youth development agent, to organize the session.
“How-to” sessions at the conference will touch on science, environmental education, healthful physical activity via the “Health Rocks” program, technology and engineering, the Kids-A-Cookin’ program, Junior Master Gardeners, fun with math … and quilting, programming for 5 and 6 year-olds, and tips for making learning activity kits.
The conference will be in the Sedgwick County Extension Education Center at 7001 W. 21st St. N., Wichita, Kan. 67205-1759.
Space is limited, Drescher said, and pre-registration is required by Oct. 20.
The cost to attend the conference is $10, which includes lunch and activity materials. Participants can register by making out a check to “Educational Fund” and mailing it to “Out-of-School Conference” at the Extension office address.
More information is available from Van Horn at 785-532-5800 or Drescher at 316-722-7721.
4) 28- to 32-Degree Weather Won’t Always Bring Frost
MANHATTAN, Kan – Frost can be a tricky thing to predict, but knowing some facts about frost can help in preparing for it.
State of Kansas Climatologist Mary Knapp noted, for example, that frost can form at a range of temperatures.
“Generally, temperatures need to be at 32 degrees, which is the freezing temperature of water. But, sometimes you can have frost when the official temperature reading is at 35 F. or no frost when it is 28 degrees,” she said.
Knapp heads the Kansas Weather Data Library, based with Kansas State University Research and Extension. That puts her in a unique position to chart the three major reasons for varied frost-forming temperatures.
“Official readings are taken 5 feet above ground level. So, since cold air falls, just as warm air rises, the air can be colder at ground level, than at 5 feet up.” Knapp explained, adding that this is one reason why low-lying areas get frost before higher areas do.
“Another reason is the dew point. You don’t get any kind of condensation -- including frost -- until the air temperature reaches the dew point level,” she said.
Driveways, stone walls, buildings and the like tend to be heat “traps,” Knapp added. That’s a third reason for varied frost-forming temperatures.
“Their radiating their stored heat can keep nearby flowers blooming and create those interesting half-and-half frost effects on parked cars,” Knapp said.
Information about Kansas weather and the Kansas Weather Data Library is available online at http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/wdl/.
5) Kansas AgrAbility to Host National Training Workshop
MANHATTAN, Kan. -- The Kansas AgrAbility program will host an AgrAbility National Training Workshop Nov. 10-13 at the Hyatt Regency-Wichita in Wichita, Kan..
AgrAbility is a program that aids individuals who are involved in agriculture and have disabilities.
“The national training workshop brings together professionals and farmers to address a wide range of issues related to disabilities in agriculture,” said John Slocombe, safety specialist with Kansas State University Research and Extension.
Some of the conference highlights will include:
* Keynote speech by Temple Grandin, authority on animal behavior and autism, at 6 p.m., Monday, Nov. 10;
* Introduction to the new National AgrAbility Project team and work plan;
*Two days of intensive breakout sessions Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 11-12, covering a variety of topics relevant to professionals and farmers; and
*Thursday tours to the Kansas AGCO manufacturing plant and the Elk River Wind Farm & Ferrell Ranch in Beaumont, Kan. (Participants may attend one or both tours.)
More information about the AgrAbility National Training Workshop is available on the Web at http://www.agrability.org or by phone at 1-800-233-1234. Interested persons may also contact the Kansas AgrAbility program office at 785-532-2976 or kebert@ksu.edu.
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