Making Headlines

International Business Times, Nov. 8, 2019

Adding plants and trees near factories and other pollution sources can reduce air pollution, but potted plants are barely helpful in improving the air quality, scientists have said. According to researchers, plants – not technologies – are a cheaper option for cleaning the air near industrial sites, roadways, and power plants as trees reduce air pollution by an average of 27 per cent. ...

WOSU All Sides, Nov. 8, 2019

Nearly two-thirds of North America’s birds could be at risk of extinction due to climate change. According to a report from the National Audubon Society, if the global temperature rise by 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit by the year 2100, 389 species of birds around the continent will be at risk for extinction.  ...

Air Quality News, Nov. 7, 2019

In order to understand the effect that trees and plants have on air pollution, researchers from Ohio University collected public data on air pollution and vegetation across 48 states in the U.S. They considered the effect that restorative planting might have on air pollution levels and then estimated the impact of plants on the most common air pollutants. ...

Treehugger, Nov. 7, 2019

"Despite the proliferation of control technologies, air pollution remains a major concern across the United States, suggesting the need for a paradigm shift in methods for mitigating emissions," begins a new study from Ohio State University. Did someone say paradigm shift? Good, because technology like smokestack scrubbers isn't doing the job. So who you gonna call? The plant kingdom. ...

Marietta Times, Nov. 5, 2019

It will take years of development and billions of dollars in technology, but self-driving cars are slowly headed toward becoming the dominant mode of transportation on highways, and southeast Ohio is being used as a proving ground to teach the vehicles how to navigate rural roads. ...

Columbus Dispatch, Nov. 4, 2019

The environmental burden of deforestation might not be as bad as previously thought, according to a joint study by professors at Ohio State and Yale universities. ...

Fox News, Nov. 4, 2019

Deforestation's contribution to climate change is vastly overestimated, a new study concludes. The study led by researchers at Ohio State University and Yale University states that deforestation for timber and farmland is responsible for about 92 billion tons of carbon emissions into the environment since 1900. ...

E & E News, Nov. 1, 2019

Lake Erie is sick with toxic algae, and climate change is making it sicker. No one was swimming on a warm late August day at a popular park near Toledo. Three people occupied a beach that could hold a thousand. Everyone knows the lake contains dangerous algae. Few understand why the algal blooms are toxic or how climate change is tipping the scales. ...

The Athletic, Oct. 31, 2019

Inside the gates of Michigan Stadium, more than 110,000 fans are enjoying the pomp and pageantry of a fall Saturday at one of college football’s iconic venues. Outside the stadium, another game-day ritual is underway. Among the participants is a man who identifies himself only as Glenn, a 68-year-old retired carpenter from Ann Arbor. For the past two years, Glenn has been coming to the stadium parking lot on game days to collect cans. He tries to arrive two hours before the game, when the trash bins are full of waste from tailgate festivities. He was late today, but even arriving 30 minutes after kickoff, he finds enough cans and bottles to fill three large garbage bags. ...

CBC, Oct. 31, 2019

Last week, Coca-Cola was named the most polluting brand in the world in an audit conducted by Break Free From Plastic, a global movement made up of roughly 1,500 organizations calling for the reduction of single-use plastics. Close followers were Nestle and PepsiCo. ...