Larry Baker, has more than 25 years of research experience, with more than 100 publications. He now splits his time between researcch (at the University of Minnesota) and consulting. The overall thrust of his research and consultling is to find novel ways to reduce pollution in ways that are more effective, cheaper, and fairer. Over the past 10 years, much of his research has focused on urban ecosystems.
- Research and analysis on water quality problems, especially related to nonpoint source pollution.
- Development of novel approaches for managing environmental problems.
- Design of programs for environmental assessment.
- Development and coordination of interdisciplinary projects.
- Expert testimony.
- Advocacy research.
* My latest edited book, The Water Environment of Cities (photo at right) is now available as an "E-book", making chapters readily accessible to students for free.
* I recently served as an external advisor to an ongoing study of the ecology of stormwater ponds at
* On several occasions recently I've provided testimony about water quality problems associated with cooling towers used by ethanol plants and power plants. Exploring these issues early can help companies modify operations sooner rather than later.
* We will be starting (at the U of M) a new research project to quantify nutrient removal via street sweeping on streets with varying tree canopy. The outcomes could be very useful to clients who are looking for ways to get load reduction credits for street sweeping.
* We are also starting a project to quantify the watershed P balance for the
* In September, I attended a National Academy of Science Forum on Urban Sustainability. It appears that the federal goverment is giving serious thought to this issue, which could catalyze synthesis and new research in this arena.
*Last November I also spent two weeks teaching at the International Institute on Water and Environmental Engineering in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, a prelude to expanding my thinking about the water environment of cities to cities of the poor, arid world.
