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March 2007

The "Mason Connection" is Mason's electronic newsletter, designed to keep you informed of the latest developments at the university. The newsletter is sent monthly when the General Assembly is in session and every other month when it is not in session.

Mason Researcher Says Global Warming Estimates Even Higher Than Panel Reports

Mason climate scientist Jagadish Shukla says that the prediction of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of increased global warming is not extreme enough.

Comprising 2,500 scientists from 130 countries, the IPCC is the world's most authoritative group on climate change. Earlier this winter, the organization issued its strongest warning yet that human activities are causing a warming that will result in a bigger change in global temperature over the next century than has occurred in the past 400,000 years.

Shukla, an author of more than 150 scientific publications on climate and climate predictability, stresses that the warming will be even more radical than the IPCC predicts.

In a paper published by Geophysical Research Letters, Shukla, a member of the IPCC, and his coauthors present a detailed mathematical analysis of the model simulations prepared for the IPCC. Their predictions estimate global warming will increase 4 to 5 degrees Celsius as opposed to the IPCC's estimate of 2 to 4 degrees Celsius.

A University Engaged

Lifelong Learning Institute Comes to Mason in Loudoun

You're never too old to learn, especially if you're a senior in Loudoun County. The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Mason's Loudoun location joins sister sites in Fairfax and Reston. An independent, nonprofit organization affiliated with Mason and one of many lifelong-learning Image of OLI - Taken by Evan Cantwell institutes in the United States, OLLI is supported by the Bernard Osher Foundation. Mason, through its long affiliation with OLLI, has become a national leader in creating a campus experience for seniors who want to learn.

OLLI provides opportunities for mature adults to explore intellectual and cultural subjects, as well as share their experiences and talents. In addition to daytime academic courses, the institute also offers special events, trips and performances and special interest discussion groups. OLLI members come from many of the local communities for those age 55 and older, such as Falcons Landing and Leisure World, as well as homes across Loudoun and western Fairfax.

Research Spotlight

Mason Researchers Cite the Region's Lack of Affordable Housing as a "Crisis"

According to John McClain, a senior fellow at Mason's Center for Regional Analysis, the region's lack of affordable housing is not a problem. It's a crisis.

Picture of John McClain. Photo taken by Evan Cantwell "The housing affordability problem has become a crisis in my view with what has happened to prices in 2002-2005. For example, in 2000 a median income household could afford 64 percent of the houses for sale in Fairfax County; in 2005, a median income household only could afford 7 percent of the units on the market," McClain says. "This has contributed to people looking further out for housing, exacerbating the commuting and traffic congestion problem. We've gotten into a situation in the whole region where we are going to have to build more housing closer to jobs, and they are going to have to be at higher density with smaller lots and units to have some degree of affordability."

In The News

Monday, March 5, Sacramento Bee

Gadgets for Graying Set

"As the aging American population increasingly peers through reading glasses, fumbles with keys and begins to ponder life with hearing aids, technology companies are gearing up new products or adapting existing ones to capture a potentially huge and profitable demographic-baby boomers.. 'Baby boomers have driven the economy and consumer demand for about every decade they have existed,' said Andrew Carle, director of the Assisted Living/Senior Housing Administration program at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. 'As long as they continue to control the money, they will continue to drive the products that are being developed.'"

Tuesday, Feb. 27, Washington Post

In N.Va., Let Down a Rising Economy

"Although Northern Virginia has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, tens of thousands of its jobs are contract work, where moderate income employees such as Messick and Willingham are at the mercy of employment that can end suddenly and disappear forever.. 'These jobs are becoming a growing share' of the region's economy, said Stephen Fuller, a professor of public policy at George Mason University."

Sunday, Feb. 18, Washington Post

Scared Speechless?

"Stage fright affects a mammoth swath of people, regardless of occupation or experience. It all boils down to the fear of being judged. 'By not having a dialogic interaction, by literally prolonging the response the audience has toward you, you give them the right to adjudicate at a much more intense level,' says Peter Pober, an associate professor of communication and the coach of George Mason University's forensics team." [Pober, one of the nation's leading forensic instructors, formerly served as founding director of the Texas Forensic Union Individual Events Team at the University of Texas at Austin, where his team received numerous national awards in speech and debate competitions.]

Mason Connection is a free service and official publication of George Mason University. It is designed to give you quick, monthly updates on the happenings at Mason. You received Mason Connection because of your affiliation with George Mason University. Subscribe and unsubscribe requests for Mason Connection, including address changes, are handled by sending an e-mail to the Office of Community Relations at tclaar@gmu.edu. Please be sure to include your name and e-mail address. For more information, contact Traci Claar, Director of Community Relations. For additional campus event information, please visit Today@Mason. Editorial content produced by Devon Madison, Creative Services.