International Year of Plant Earth e-Newsletter


	March / April 2009
	Celebrating the International Year of Planet Earth Event Update

Sign-up to Stay Informed About IYPE! This is an opt-in e-newsletter for IYPE U.S. and global updates.	What is the International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE)? The International Year of Planet Earth aims to ensure greater use by society of the knowledge accumulated by the world’s 400,000+ Earth scientists. The ultimate goal of the IYPE is to help build safer, healthier, and wealthier societies around the globe. The IYPE runs from January 2007 to December 2009; 2008 was the official United Nations Year. The UN sees the IYPE as a contribution to their goals to promote wise and sustainable use of Earth's resources and encourage better planning and management to reduce risks. Learn more at: www.yearofplanetearth.com

IYPE Education & Outreach Themes: Groundwater Hazards Earth & Health Climate Resource Issues Megacities Deep Earth Ocean Soil Earth & Life U.S. IYPE Sponsors: Baird Petro New Dominion, LLC The Geological Society of America U.S. Geological Survey National Science Foundation	Celebrating IYPE in the United States Contact Wesley Hill for more information. New U.S. IYPE Web site! The U.S. National Committee has just launched the new U.S. IYPE Website! Take a look at what the United States is doing nationwide to celebrate the International Year of Planet Earth. Hear IYPE Educational Programs on the Radio! The U.S. National Committee and the Geological Society of America, with funding support from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Geological Survey, has developed a partnership with the National Public Radio (NPR) program Earth & Sky to produce ten 60-second earth-science IYPE radio programs. Subject matter for the 10 radio programs will revolve around the 10 IYPE themes (at left). Approximately 14-million people will hear or read each 60-second educational program through this radio initiative! The U.S. National Committee would like to thank the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Geological Survey for their support. Listen to all the IYPE radio programs. Smithsonian Exhibition Reveals the Impact of Soil on Life on Earth The Smithsonian Intstitution's exhibit, Dig It! The Secrets of Soil opened to great acclaim at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. More than 300,000 people have visited the 5,000-square-foot exhibition, which is sponsored by the Soil Science Society of America and the Nutrients for Life Foundation (underwritten by The Fertilizer Institute). The soils exhibit reveals the complex world of soil with interactive displays, hands-on models, videos, and soil samples. Curious visitors will get the dirt on this little-known subject through audiovisual and interactive components, from a set of interactive soil stratigraphy blocks to a crime scene investigation video focusing on the processes of decay. Dig It! demonstrates the unique qualities of soils around the world, with 54 soil samples representing each U.S. state and soil maps and touchable soil models from around the world. Go to www.soils.org/smithsonian for more information. U.S. National Committee Participating Organizations: American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) Association of American State Geologists (AASG) Association of Earth Science Editors (AESE) American Geological Institute (AGI) American Geophysical Union (AGU) American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG) Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists (AEG) Bruce Museum of Arts and Science The Geological Society of America (GSA) Houston Geological Society (HGS) International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) International Geographical Union (IGU) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) National Ground Water Association (NGWA) North American Committee for Stratigraphic Nomenclature (NACSN) Northeastern Science Foundation (NESF) Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM) Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

	Celebrating IYPE around the Globe IYPE Global Closing Event, Portugal, November 2009 In the same style as the launch event in Paris 2008, the global closing event of The International Year of Planet Earth will take place from 18–22 November 2009 in Lisbon, Portugal. This event will bring IYPE international partners, national committees, ministers, and heads of state together to celebrate the accomplishments of this three year global effort to promote better use of the knowledge accumulated by earth scientists around the world. Find up-to-the-minute information on this event at www.yearofplanetearth.org. Earth Science Video Screens The International IYPE Corporation will host extra-large video screens in cities where IYPE-related activities are taking place (major conferences or events) to display earth science information and IYPE theme messages. Normally, five video screens will be placed per city, each displaying messages around the clock. This initiative will be a joint activity of the IYPE Corporation and the National Committees. For more information and a list of cities go to www.yearofplanetearth.org.

	IYPE Global Conferences & Events 16–20 March 2009, La Habana, Cuba III Cuban Earth Science Convention and Exhibitions — Earth Science for the Society 23–24 April 2009, Lisbon, Portugal Second International Seminar on Prediction of Earthquakes 14–20 June 2009, Castellaneta Marina, Italy XIV International Clay Conference 23–30 August 2009, Sopron, Hungary IAGA 11th Scientific Assembly 31 August – 4 September 2009, Buenos Aires, Argentina International Association of Geodesy — General Assembly 2009 7–10 September 2009, Leipzig, Germany International Conference – Megacities: Risk, Vulnerability, and Sustainable Development 18–21 October 2009, Portland, Oregon USA The Geological Society of America Annual Meeting 26–28 October 2009, Beijing, China First World Young Earth-Scientists Congress 2009 12 June – 16 July 2010, Tel-Aviv, Israel IGU Regional Conference Stay informed at www.iype-usa.org Associate your U.S. EVENT with the International Year of Planet Earth! Contact Wesley Hill at the Geological Society of America (GSA) for information.


© 2009, The Geological Society of America, 3300 Penrose Place, Boulder, CO 80301 USA. All rights reserved.
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