2A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 22, 2006
Who's Who at KIJ
BY ERIN CASTANEDA
editor@kansan.com
KANSAN CORRESPONDENT
Joel Plummer
Geography doctoral student*
Joel Plummer is a doctoral student in the Department of Geography at the University of Kansas and recent recipient of a NASA Earth System Science Fellowship. He is researching a geographic information system, ice sheet mapping and mass balance. Plummer researched in Antarctica for four weeks in January as a member of the Polar Radar for Ice Sheet Measurements project. He helped drive a rover that carried a radar system, which gathered data about the ice sheets to study their effect on sea level rise and global climate change.
Sunglasses and sunscreen. Sunburn and snow blindness are a major issue down there. In fact, sunglasses are the only item explicitly required of visitors.With the high ultraviolet concentration and the high reflectivity of the snow and ice, sunscreen with an SPF of 40 and a good pair of shades were essential.
What was the most important personal item you had in Antarctica?
What did you sleep in?
Most people brought tents and created a tent city. The sun was out 24 hours per day, which warmed up the tents. If there were 10 on a team you could put up a Jamesway tent, which has a stove that warmed up between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit. One night at Happy Camper School, a remote area where campers learn how to work and live in Antarctica, I built a one-man emergency snow trench to sleep in.
What were you looking forward to the most when you returned?
A nice hot shower, At the camp we had limited water and had to melt snow to shower. We had a hot water heater no bigger than a basketball so we had to take a sea shower, which was really annoying and hard work. You only take a shower about once a week. The weirdest part about coming back to New Zealand on my way home was not seeing
sun 24 hours. I saw my first sunset in a month. Readjusting to nighttime was harder than adjusting to sunlight all day. It was kind of freaky.
What is your biggest concern with global warming?
Global warming is an established fact The question is what's causing it. Humans play a part to some degree and that's what science is trying to figure out. My research is on the effects and how global warming affects ice sheets and sea level rise. I don't dwell on who causes it or how, because we know it's happening. I want to figure out what the long-term effects are going to be.
When do you predict the results of global warming to affect society?
Small rises in sea level would have large consequences, which I think we will have to deal with in our lifetime or the next 100 years. Look at Louisiana. Just one more meter of water there would have turned catastrophe into total devastation.
How many are in your family?
I loved being the youngest of five because my parents were trained by the time I was a teenager so I didn't get hassled.
Pets?
My wife and I have a Border collie and Labrador mix named Thursday. It was the day we decided to get the dog and we couldn't think of a name. It was either Thursday or the twenty ninth.
What do you like better about Lawrence than New York?
I like the people here, they are friendlier than the East Coast is. My rent is about the same as it was in upstate New York, but people here think it's expensive.
What was your favorite job?
What was your favorite job? For two summers after I graduated, I worked for Lockheed Martin in Akron, Ohio. I put together GIS databases for F-16 flight simulators.
DEVELOPMENT
Homes built despite vacancies
BY RACHEL PARKER
rparker@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WITTER
The Lawrence Department of Neighborhood Resources has zoning approved for new projects to develop more residential living space.
But with apartment rents decreasing and more vacant space within complexes, is more construction necessary?
According to the Lawrence Department of Neighborhood Resources, Lawrence has 31,153 dwelling units. Out of these dwellings, the 2000 Census reports that 54 percent are rental housing units, opposed to the 31 percent statewide. There are over 50 listings for apartments at the Lawrence Apartment Department's Web site.
Population growth is steady at about 2.3 percent each year, and a survey by Keller & Associates in 2001 shows the apartment rental market at a vacancy rate of about 2.6 percent.
Sandra Day, a city county planner, said the plans were conditional and there were more steps that needed to be taken before any construction plans were to be discussed.
One project being discussed was a second construction phase for The Legends, 4101 W.24th Place. It was submitted for review by the city and approved. Diane Lawson, vice president of Callaway Development Corporation, which owns The Legends, said everything was in place with regard to city requirements for the project.
A multi-family development project on the corner of 23rd Street and O'Connell Drive in the southeast part of Lawrence was approved in January, which included multiple complexes and townhomes.
Lawson said that because building costs had increased recently because of dramatic events and natural disasters worldwide, such as Hurricane Katrina, the construction was being held for a later date.
"There are plenty of apartments in Lawrence." she said.
Jami Guthrie, Wichita junior, said she knew apartments were vacant at The Legends, where she lives. She moved from one apartment to a another in the complex in mid-January.
"They said 40 people moved out after first semester, and they
gave a huge list of rooms we could choose from," she said.
Guthrie now lives in a three-bedroom apartment, with one room vacant. She said she knew her old four-bedroom apartment was empty as well. She also was offered discounted rent for signing next year's lease early.
Property rents can increase or decrease, depending on the market rate. The competition between different complexes can contribute to the prices.
Megan Harrod, property manager for Tuckaway Apartments, 2600 W. 6th St., said renting rates had decreased last year but increased this year. She said they hadn't raised rent last year because of competition, but this year they increased it to compensate. — Edited by Matt Wilson
Designing a concrete masterpiece
- Edited by Matt Wilson
Chris Dyroff, Wilmington, Delaware, sixth year architecture student, works on a concrete model in Marvin Hall yesterday. The model is Dyroff's entry in an international design contest.
Nicolaatta Ninii/KANSAN
"I know a man who gave up smoking, drinking, sex and rich food. He was healthy right up to the day he killed himself."
— Johnny Carson
Fact of the day
KANSAN.COM The University Daily Kansan
The late Pope John Paul II was named an honorary Harlem Globetrotter in November 2000. Bonus quote from Globetrotter owner Mannie Jackson: "Similar to the pope, the Globetrotters have touched tens of millions of people around the world as moral leaders and champions of human rights."
Want to know what people are talking about? Here's a list of Tuesday's most e-mailed stories from Kansan.com:
Source: harlemglobetrotters.com
1. Robinett: Forget Baylor, let's talk about Texas
2. Filmmaker also plays role of teacher, activist
3. Wacker: Dear Mizzou, you owe me so.
4. Phillips: Missouri A to Z
5. Cell phone technology may save your life
Tell us your news
Contact Jonathan Kealing,
Joshua Bickel, Nate Karlin,
Gaby Sousa of Fort Kankard
(848-4810) editor@kansan.com.
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