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.
ZME Science, May 24, 2022
The imminent catastrophic threats of climate change, as well as the most recent energy shortages and price hikes due to war and cartels, highlight the need for urgent action toward transitioning away from fossil fuels. But this transition to renewable energy sources could take decades, depending on where you live, and should ideally involve nuclear energy as an intermediate step or even as a permanent hedge in case something goes wrong — for instance, if we get bogged down by intractable battery shortages. ...
Featured expert(s): Gerald Frankel
materials science and engineering
PreventionWeb, UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, May 24
In the face of catastrophic events, scenes of property destruction give the first indications of economic loss for businesses. Interruptions to the companies’ ability to produce goods and services, however, actually have a much greater effect on their bottom line. ...
Featured expert(s): Noah Dormady
public affairs, SI affiliated faculty
WEWS, May 18, 2022
A new ordinance is going before a Cleveland City Council committee that would change how the city plans its streetscape. The legislation, introduced by Ward 3 councilman Kerry McCormack as the Complete and Green Ordinance, would focus on complete streets during the design and planning process. ...
Featured expert(s): Harvey Miller
geography, SI faculty advisory board
Earth.com, May 14, 2022
Our planet’s oceans are home to some of the most diverse and complex ecosystems. However, warming temperatures are causing increasingly more marine organisms, including corals, to die out. A new study led by Ohio State University (OSU) has advocated the use of mesoscale sanctuaries – areas that can stretch for thousands of miles, often across national boundaries – to protect the over 6,000 coral species populating the oceans. ...
Featured expert(s): Andrea Grottoli
earth sciences, SI affiliated faculty
Discover, March 13, 2022
Commonly referred to as the “canaries in the coal mine” for global warming, sea coral survive in a narrow range of conditions. And changes in environmental conditions can do irreparable harm to corals. ...
Featured expert(s): Andrea Grottoli
earth sciences, SI affiliated faculty
Columbus Dispatch, May 5, 2022
Fires in Cleveland helped spark the day of action that we all know as Earth Day back in 1970. The Cuyahoga River fires were a symbol of our collective failure that could only be changed by collective action. We have continued to come together every April to celebrate our natural heritage and to improve our communities. ...
Featured expert(s): Cathann Kress
Dean of College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; SI affiliated faculty
Gastropod, May 3, 2022
Bart Elmore is a professor of history, focusing on the environment and business, at Ohio State University. While reporting a book on the history of Coca-Cola, he came across Monsanto's origins producing caffeine and saccharin for the company, which planted the "seed" for his book Seed Money: Monsanto's Past and Our Food Future. ...
Featured expert(s): Bart Elmore
history, SI core faculty
Fox Weather, May 3, 2022
More than two months into the war in Ukraine, NASA and Russia’s space agency continue to work together toward flying a cosmonaut on an American spacecraft and jointly operating the International Space Station, despite the fiery rhetoric from Russia’s top space official. ...
Featured expert(s): John Horack
mechanical and aerospace engineering, SI core faculty
Sierra, April 30, 2022
Tar Creek doesn’t seem like an inviting home for wildlife. For more than 70 years, miners blasted open the earth underneath the Oklahoma waterway in search of lead and zinc. Today, mountains of waste material from the mines tower above what is now classified by the EPA as a Superfund site. Groundwater that flows through the abandoned mines flushes toxic heavy metals, including cadmium and lead—both potent neurotoxins even at low concentrations—into the creek. The water runs bright orange. ...
Featured expert(s): Rachel Gabor
environment and natural resources, SI affiliated faculty
Phys.org, April 27, 2022
Researchers have developed a way to use satellite imaging data to create 3D images that could quickly detect changes on the Earth's surface, a new study says. ...
Featured expert(s): Rongjun Qin
civil, environmental and geodetic engineering, SI affiliated faculty