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.
The Conversation, 29-Nov-18
Salt is essential for cooking, but too much salt in soil can ruin crops and render fields useless. Today it would be very expensive and logistically challenging to gather enough salt to render large swaths of land infertile. But that is precisely what climate change is doing in many parts of the world. As sea levels rise, low-lying coastal areas are increasingly being inundated with saltwater, gradually contaminating the soil. These salts can be dissipated by rainfall, but climate change is also increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, including droughts and heat waves. This leads to more intensive use of groundwater for drinking and irrigation, which further depletes the water table and allows even more salt to leach into soil. ...
Featured expert(s): column co-author Joyce Chen, associate professor of development economics
The Press, 27-Nov-18
Representatives from six businesses and organizations will provide testimony Nov. 26 before the Toward a Cleaner Lake Erie Working Group Committee of the Ohio legislature. …Cathan Kress, Dean of the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the Ohio State University, testified at the meeting and stressed the importance of a multi-disciplinary approach to taking on problems in the lake and the state’s rivers and streams. ...
Featured expert(s): Cathan Kress, Dean of the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
The Courier, 19-Nov-18
At a casual glance, it might sound like mad science: Spending millions of dollars researching how to make a dandelion more fruitful and prolific. But it’s really not the nightmare we might have thought. These dandelions are a distant, feeble cousin of the robust one we try to purge from our lawns. ...
Featured expert(s): Katrina Cornish, Ohio research scholar, endowed chair of bioemergent materials, and technical director of the Program of Excellence in Natural Rubber Alternatives
WOSU All Sides, 15-Nov-18
In many rural cities across the U.S., residents don’t have access to clean water. Lead, pesticides, and other chemicals continue contaminate wells and public water systems. ...
Featured expert(s): panelist Natalie Hull, assistant professor of environmental microbiology
Columbus CEO, 12-Nov-18
… The state of Ohio, Ohio State University and JobsOhio have invested $45 million in the first phase of the Smart Mobility Advanced Research and Test Center at TRC to test autonomous and connected vehicle technology. TRC President and CEO Brett Roubinek says he sees more companies exploring possibilities, including the insurance industry. ...
Toledo Blade, 9-Nov-18
For now, it’s unclear what will happen to western Lake Erie once Gretchen Whitmer and Mike DeWine are sworn in as governors of Michigan and Ohio, respectively. But those who track algal blooms see great potential for a fresh start and the chance for more bipartisan cooperation. ...
Featured expert(s): Chris Winslow, director of Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Laboratory
Science News, 8-Nov-18
Batteries that use aluminum and oxygen normally live fast and die young. But a new design could help these high-energy devices endure. ...
Featured expert(s): Yiyang Wu, Leet Professor of chemistry and biochemistry.
Farm and Dairy, 7-Nov-18
A team of researchers is planning to study farmers’ fields in northwestern Ohio that have more phosphorus than the crops can use. Researchers are partnering with nutrient consultants and some of the farmers that they work with. ...
Featured expert(s): Jay Martin, ecological engineering professor
Columbus Dispatch, 4-Nov-18
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report three weeks ago predicting global mean temperatures will rise by 1.5 degrees Celsius around 2040. This increase will harm environmental services on which many depend. Ninety-one volunteer IPCC scientists from 40 countries summarized more than 6,000 peer-reviewed papers to prepare their consensus report for policymakers. The climate modeling research base they reviewed has grown rapidly, especially in biology. Biologists are identifying factors that will affect future climates that were not previously captured in climate models. Their studies forecast rates and effects of climate change greater than those predicted by those recent models. ...
Featured expert(s): Steve Rissing, professor of Biology
Toledo Blade, 3-Nov-18
While it created a fair amount of controversy itself, the $600 million Blue Creek Wind Farm — a collection of some 152 wind turbines across Paulding and Van Wert counties, near the Indiana state line — was Ohio’s largest construction project when most of it was installed in 2011. …While its biggest customers are FirstEnergy Solutions and American Municipal Power, 50 of those megawatts are purchased by Ohio State University. ...