Daily Lobo new mexico
The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
friday March 20, 2015 | Vo l u m e 1 1 9 | I s s u e 1 2 2
Biologist studies, saves NM heritage By Lena Guidi
Solar array panels on the roof of the UNM West Campus building.
North Campus Solar Array / Courtesy Photo
Esteban Muldavin gained a passion for the natural world — and its conservation — at an early age. The director and senior ecologist of Natural Heritage New Mexico said spending his childhood on a ranch in northern New Mexico deeply impacted his decision to become a scientist. “I grew up, in part, between Santa Fe and Las Vegas on my family’s ranch, and since my early days as a kid I used to wander around,” he said. “It’s like a lot of ecologists and biologists: We grew up outside, and it became part of the fabric of our being.” In addition to having an environment to explore, Muldavin said he was also influenced by his
grandmother, who was the first female member of the San Miguel County Water Conservation District. He said she was engaged in environmental efforts throughout the area during the 1960s and ‘70s. Muldavin would retain his interest in the natural world while going on to study forestry in northern California. Eventually, he returned to New Mexico for a doctoral degree in forest ecology. After that, he had a decision to make. “At that point I had a choice of either pursuing the standard academic route and finding a college job somewhere in the U.S., or finding something regionally that would keep me closer with my family,” Muldavin said.
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Sun power rises in West By David Lynch
A new solar energy array was recently unveiled at UNM West in Rio Rancho, which constitutes another step by the University toward being environmentally friendly. Jeff Zumwalt, interim director of UNM’s physical plant department, said it took about six weeks for the solar panels to be installed. The array cost $465,000 and will account for almost three-quarters of UNM West’s energy needs. “We’re hoping it’ll offset 70 percent of the building’s electricity,”
Zumwalt said. Although some would like to see more solar arrays on main campus, Zumwalt said it is actually strategically better to prioritize solar arrays on UNM’s branches. “Currently, we’ve focused on buildings that are away from the main campus,” he said. “Those buildings typically have a higher utility rate than what we have on the main campus, so the financial benefit is a bit higher.” However, Zumwalt said the first solar energy producer UNM invested in does reside on
main campus at the mechanical engineering building, and it doesn’t primarily consist of the typical grid of solar panels. Rather, it is a solarthermal facility that was built years ago. After spending some time in disrepair, it was refurbished and put back into service in 2008. “That system takes heat from the sun and uses it to both heat and cool the building in the summer,” he said. Zumwalt said future solar arrays on main campus continue to be matters of discussion, but
entirely conclusive,” Bogenschutz said. “There was a growing body of literature exploring the effects of psilocybin in normal volunteers and also in patients with anxiety related to a cancer diagnosis.” According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, psilocybin is a fungus that, when ingested, can produce hallucinations for approximately 6 hours. In a pilot study performed by Bogenschutz, a single group of participants was administered doses of psilocybin over a course of 12 weeks in 14 sessions. “The safety of psilocybin in these clinical research settings was pretty well-established and based on the overall positive effects people were reporting, and reports of positive
behavioral change,” Bogenschutz said. “It seemed it would be worth taking a look at psilocybin as a potential therapeutic agent.” According to the study, the participants were recruited by local advertisements asking for individuals with alcohol dependence who were concerned about their drinking. The participants included males and females, aged 25 to 65, who were diagnosed with active alcohol dependence and had had two or more heavy-drinking days in the past 30 days. The study observed an improvement in the participants’ alcohol consumption after the first dose of psilocybin. After 36 weeks the participants’ drinking days had decreased by more than half on
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Nick Fojud / Daily Lobo / @nfojud
Dr. Esteban Muldavin catches up on work at his office in Marron Hall on Thursday afternoon. Muldavin is the director of Natural Heritage New Mexico, which is a division of the SouthWestern Biology Department.
Psychedelic studied as treatment for alcoholism By Fin Martinez
Experimenting with drugs is not uncommon on college campuses, but UNM is one of the only universities in the country conducting research on possible medical uses for hallucinogenic mushrooms. Dr. Michael Bogenschutz, a psychiatrist at UNM School of Medicine, said he is studying the use of psilocybin — the active psychedelic compound in many species of hallucinogenic mushrooms — for the treatment of alcohol abuse and addiction. “There were a number of trials that had been done with LSD back in the early 1950s through 1970s that were pretty promising, but not
average, showing promise of the effectiveness of the treatment. While there may be hope for the use of psilocybin to treat alcohol dependence, the study had a small sample size of 10 individuals, no control group, blinding or biological evidence of alcoholdependency in the participants, according to the study. Bogenschutz said that in order for a solid conclusion to be reached, more thorough research will have to be done in the future. The medical community has expressed concerns about the ethics of using psilocybin as treatment due to possible abuse and harmful psychological effects, Bogenschutz said. “Most people have been open
to scientific study of whether these drugs could be beneficial,” Bogenschutz said. “Some people are more concerned, some people are less concerned about potential misuse of these drugs. They definitely can be misused; they’re not 100 percent safe, but the risks can be managed effectively.” The study of this use of psilocybin is still in its early stages, but Bogenschutz said that if future research observes positive results, psilocybin may become a medication that could help treat alcohol dependence. Fin Martinez is a freelance reporter at the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @FinMartinez.
Zoo penguins still a long way from reality By Taylor Mallak
Since 2008 talk has circulated about the Albuquerque zoo getting penguins, but little progress has been made. Barry Bitzer, Director of Development for the BioPark, said the reason as to why the penguins have yet to make progress in New Mexico is funding. The type of penguin the zoo is trying to get has many needs. “This is an $8 million project,”
Bitzer said. “Because we’re talking Antarctic penguins, that means chiller systems and backup chiller systems.” Another issue with penguins, Bitzer said, is that you can’t let them outside without some sort of bird and mosquito deterrent to ensure they aren’t going to catch illnesses not native to their natural environment. Getting new animals of any kind requires money and space. It takes quite a bit of effort to raise the mon-
ey and get the assistance the Zoo and Aquarium needs, he said. They have some programs at the zoo that raise money, as well. “You put 50 cents in the duck feeder machine — we raise $30,000 a year doing that,” Bitzer said. “The wish and spin, throw a quarter in there and watch it spin into the container — its $30,000 a year from that, too.” The city also has a say in whether the BioPark and Aquarium should get more money for new animals.
“We sort of leap frogged the otters last year by getting a $2 million question on the bond ballet for the county,” said Bitzer. “Voters approved two million for the otter project at the Aquarium.” Brad Winter, the Albuquerque city councilor for the zoo’s district, said he enjoys the BioPark and its surroundings. “Of course I support anything,” Winter said. “I love the BioPark, and you know Tingley is part of that group,
too, so I usually support whatever they do.” Winter can be found down at Tingley Beach at the catchand-release pond at least once a week, he said. Winter added that the council tries to help fund the zoo when it can. “The city council does get involved,” he said. “Money to build new enclosures, or the operation costs … one of the duties of the city
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