April 25

Page 1

dn the

dailynebraskan.com

thursday, april 25, 2013 volume 112, issue 145

Inside Coverage

Taking care of business

Faith on the field

Gaming Research Pitcher cites religion as motivation on Report mixes the field pastime, education

5

10

University reviews safety after Texas plant explosion Mara Klecker DN

and hurt America’s competitiveness in the world agricultural market. Schroeder ’s fears come When the University of Nebrasfrom the changes he observed ka Agricultural Research and Development Center Director after the Oklahoma bombing Mark Schroeder heard of last in 1995. The center used to use ammonium nitrate, a common Wednesday’s explosion in a feragricultural fertilizer. However, tilizer plant in West, Texas, his since the fertilizer ’s role in the mind went to the many chemicals that are stored here at the Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people, regulations university. on the chemical have increased The explosion in Texas killed 15 and injured 200. The and market availability has dropped, he said. plant produced and stored a Though Schroeder undernitrogen-based fertilizer known stands the concerns, he said amas anhydrous ammonia. “Whenever there is national monium nitrate is a relatively safe product. incident like this, it gives us a “By itself, ammonium nitime to pause and review or adjust our safety policies,” Schro- trate has a zero flammabileder said. “Specifically after this ity rating compared to gasoline that is rated a four.” A risk of event, I reviewed our material explosion only occurs when the safety data sheets to see if there was any protocols we needed to chemical heats up and releases reinforce or review and, as I did oxidizers, he said. Now the so, I did not see any center uses needed changes.” By itself, liquid urea No anhydrous ammonium a m m o n i u m ammonia is stored nitrate and on UNL’s campus. nitrate has a dry urea as However, the unicorn fertilversity research zero flammability izers, both of farms located in rating compared which are staIthaca, Neb. – about ble and non30 miles from Lin- to gasoline that is flammable coln – could store rated a four.” and require as much as 4,000 special pounds of the nitromark schroeder no gen-based fertilizer unl agricultural research and handling. At any one time, in pressurized steel development director Schroeder containers. Though said, the facilthe number sounds ity may house like a large quantity, Schroeder upwards of 5,000 gallons of liqsaid it may only cover about six of the facility’s 2,000 acres of uid urea ammonium nitrate and 570 35-pound bags of urea. corn. The procurement office According to news reports, keeps careful records of chemiThe West Fertilizer Co. plant was storing as much as 54,000 cal quantities. “If inventories move into a regulatory status, pounds of the gas. then the Environmental Health Schroeder sees importance in finding out the causes of the & Safety office is made aware of that,” Schroeder said. “Then explosion but suspects that huit is at their discretion to do man error is more to blame than inspections and verify complithe fertilizer. “I hope we don’t rush to ance with regulations.” Brenda Osthus, director of conclusions thinking that the fertilizer was the only culprit,” Environmental Health & Safety, said audits occur about once a Schroeder said. year. He said he worries the reac“We look for safe chemical tion to the explosion will lead to more severe regulations and higher prices for fertilizers, fertilizer: see page 3 which will affect crop output

Senior civil engineering major Tessa Phillips bikes to make smoothies at UNL’s Bike Friendly event on Wednesday. The event was for making UNL’s campus more bike friendly.

on the right path

UNL recognized as being a bicycle friendly campus S t o r y

b y

L i s

A r n e s o n

|

P h o t o s

b y

S t u a r t

M c K a y

S

tudents at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln gathered on the Nebraska Union Plaza Wednesday to celebrate UNL’s designation as a Bicycle Friendly University by the League of American Bicyclists. UNL was granted the silver level award for its bike safety and education efforts. It was one of eight Big Ten institutions honored. There are five levels of awards: diamond, platinum, gold, silver and bronze, according to a university press release. Taylor Weichman, a graduate assistant for Outdoor Adventures at Campus Recreation, said the Bike UNL committee is excited about the honor. “We’re looking at it as a launch point,” Weichman said. “It gives us traction.” He said the committee plans to pursue a gold award in the future. The award was earned in part because of the bike safety classes and adventure trips offered at CREC, in addition to the services offered at the CREC Bike Shop, Weichman said. The new Outdoor Adventures facility, which is set to open January 2014, was taken into consideration as well, he said. The new building will include end-of-trip facilities, like 24-hour showers and places to lock bikes up indoors, Weichman said. “Some people just don’t commute because they don’t want to get sweaty,” Weichman said. “It just makes you feel more comfortable about commuting to campus.” From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., students could enjoy free smoothies made by a bike-powered blender and learn more about Cycling Adventure Trips by UNL Outdoor Adventures. A mechanic from the CREC Bike Shop was also there to conduct safety checks. At 12:30 p.m., students could take part in the free Burrito Bike Ride. Weichman said the group would ride for about 45 minutes before ending at the downtown Chipotle. UNL Outdoor Adventures has already led three burrito rides this month and decided to add another for fun, Weichman said. “We usually just use them as a chance to get people more comfortable with the trail system in Lincoln,” he said.

