Making Headlines
The following articles reflect our commitment to share sustainability-related accomplishments across the university — representing its colleges, departments, institutes, centers and other units — in the areas of research, student engagement, campus stewardship and collaborations with the public and private sectors.
Ohio State News, May 13, 2019
Twenty-one projects — tackling issues such as addiction recovery, sustainability and income inequality — have been awarded grants in the second year of philanthropic funding from The Ohio State University’s comprehensive energy management partnership. Ohio State Energy Partners contributes $810,000 each year to the university or affiliated philanthropic causes as part of its commitment to academic engagement. ...
News5, May 9, 2019
A "micro-farm" in Mansfield is helping to bridge the gap for families living in food deserts. Soon, these micro-farms will be sprouting up across neighborhoods in Richland County, bringing fresh food to tables, and in time, jobs. Amanda Stanfield’s micro-farm is part of a bigger project that sprung up out of a parking lot at Ohio State University in Mansfield. ...
Ohio State News, May 9, 2019
Transportation is changing. Cars can run on electricity, and tell us whether we are too distracted while we drive. Buses offer free wi-fi. Ride-sharing is ubiquitous. Bike-commuting is in vogue. Decades from now, the way people move through their daily lives will likely look even more different—and a new program in the partnership between The Ohio State University and Honda R&D Americas is working to nurture the kinds of innovative ideas that will, hopefully, make transportation easier, safer and more environmentally friendly. ...
Wexner Medical Center, May 9, 2019
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center has received a Partner for Change Award from Practice Greenhealth, the nation’s leading membership and networking organization for institutions in the healthcare community that have made a commitment to sustainable, eco-friendly practices. The medical center also received the Ohio Hospital Association’s top environmental leadership award – the John Chapman Award, which recognizes a hospital or health system for excellence in initiating or supporting pollution prevention programs. The award is named after John Chapman or “Johnny Appleseed,” who planted thousands of apple trees across the Midwest during the 19th century. ...
WBUR, May 9, 2019
Earlier this week, a United Nations report found humans are now driving more species to the brink of extinction than at any other time in history. Roughly 1 million of the Earth’s 8 million known species of plants and animals are at risk of going extinct, according to the report. ...
Featured expert(s): Andi Wolf
plant biology
BTN Live, May 4, 2019
Do you really think much about water? When you’re thirsty, is it there? When you need to bathe or wash your clothing, is it there? As Ohio State civil engineering alum Josh Osam-Duodu explains, that is a luxury, but one that clouds our worldview. “Water is so expected here,” says Osam-Duodu. “You don’t think about it. You turn on the faucets, you expect water to flow out, but in other parts of the world, that is not the case. A lot of people have to go through the worst conditions to get water that’s not even clean.” ...
The Science Times, May 3, 2019
For the past years, a group of scientists was sent to an expedition to carry out a survey on marine life. The crew spent over a decade on the water investigating the science of oceans and the clues that it gave on how the planet is evolving. The expedition was set to cover pole to pole distances. During this expedition, samples are collected by scientists and were analyzed for data. In the study, the researchers revealed finding 195,728 viruses lurking underwater. Before the team has concluded their research, only 15,000 of these ocean viruses were known to the scientific community. ...
Featured expert(s): Matthew Sullivan
microbiology
Public News Service , May 2, 2019
With the waters of Lake Erie starting to warm, concerns are rising about the possibility of toxic algal blooms over the summer months. There are evidence-based agricultural practices that can reduce the threat, so why are they not widely used? New research of solutions and behaviors found that goals to reduce nutrient runoff linked to algal blooms are feasible, as many farmers are motivated to use best practices. However, Robyn Wilson, associate professor of risk analysis and decision science at Ohio State University’s School of Environment and Natural Resources, explains real and perceived barriers are preventing action. ...
Featured expert(s): Robyn Wilson
environment and natural resources
Ohio State News, May 2, 2019
The Ohio State University at Mansfield is launching an urban sustainable food-system project that will increase area residents’ access to fruits, vegetables and other specialty crops while supporting the local economy. The project, developed and managed by Associate Professor of Environmental History, Kip Curtis, is supported by a $2 million matching grant from the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR). ...
Toledo Blade, March 31, 2019
Facts matter, of course.But in a somewhat surprising revelation, several speakers at a major Great Lakes symposium agreed that interpersonal skills and the science of communication itself have been largely overlooked. They claim that in 2019’s social media-savvy world, how we communicate messages about climate change to each other is every bit and possibly more important to eventually slowing down Earth’s warming climate — that humankind cannot just rely on reams of hard data collected during the past 61 years that suggest the world is headed toward catastrophe if it allows carbon dioxide and other climate-altering emissions to keep going into the atmosphere at a runaway pace. ...