Three good reasons
A Christian Science Monitor article about Georgia’s drought troubles quoted David Stooksbury, associate professor of biological and agricultural engineering and state climatologist. “The three reasons we’re in a pickle right now is lack of rain, an increase in the population and decisions made by the Army Corps of Engineers,” he said.

It concerns everything
An article in the Christian Science Monitor about the drought afflicting the Southeast U.S. quoted Richard Clark, a project director at UGA’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government. “[The drought] has been a real gestalt change for the residents of Georgia,” he said.

Ozone layer
Forbes Magazine quoted Michael Doyle, director of UGA’s Center for Food Safety, in an article about new methods of disinfecting fruits and vegetables using ozone. The article states that chlorine is often used to disinfect produce, but the chemical leaves behind carcinogenic by-products. “Ozone would be a much better option,” Doyle said.

The violent femmes
A Windy City Times story about new insights into sexuality, relationships and violence quoted Pamela Orpinas, professor of health promotion and behavior. After studying more than 600 Northeast Georgia teens, she said “Physical victimization was higher among the boys (61 percent),” while the girls (69 percent) were more likely to report psychological victimization.

Her research also showed that dating norms in general “did not allow violence from boys to girls, but there was much more support of violence from girls to boys; that was much more acceptable,” she said. “It is as if they are expecting it. . . . The norms are quite different” in terms of what is acceptable from a boy or a girl.

From the outside in
David Smilde, associate professor of sociology at UGA, was quoted in a Christian Science Monitor article about the rise of Pentecostal churches nationwide. Speaking about how the church has embraced gang members with conversion offers, Smilde, who studied the phenomenon in Caracas, Venezuela, said, “It’s a way of stepping out of an impossible situation; they are no longer feared by the [criminal] network,” he said. “Pentecostalism is one way out.”

On the heels of conquistadors
USA Today quoted Charles Hudson, emeritus professor of anthropology, in an article about Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto’s trek through Georgia in the mid 16th century. Hudson illuminated the difficulty in retracing the party’s steps. “They weren’t modern men and weren’t self consciously trying to leave an account of where they went,” he said. “It’s kind of maddening, because everything is enclosed in a fog of doubt.”

Economic lows
A Women’s Wear Daily article about limited retail gains in the Southeast before the holiday shopping season quoted Jeff Humphreys, director of UGA’s Selig Center for Economic Growth. “Savvy retailers were smart to capture the momentum that’s left in the third quarter with heavy discounts and more ad spending because it may be a weak finish,” he said. “With the economy at the tipping point of a recession that could start the first quarter of next year, consumer confidence is low.”