SCIENCE NOTEBOOK: PROBLEMS WITH PLANTING FORESTS

The Washington Post, Dec. 26 -- Many policymakers have embraced planting forests as one way to combat the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. But a new study by an international team including Duke biology professor Robert B. Johnson suggests this may be a poor strategy. (See second item.) Full story

--Also, New York Times: Promising but With Problems (Second item) Full story

National Public Radio: Planting Trees to Fight Warming Brings New Woes Full story

Houston Chronicle: Trees Not Always Best Answer for Ecosystem Full story

(Durham) Herald-Sun: Trees Help Global Warming Study Full story

Science Daily: Storing Carbon to Combat Global Warming May Cause Other Problems
Full story

ENGINEERING: IS THE U.S. REALLY FALLING?

BusinessWeek online, Dec. 27 -- A study by Vivek Wadhwa, an executive in residence at Duke, concludes that, ecause of fuzzy definitions of "engineering graduate," estimates of Indian and Chinese numbers can be wildly exaggerated, while America's are understated. Full story

-- Also, The American Thinker: More on the 'Engineering Gap' Full story

A VISIT FROM BIG NICK

The Washington Post, Dec. 25 -- Henry Petroski, the A. S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and a professor of history at Duke, rewrites the familiar poem, "Twas the Night Before Christmas: A Visit from St. Nicholas." Full story

SUIT OPENS OLD WOUNDS

Boston Globe, Dec. 27 -- Duke law professor Erwin Chemerinsky represents the Massachusetts Department of Education in a case involving teaching students about the 1915 killing and deportation of 1 million Armenians in what is now Turkey. He said that, under state and federal law, the government decides what is taught in state schools. Full story

A JUNIOR AIDE HAD A BIG ROLE IN TERROR POLICY

New York Times, Dec. 23 -- Duke law professor Curtis A. Bradley comments in a profile of legal scholar John C. Yoo, a critical player in the Bush administration's legal response to the terrorist threat. Full story

Also, New York Times: Little Help From Justices on Spy Program (Erwin Chemerinsky)
Full story

UNIONS INVOKING CIVIL RIGHTS MORE OFTEN

Associated Press, Dec. 24 -- Union leaders use the language of civil rights to justify the actions they're taking, says Robert Korstad, associate professor of public policy studies and history at Duke. "They have to make that connection that they're fighting for the same things." Full story

OPINION: STEM CELLS AND SPOTLIGHTS

(Raleigh) News & Observer, Dec. 26 -- Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg, director of Duke's Pediatric Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplant Program, was properly given a front-and-center seat when President Bush signed a bill that triples the amount of umbilical cord blood banked for later use. Full story