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 Lantern, October 2, 2023
The seventh annual WestFest was held with the goal of igniting passion for science in kids through interactive hands-on exhibits. The event started as a way to bring families to West Campus to see university research programs and infrastructure, and has grown to 40 exhibitors dedicated to helping kids grow their interest in a variety of STEM fields. ...
Featured expert(s): Courtney Price
Sustainability Institute
Yahoo News, September 29, 2023
A team of researchers from around the world, led by Ohio State University, will be gathering data to create artificial intelligence-informed models to better understand the long-term impact of the climate crisis on biodiversity. ...
Featured expert(s): Tanya Berger-Wolf
Translational Data Analytics Institute, SI affiliated faculty member
Inside Higher Ed, July 31, 2023
Have you enjoyed a cold Coca-Cola yet this summer? In today’s Academic Minute, Ohio State University’s Bart Elmore explores the environmental toll of doing so. ...
Featured expert(s): Bart Elmore
Department of History, SI core faculty member
Ohio Country Journal, June 13, 2023
"Moderate drought" is the initial level of drought, while "abnormally dry" means an area is moving in the direction of drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. And while it isn’t time to panic, these are rapidly changing conditions that need to be monitored, said Aaron Wilson, Ohio State University Extension’s field specialist in agriculture weather and climate and the State Climatologist of Ohio. OSU Extension is the outreach arm of The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES). ...
Featured expert(s): Aaron Wilson
SI affiliated faculty, Extension
The Conversation, June 13, 2023
Coca-Cola is one of the world’s most widely recognized brands. Its global reach, spanning more than 200 countries, was the theme of a 2020 commercial that showed families drinking Coke with their meals in cities from Orlando, Florida, to Shanghai, London, Mexico City and Mumbai, India. ...
Featured expert(s): Bart Elmore
SI core faculty, History
National Geographic, June 8, 2023
You may think you’re keeping old outfits out of the landfill when you donate them, but that’s not necessarily true. ...
Featured expert(s): Tasha Lewis
SI affiliated faculty, Human Sciences
WOSU, June 15, 2023
Ohio farmers have been in the corn and soybean business for a long time. But now, some are entering a new market: carbon farming. That’s when farmers increase the amount of carbon stored in the soil — through practices like no-till planting — in exchange for credits, which they can then sell to corporations trying to reach net-zero emissions. ...
Featured expert(s): Brent Sohngen
SI affiliated faculty, AEDE
Toledo Blade, June 14, 2023
Efforts to improve coastal resiliency in response to climate change dominated the quarterly Ohio Lake Erie Commission meeting on Wednesday, with an emphasis on the millions being spent in the Sandusky, Port Clinton, and Oak Harbor areas. Discussions included a look at projects with nature-based solutions. One such example is how sediment dredged from the Lake Erie shipping channel near Sandusky is being used to build up wetlands near Cedar Point. Common denominators for Sandusky, Port Clinton, and Oak Harbor are to stabilize shorelines. In so doing, those communities hope to reduce flooding and provide more public safety while also improving wildlife habitat, sanitation, and water quality — all while boosting downtown development and eco-tourism. ...
Featured expert(s): Kate Bartter
SI Executive Director
Ideastream, June 12, 2023
Recent plant tissue sampling in East Palestine shows no contamination from the February Norfolk Southern train derailment earlier this year. The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) and Ohio State University tested plant tissue samples for semi volatile organic compounds. Some residents voiced concerns that the testing didn’t include volatile organic compounds. But testing for volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, would have been fruitless, Ohio State professor of soil science Jeff Hattey said. ...
Featured expert(s): Jeff Hattey
SI affiliated faculty, School of Environment and Natural Resources
Inside Climate News, May 31, 2023
A new Ohio bill includes a provision that designates climate policy as a "controversial belief or policy." ...
Featured expert(s): Robyn Wilson
School of Environment and Natural Resources, SI Faculty Advisory Board