‘A Beautiful MInd’ Princeton Prof dies in auto accident

[Additional news coverage added at 9 p.m.]


John Forbes Nash, Jr., the Nobel laureate known for his groundbreaking work on
game theory and differential equations, was killed along with his wife in a
taxi crash on the New Jersey Turnpike, police say. He was 86. 
National Public Radio has this to say about Mr. Nash: 

His death was first reported by NJ.com citing a police official. NPR has confirmed the report through longtime colleague Louis Nirenberg. The couple were killed on Saturday.
Nash is best known to the general public as the subject of the 2001 film A Beautiful Mind, which depicted the troubled mathematician struggling with paranoid schizophrenia even as he pressed ahead with his research. Nash was played by actor Russell Crowe.
According to NJ.com, Nash and his wife of 60 years, 82-year-old Alicia Nash:
“[Were] in a taxi traveling southbound in the left lane of the New Jersey Turnpike, State Police Sgt. Gregory Williams said. The driver of the Ford Crown Victoria lost control as he tried to pass a Chrysler in the center lane, crashing into a guard rail.
“The Nashes were ejected from the car, Williams said.
“‘It doesn’t appear that they were wearing sea tbelts,’ he said.”
Nirenberg, with whom Nash shared the 2015 Abel Prize, tells NPR’s Lauren Hodges that he and his colleague had just returned from Oslo where they received the award. Nirenberg said Nash and his wife were supposed to take a limo home but the driver never showed. So, instead, they took a cab.
Princeton President Christopher L. Eisgruber later issued a statement saying the university was “stunned and saddened by news of the untimely passing of John Nash and his wife and great champion, Alicia.”
“John’s remarkable achievements inspired generations of mathematicians, economists and scientists,” Eisgruber said.
A bio on Princeton University’s website, where Nash was a professor, notes that A Beautiful Mind was “loosely” based on his life. Nash received his doctorate from the institution in 1950.
According to the website:
“The impact of his 27 page dissertation on the fields of mathematics and economics was tremendous. In 1951 he joined the faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. His battle with schizophrenia began around 1958, and the struggle with this illness would continue for much of his life. Nash eventually returned to the community of Princeton.”

Read the full story here 
Other coverage: 

John Forbes Nash, Jr. (1928-2015) | Big Think 

Russell Crowe Mourns John Forbes Nash Jr: A Beautiful Mind

Noble Laureate Professor John Nash Dies in Car Crash …

The Inspiring Case of John Forbes Nash, Jr. – Forensic Psych

    

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Rutgers says it’s bred the Mother of All Strawberries


“After a decade of quietly, painstakingly sowing their seeds, Rutgers agricultural scientists are finally reaping the fruits of their labor. And soon, so can you. It is the mother of all strawberries — one cultivated by cross-breeding different types of strawberry plants over the years until the best traits of all come together in one blessed blossom,” John Petrick reports today in The Record.


“The “Rutgers Scarlet,” as it is appropriately named, is being unveiled this month. What’s its great appeal? It’s sweet – but not too sweet, say its growers. Acidic, but just a touch. It has just the right bouquet, and color. The strawberry emerged through endless rounds of taste-testing among farmers in the field, scientists in the lab and focus groups in the board room.”

Read John’s story to learn when and how you can get your hands on (and teeth into) a Rutgers Scarlet. 

    

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To no one’s surprise, the Pinelands pipeline is back in play



The much debated and twice-rejected South Jersey Gas proposal to build a natural gas pipeline through the Pinelands is back in the news.

As before, South Jersey Gas is seeking to construct the pipeline so that the coal-dependent B.L.England power plant can convert to natural-gas fueled turbines that will generate cleaner energy and avoid an environmental regulation shutdown.

“This project is being built primarily to benefit the Pinelands,” says South Jersey Gas’s VP Bob Fatzinger with a straight face. (See the video).

Liar, liar pants on fire is basically the response from the Sierra Club’s Jeff Tittel and Pinelands Alliance‘s Jaclyn Rhoads.

There is no surprise that the proposal is being revived. The company and its political backers, including Governor Chris Christie, his Department of Environmental Protection, and local state Senator Jeff Van Drew, who has close ties to local utility workers, all pushed mightily to get Bob Barr appointed as a new member on the Pinelands Commission so he could provide the crucial ‘yes’ vote to break a 7-7 deadlock.

The only plot twist so far this round is that Barr proclaims that he will not play a rubber stamp role. Perhaps for that reason, pipeline advocates now are taking the position that a vote of the commission is not necessary. The Pinelands plan, they contend, already allows for approval since the pipeline will run along existing roadways, will not impact forests, and won’t require the filling of wetlands.

In the video above, NJTV News’ Brenda Flanagan introduces the latest sequel in this multi-season, eco-drama. Feel free to supply your own fuel in the comment box below.

    

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Environmental attorney sounds off on smelly stormwater

“Rather quietly, there’s a major storm brewing over stormwater — how to regulate it, who does the regulating and on what criteria” 
potter
R. William Potter – Amanda Brown photo

Writing in NJ Spotlight today,veteran New Jersey environmental attorney R. William Potter of the Princeton-based law firm Potter and Dickson, provides his opinion on why stormwater runoff continues to add to New Jersey’s highly polluted waterways and how the challenge of correcting the problem falls primarily to local zoning boards, followed by the courts and the state Department of Environmental Protection. Credit: Amanda Brown

If that description sounds too dry, the title of Mr. Potter’s essay might activate your attention: If it looks and smells like sewage, it  could be stormwater.    


Speaking of opinions, yours may differ. If you are a land-use attorney or other expert with another point of view, we would consider your submission as an Op-Ed. Send to: Editor@EnviroPolitics.com with information on who you are and who you represent on the issue.




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Will Rutgers research torment dolphins?

On its blog today, Clean Ocean Action writes:


As soon as June 1st, Rutgers University intends to begin a seismic study approximately 15 miles off of the coast of Long Beach Island, New Jersey. The study has been approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), which has permitted the “takings” of 18,457 marine mammals— 26 times more mammals than originally proposed — during the 30-day research period so long as these incidents are classified as “Level B Harassment” under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. However, there is no scientific way to observe and assess all of the physical and physiological damage done to the populations of marine mammals to ensure that these damages do not surpass Level B Harassment into Level A Harassment.


The organization is urging its friends to call on Rutgers President Robert Barchi to cancel the study. What do you think? Let us know in the comment box below.

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New recycling system for old paint passes NJ Senate

Legislation designed to keep out of landfills those partially full cans of latex and oil paint piling up in your basement or garage, passed the New Jersey Senate yesterday on a 27-6 vote and now heads to the Assembly Commerce Committee. 



S-1420, sponsored by Senator Jim Beach (D-Burlington/Camden) is modeled on legislation developed by the paint industry as a proactive solution to the potential problem of improperly discarded paint seeping through the ground into water supplies. 


To avoid this, PaintCare, a nonprofit creation of the paint industry’s D.C.-based American Coatings Association, has created a program, already operating in eight states, that provides free collection of the old paint from dealers and public recycling programs. The paint can be recycled into new paint, or other products such as non-structural concrete, asphalt and even landscaping stones.


The legislation is supported by a number of New Jersey environmental organizations, including the Sierra Club, the New Jersey Association of Household Hazardous Waste Coordinators and the Association of New Jersey Recyclers (ANJR). 


Disclosure: Our sister company, Brill Public Affairs, provides consulting services to ANJR.,


The bill is opposed by the New Jersey Retail Merchants Association.  

Related news story: Paint recycling bill gets NJ Senate approval

NJ Ag, energy, environment bills posted for votes – May 11 




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