carbon sequestration

Rattan Lal quoted in Wall Street Journal

CFAES’ Rattan Lal, Distinguished University Professor of Soil Science and a 2019 winner of the prestigious Japan Prize, was interviewed for a recent story in the Wall Street Journal. In “How to Get Rid of Carbon Emissions: Pay Farmers to Bury Them,” Lal talks about whether paying farmers to sequester carbon to fight the climate crisis is realistic or not, and what some feasible goals could be. The story is here, but you’ll need a subscription to read it.

Lal founded and directs CFAES’ Carbon Management and Sequestration Center. In the video above, he explains the interconnected reasons for storing organic matter (such as carbon) in the soil.

Regenerative agriculture a ‘win-win-win’

An op-ed in the May 13 edition of the Los Angeles Times quotes CFAES scientist Rattan Lal on the benefits of regenerative agriculture—practices such as using compost, minimizing tillage, and growing cover crops. Regenerative agriculture is a “win-win-win option” that can make the soil healthier, increase food production, and help fight climate change, he is quoted as saying. But it is “not widely understood” yet by policymakers, the public, and many farmers.

Lal, a recent recipient of the prestigious Japan Prize, is Distinguished University Professor of Soil Science in CFAES’ School of Environment and Natural Resources.

Read the op-ed.

‘How do we keep ourselves properly soiled?’

Forbes writer Bruce Y. Lee featured the work of CFAES scientist Rattan Lal, Distinguished University Professor of Soil Science, in an April 14 article titled “Here Is a Major Soil Problem That Will Affect Health.”

“The dirt on soil,” Lee writes, “is that it may be playing a major role in climate change, food security, and thus human health.”

Lal and Ohio State President Michael V. Drake, MD, are both quoted in the story on how, around the world, erosion, depletion, and other problems caused by poor soil management are threatening people’s ability to grow enough food.

Read the story.

Lal received the 2019 Japan Prize, one of the most prestigious honors in science and technology, in an official ceremony on April 11 in Tokyo.

He speaks on the award and his work in the video above.

Grain that grows ‘like grass on the prairie’

A recent NPR story by Dan Charles featured the perennial grain called Kernza. Headlined “Can This Breakfast Cereal Save the Planet?” the story looked at Kernza’s benefits to the soil, which include preventing erosion and sequestering carbon; the scientists at the Salina, Kansas-based Land Institute who developed and are continuing to work with Kernza; and efforts by General Mills, the maker of Wheaties and Cheerios, to turn the new grain into cereal.

Kernza-wise, CFAES scientist Steve Culman and his colleagues are studying the grain as well, including as part of a multistate study. Read more on their work here and here.

Today in Tokyo

Watch the ceremony. Read about Rattan Lal receiving the Japan Prize.

Watch: Rattan Lal receives Japan Prize

CFAES soil scientist Rattan Lal formally received the Japan Prize today, Monday, April 8, in Tokyo. You can watch the ceremony in the video above. Ohio State President Michael V. Drake, First Lady Brenda Drake, and CFAES Wooster Director Dave Benfield were among the delegation from Ohio State attending the ceremony. The Japan Prize is considered one of the most prestigious honors in science and technology.

Soils, carbon and climate change: CFAES’s Lal speaks on national, world stages

CFAES scientist Rattan Lal (pictured) has been busy lately.

The Distinguished University Professor of Soil Science joined a Dec. 4 National Public Radio panel discussion called “The Ground Beneath Our Feet”; was quoted in a Dec. 3 New York Times opinion piece titled “Soil Power! The Dirty Way to a Green Planet”; and keynoted three recent international events related to soils, carbon and climate change.

Lal is also the director of our college’s Carbon Management and Sequestration Center. Visit the center’s website.

CFAES’s Lal is a Highly Cited Researcher

Rattan Lal’s work, you could say, is very fertile. The CFAES scientist, who’s a Distinguished University Professor of soil science in the School of Environment and Natural Resources, was recently profiled as one of Thomson Reuters’ Highly Cited Researchers. “For nearly four decades,” says the story by Sarah Tanksalvala, “Lal has been a leader in addressing soil as a key aspect of the biggest issues facing our planet today.” Read the story.