John Feeney, a junior construction management major, repairs a bike outside of the Nebraska Union. This Campus Rec bike mechanic was helping out UNL’s Bike Friendly event on Wednesday.

We’re trying to get people excited about biking as a feasible transportation option.”

taylor weichman

outdoor adventures graduate assistant

bikes: see page 3

ASUN: Invest in sustainable energy Conor Dunn DN In one of the first bills of its term as well as its final meeting of the semester, the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska is calling upon the University of Nebraska Foundation to cease investments in the fossil fuel industry. “This isn’t something we’re requesting to happen overnight,” said Matan Gill, a senior construction management major and former chair of ASUN’s Environmental Sustainability Committee. The bill is a part of a sustain-

ability movement at universities across the country and was submitted by Sustain UNL, a student organization that works to make UNL a greener campus. More than a dozen members of Sustain UNL were present at the meeting. The bill urges the foundation to remove current fossil fuel companies from its funds and seek out investments that limit the effects of burning fossil fuels or help to mitigate its effects. These include investments in clean technology, renewable energy, sustainable companies or projects and sustainable committees. Sustain UNL cited the Ameri-

can Economic Review’s prediction that in 2007, climate change will incur $650 million in annual loss to Nebraskan agriculture. The bill states that students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln believe investments should support a future where all citizens can live healthy lives without the negative impacts of a warming climate. Northwestern University passed similar legislation last January and four other colleges in the U.S. have committed to the process of full fossil fuel divestment, according to Sustain UNL. One senator believed divest-

ing from fossil fuels harms the foundation’s profits. “Essentially you’re saying you want to get rid fossil fuels,” said Sen. Cameron Murphy, a biochemistry graduate student. “But we’re dependent on fossil fuels for more than just energy. The idea of saying that we don’t want to be involved means that you’re going to have to almost divest from the entire economy.” Senate Speaker Tanner Nelson said the foundation won’t suddenly cut out its investments in fossil fuels and put them into re-

asun: see page 3

Wildlife Club brings life back to land by burning fields kelli rollin dn Bring on the heat. Smokey Bear won’t stop the Wildlife Club at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln from having fun and rejuvenating plants. The Wildlife Club is participating in prescribed burns all over Nebraska to revive plants and soil. They’ve done burns ranging from half an acre to 100 acres in places such as Nine Mile Prairie, which is university land, and Pioneers Park Nature Center. After burning, invasive species die off and native plants can grow. But wind, humidity and temperature have to be just right when using prescribed burns on a section of land. Jack Arterburn, a senior fisheries and wildlife major and president of the Wildlife Club, said the club has been helping with burns “for a while,” long before he was part of the club. Arterburn said Eastern Red

Cedar trees were once native but now are taking over land and have become a problem. He said prescribed burns help control the eastern red cedars, but it only works if the cedars are two feet tall because fire isn’t strong enough to kill the bigger ones. “People also do it to increase the quality of forage for cattle,” Arterburn said. He said by burning a section of land each year, cattle are attracted to the most recently burned, green section, which is better for them. He said the plants grow back about eight weeks following the burn, so the results are efficient. Kyle Schumacher, a sophomore fisheries and wildlife major and member of the club, said when using a prescribed burn, the key is heat. “That’s what’s going to really make sure that everything gets burned and warm up the soil and get a big enough fire to kill the cedar trees,” Schumacher said. He said the heat from the

courtesy photo

The UNL Wildlife Club helps with prescribed burns in Nebraska. The controlled burns help to kill off invasive species and encourage native plants to grow. fire warms up the land, allowing once-dormant plants to grow cre-

ating a native diversity of plant and animal species.

@dailyneb | facebook.com/dailynebraskan

“It’s really kind of cool to see the plants’ vigor and healthiness,” Schumacher said. He said last summer when he worked for the Nebraska Game of Parks Commission he participated in burns. He compared land on two sides of a ditch; the east side was burned, but the west side wasn’t. “All summer, even throughout the drought, the east side of the road remained dark green, really lush green, and the other side was brown and completely toasted,” Schumacher said. Arterburn described the process of conducting a prescribed burn and said two crews work on a square section of land. The fire is lit with a drip torch and the crews work around the perimeter of the land and meet. Arterburn and Schumacher mentioned how important wind speeds are when conducting a burn. They said the desired wind speed is between five and 15 miles per hour – that way the fire can

engulf the whole square of land without relighting it. But Schumacher said a good fire could quickly turn into a bad fire. “You’ve got to be careful around a fire,” he said. “A prescribed fire can turn into a wildfire really quickly with just one wrong move.” He said people in charge of the burns usually have “every single precaution taken care of,” and tanks of water are always on site. Cole Neibauer, a freshman fisheries and wildlife major and club member, said he took classes to be certified to conduct burns, but certifications aren’t required for prescribed burns. Neibauer said burning improves the habitat, and he wants to go into a career that deals more with fires. His first burn is Friday. “It’s supposed to be big, so I’m kind of excited,” he said. “I’m kind of a fire bug, so lighting stuff

wildlife: see page 3


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.