Spring came quietly to our campus this year. While I have missed seeing the telltale signs on a university campus — students shedding their winter garb early at the first hint of warm weather, tulips blooming in front of the Faculty Club, and a stroll across the Oval while dodging Frisbee players — I have enjoyed watching nature spring to life in my backyard outside the window of my dining room/home office. And I know that the white pine that then-President Harold Enarson and students planted on the Oval just two years after Ohio State’s first Earth Day celebration, on April 22, 1970, will soon be joined by a deciduous canopy of green.
For months, the Sustainability Institute has been making plans to celebrate the momentous occasion of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day juxtaposed with Ohio State’s 150th birthday celebration. The coronavirus has pushed us apart physically, but we remain committed to marking this important environmental occasion; we are just shifting to the digital realm. If anything, the coronavirus has shown us how important it is to celebrate and protect the Earth’s resources that sustain us. For many of us, nature has provided sanctuary during this time. A walk in the woods or even around our neighborhoods is key to coping in our “time of corona.” We are all learning important lessons about what really matters. We can isolate in our homes, but we can’t live without clean air and clean water (and maybe, an abundant supply of toilet paper.)
As this Earth Day approaches, we have much to celebrate. The air is cleaner. More waterways are fishable and swimmable. But the challenges of the next 50 years are more complicated. Few would argue with the evidence that a changing climate impacts everything, from algal blooms in Lake Erie to increasing the risk of a novel coronavirus jumping species. Just as Ohio State’s amazing researchers have helped solve environmental challenges of the past, they also will help forge a more sustainable future. Please join us on April 15 for a special webinar we’ve planned with the Environmental Professionals Network to look back on history and showcase our contributions to more sustainable future, and hear an important announcement around climate from President Michael V. Drake.
One lesson of our current public health crisis is the power of individuals to change their behavior and make a difference in the path of history. There are parallels for climate change. No individual, no single institution, community, state or country can independently solve the climate challenge. But if we all pitch in we can change our current trajectory and keep greenhouse gas emissions to a level that prevents catastrophic impacts. Since 2008, Ohio State has been committed to carbon neutrality by 2050, but the best scientists (including some of our own) are united that we must do more. The International Panel on Climate Change says we must cut our greenhouse gases emissions by at last 45% by 2030. Join us on April 15 to hear how the university plans to accelerate our commitment to carbon neutrality and do its part to ensure a more sustainable future for all.
Please take a moment to see how Ohio State is celebrating this 50th anniversary of Earth Day.
Kate Bartter, executive director
Sustainability Institute
arnold.680@osu.edu
