Abstract: Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) are ubiquitous in surface waters throughout the world but their effects on ecological function and structure is not well understood. The concentration of pharmaceuticals in surface waters has been measured throughout the world and I will review the concentrations and discuss some new findings from my research group on illicit drugs in suburban and urban streams. Research in my laboratory has also explored the effects of common pharmaceuticals (caffeine, cimetidine, ciprofloxacin, diphenhydramine, metformin, and ranitidine) on ecosystem functions ranging from primary production, community respiration and invertebrate production through laboratory and field experiments. I will describe new methods and results from these research projects. I will discuss explorations of the influence of pharmaceuticals on bacterial community composition. Our data demonstrate that PPCPs, alone or in combination, influence stream biofilms and invertebrates and their presence in aquatic ecosystem could have consequences for important ecological functions.…
The Notre Dame School of Architecture and the Notre Dame Environmental Change Initiative are excited to co-sponsor a special lecture by archtiect Jeanne Gang.
Few political scientists study climate change "adaptation" — efforts to reduce vulnerability to climate change. Yet adapting to climate change is fundamentally political, raising questions about political economy (adaptation costs money), political theory (adaptation involves questions of social justice), comparative politics (some countries pursue adaptation more aggressively than others), urban politics (some cities pursue adaptation more aggressively than others), regime type (democracies and authoritarian regimes may differ in the way they pursue adaptation), federalism (different levels of government may be involved), and many other issues.
As a prelude to Earth Day, Dombeck will talk about the complex and often controversial relationship that humans have had with the land in North America, from the Native Americans and early explorers, to the tragedy of the commons, urban sprawl, climate change, and beyond.…
Jeanne Gang, FAIA, is Founder and Principal of 
