Barometer The Daily
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2012 • OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY CORVALLIS, OREGON 97331
DAILYBAROMETER.COM
VOLUME CXV, NUMBER 88
PAGE 8
SPORTS
8 – Women’s Civil War preview 8 – Gymnasts at home tonight
NEWS
3 – Alternative spring break apps
MEN’S BASKETBALL: OSU looks for a sweep of the Ducks.
FORUM
4 – Obama for four more years 4 – Losing faith in the Academy
OSU takes unique water approach n
While other universities opt for ‘Ban the Bottle,’ OSU groups take a less direct approach By Alex Hilborn
The Daily Barometer
Several Oregon State University groups have implemented programs to encourage greater consumption of tap water, in place of bottled water, without resorting to “Ban the Bottle” policies like numerous colleges around the nation. Starting back in the spring of 2009, Washington University in St. Louis made the move to stop the selling of bottled water in the university’s establishments. Since then, more than 20 other universities have followed the trend by either fully or partially banning the sale of bottled water. The universities placing embargoes on bottled water have become
collectively known as the Ban the Bottle campaign. The campaign uses statistical slogans, such as “the recommended eight glasses of water a day at U.S. tap rates equals about $.49 per year; that same amount of bottled water is about $1,400,” to support its cause. At the moment, no groups on OSU’s campus call directly for the university to join the Ban the Bottle campaign, but entities such as the Student Sustainability Initiative and the Student Dietetic Associate have proposed efforts to non-forcibly transition the university to a more tap water-friendly, less water bottle—reliant mentality. Even where the desire to ban bottled water exists at OSU, achieving such a goal would require the surmounting of a few obstacles. OSU currently resides in the middle of a contract to have all of its food retailers sell Pepsi Co. brands.
Attempts to ban bottled water in the past have come up against this contract and found it a great impediment. Any ban approved by the university that prohibits the sale of bottled water would violate the legal agreement that the university has made with the third party distributor. “If students wish to ban bottles, they have to look at when the contract is up again,” said Michael Henthorne, Director of the Memorial Union, who manages the Pepsi contract. “Contracts have intervals. Students who are interested in banning bottles — they have to get out ahead of it. You have to do years’ worth of laying groundwork.” Henthorne said the university takes no official stance on giving bottles the boot, but instead does Alexandra Taylor | THE DAILY BAROMETER its best to cater to the needs of both The drinking stations, like the one pictured above in Snell Hall, are available in several buildings around campus. See WATER | page 3
First bat fly fossil discovered by Oregon State researcher n
Collector sends amber specimen to Dr. Poinar, turns out to be new fossil of fly By McKinley Smith The Daily Barometer
Contributed Photo
| Courtesy of Alison Koleszar
Mount Hood, pictured above on a clear day, only experiences minor releases of magma pressure that don’t blow ash into the air.
Oregon State University zoologist George Poinar Jr. discovered the first known fossil of a bat fly, a parasitic insect that feeds exclusively on bats’ blood. “[A bat fly is] a fly that’s been modified by millions of years of coevolution with bats. The fly probably started its association with bats by living in caves and began by crawling on bats for protection and then began feeding on bats,” Poinar said. The bat fly was encased in amber, preserving it for mil-
lions of years. A collector, who didn’t know what it was, sent it to Poinar. Poinar was very excited when he discovered what the amber contained, and in the process, learned a lot about bat flies. “Up until, then I knew very little about bat flies. Now I at least know a little,” Poinar said. Besides being the only known fossil of its kind, Poinar found evidence that the bat fly was host to a rare form of bat malaria. Malaria is a parasitic protist that completes its life cycle in two hosts: in this case, the bat fly and the bat itself. Different stages of the malaria can be identified in the specimen. See FLY | page 3
Researchers explain why Mt. Hood hasn’t erupted n
Studies, research find differences between eruption patterns of volcanoes By Michael Mendes The Daily Barometer
Oregon State University researchers may have uncovered the secret behind Mount Hood’s lack of highexplosive eruptions in the last 500,000 years. This discovery may provide insight into volcanic eruptions in general. The key lies in the mixing of warmer and cooler magma within. Mount Hood and other similar volcanoes still experience minor, lowexplosive releases of magma pressure that release lava down only a small part of the mountain and don’t blow clouds of ash into the air. One example would be the collapse of the Crater Rock lava dome in subsequent low-explosive eruptions around 1,500 and 220 years ago. By investigating lava rocks and small crystals within the rocks, scientists were able to discern a difference between the eruptions of Mount Hood and other nearby volcanoes,
such as Mount Mazama. “When crystals form, they retain a record of the conditions they formed under,” said Adam Kent, associate professor at OSU’s department of geosciences. It was found that there were two different types of rock and crystal conditions within the mountain’s lava rock deposits indicating different formation conditions, particularly the temperatures at which the crystals formed. Furthermore, thanks to Mount Hood’s special conditions, older rocks can now be studied and compared to the newer ones to see if the findings hold. “Hood’s eruptions are very consistent in style — it has erupted the same way for at least the past 30,000 years,” said Alison Koleszar, postdoctoral research associate at the department of geosciences and the lead author of the study. Magma nearer to the surface is cooler and thicker, and thus, pressure builds up easily within it. In contrast, deeper-earth magma is warmer and more fluid, which allows more relief of internal pressure. At Mount Hood, there is a consis-
tent mixing of the surface magma with deeper magma, which warms the surface magma and prevents pressure from building to the point that the volcano would experience a high-explosive eruption in a similar manner to St. Helens. “Volcanic eruptions are primarily driven by the gas content — the water and carbon dioxide in the magma,” Koleszar said. When the magma is more runny, the gas can escape more easily, leading to a release of pressure. These findings pave the way for further research of Mount Hood, in order to investigate what kinds of properties lead to this consistent magma mixing. “Because the eruption style and magma composition at Mount Hood is so constant through time, the volcano is a great natural laboratory,” Koleszar said. “As a follow-up to this study, now we’re looking more closely at the two magmas that mix together at Mount Hood, and we’re trying to identify the origins of each of those magmas.” Michael Mendes, staff reporter 737-2231 news@dailybarometer.com
Contributed Photo
| Courtesy of George Poinar
Poinar’s discovery of the first known fossil of a bat fly, above, came after many years of studying malaria.