Daily Lobo new mexico
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The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
wednesday October 30, 2013
Forty-forgone, not forgotten ‘Spice’ trade puts by Thomas Romero-Salas sports@dailylobo.com @ThomasRomeroS
Courtesy Photo / University of New Mexico Athletics The Lobo career of Brian Urlacher, No. 44, spanned from 1996-99. UNM will officially retire Urlacher’s number when the football team hosts Air Force on Nov. 8 at University Stadium.
Student presents climate data by Benjamin Covey news@dailylobo.com @BC_runnr
Climate change became the focus of a discussion by a UNM department Monday. In keeping with its community outreach and education programs, UNM’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences held a discussion with the League of Women Voters of Central New Mexico (LWVCNM). The League invited UNM Ph.D. student Kimberly Samuels-Crow to present about global climate change at an event held at La Vida Llena Retirement Community in the northeast heights. The discussion, titled “Climate Change: The Data Behind the Conclusions,” included an introduction on which factors may be threatening global climate stability. Research and statistics associated with global climate change and subsequent specific conclusions within the scientific community were also discussed. Samuels-Crow said three conclusions sum up her presentation at the event. “The first is that ninety-seven percent of climate scientists agree that global temperatures are rising,” she said. “Second, these temperatures are rising due to increased concentrations of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. And third, the
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Daily Lobo volume 118
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concentrations of these gasses are rising due largely to human impact, namely the burning of fossil fuels.” Samuels-Crow, now in her fourth year at UNM, said the outreach and public education efforts that the department provides helps the community navigate its way through the complex scientific data about climate change. She said she aims to present factual climate change data in a way that people outside the scientific community can understand. “I think the scientific data often get lost in politically driven discussions about climate change,” Samuels-Crow said. “I also think that everyone can understand the basic data if they just get a little bit of an explanation. It’s up to scientists to try to communicate with the general public so we can have a say in how our work is perceived, and it’s up to everyone to stay informed about issues that affect us all.” Samuels-Crow said her research at UNM focuses on the scientific study of atmospheric water vapor. She said she studies the isotopic composition of water vapor, which she measures via satellite, to understand how water vapors are transported to tropical glaciers, hyper-arid subtropical deserts and to the Andes Mountains in South America. “My main goal is to use modern measurements to understand past climate variability as recorded by
Former Lobo great and NFL linebacker Brian Urlacher will accept an honor that no other New Mexico football player has received. He will officially have his number, 44, retired by UNM. The announcement came Tuesday after the University had initially decided to retire Urlacher’s jersey and not his number. The difference between retiring a jersey and a number is that when a school retires a jersey, it can still issue the number or the number can be reissued. UNM athletic director Paul Krebs said the University decided to make an exception for Urlacher because of the contributions he made during his Lobo career from 1996-99 and his 13-year NFL career. “The intention all along was to do something significant in honor of Brian,” Krebs said. “When we reflected on it further, his accomplishments here — he’s synonymous with New Mexico football and the legacy he’s left in the NFL — upon further review we decided it was best to permanently retire the number.” At UNM, Urlacher had a schoolrecord 178 tackles in 1998, which also led the nation. He was 1999’s Mountain West Player of the Year with 154 tackles.
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students at risk by Ardee Napolitano news@dailylobo.com @ArdeeTheJourno
A University department is trying to learn more about synthetic marijuana. Tiffany Martinez, health educator for UNM’s Campus Office of Substance Abuse and Prevention (COSAP), said her department is conducting more research on ‘spice.’ She said the marijuana alternative is a relatively young drug. “Since spice is so new, we still have yet to do some research about it,” Martinez said. “We’re looking through peer-reviewed articles and journals just get more familiar with it. We have to keep ourselves up to date.” Martinez said COSAP first heard about the drug earlier this year, when the office learned shops in the area have been selling it since last year. Spice gained popularity because, although its effects are comparable to marijuana’s, police had no way of testing for it, Martinez said. However, she said, now there are tests for spice — and it’s turning out to be a lot more dangerous than marijuana. “We’ve seen a lot more hospital visits with spice … probably because of its synthetic form,” she said. Lieutenant Tim Stump, public
information officer for the UNM Police Department, said that although police have already developed a testing process for spice, officers still don’t have access to it on a wide scale. “For law enforcement officers, it’s a new kind of thing in America,” he said. “As soon as they made it available to law enforcers, we’re going to be able to test it.” Stump said spice is very dangerous to users in the long run because it can result to increased anxiety, paranoia and other psychotic symptoms. “I look at it as being another form of meth,” he said. “I believe it’s directly in correlation with the meth epidemic. I think that it’s addictive and very potent, and the aftereffects are horrible. I wouldn’t want anyone near it.” So far there are 27 known compounds classified as ‘spice,’ Stump said. He said all of these are illegal according to state statutes. Possession of any of these substances is considered a petty misdemeanor, which can entail at least 6 months in prison. Selling spice is considered a fourth-degree felony and entails up to three years in prison. Stump said stores can sell spice as long as it is not in the form of any of the 27 prohibited compounds. But
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Benjamin Covey / Daily Lobo UNM Ph.D. candidate Kimberly Samuels-Crow explains the data behind climate change research to the League of Women Voters of Central New Mexico on Monday. Samuels-Crow was the guest speaker for one of the group’s October discussions on environmental issues. tropical ice and other paleoclimate members and to the public. October or local professionals, to come records,” she said. is dedicated to topics surrounding and speak to our groups,” she said. The data she presented point to the environment; earlier this month, “Once we study the issues, we form conclusions that present-day climate Peter Fawcett, a climatologist with a position and an advocacy based on aberrations are influenced by hu- the Earth and Planetary Sciences the facts.” mans. These conclusions are based department, held a similar event. Although Targhetta said her orgaon a 2013 report from the IntergovLWVCNM President Andrea nization is in the process of coming ernmental Panel on Climate Change, Targhetta said that these forums up with a more educated stance, it is which was established by the United fall in line with the organization’s sure to advocate against the destrucNations. mission statement of “encouraging tion of the environment. Samuels-Crow said this recent re- informed and active participation “As far as climate change is conport is an update of data from 2007, in government, working to increase cerned, we are certainly advocating but the conclusions presented at the understanding of major public policy for a cleaner environment,” she said. event remained similar. issues and influencing public policy “We want to encourage our members Monday’s discussion was one in through education and advocacy.” to be active, educated participants in a series of monthly presentations “What we do is invite speakers, our government, and that was what that the LWVCNM provides to its whether they be politicians, scientists today was all about.”
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