climate change

Storing energy could help cut climate emissions

From a recent Ohio State press release, details on research involving a Buckeye in the College of Engineering:

“Electricity grids that incorporate storage for power sourced from renewable resources could cut carbon dioxide emissions substantially more than systems that simply increase renewably sourced power, a new study has found.

“The study, published … in the journal Nature Communications, found that storage could help make more efficient use of power generated by sources such as wind and solar and could help power grids move away from relying on fossil fuels for energy.”

Read the full story.

Find helpful renewable-energy resources—videos, fact sheets, and more; for businesses, homes, and farms—on CFAES’ Energize Ohio website. (Photo: Eric Romich, CFAES.)

Ohio’s farm crisis: Disaster aid levels still uncertain

The disaster declaration for nearly half of Ohio’s 88 counties extends low-interest loans to farmers. But CFAES experts say many growers are hoping for changes that could offer more financial help.

Further details on Ohio’s rain-caused farm crisis can be found on CFAES’ frequently updated Addressing 2019 Agricultural Challenges website.

Ohio’s farm crisis: New website gives help

CFAES recently launched a new website for farmers hit by Ohio’s record rain. Called “Addressing 2019 Agricultural Challenges,” the site gives help on topics related to the ongoing rain-caused farming crisis—from prevented planting to crop insurance to managing stress and more.

Continue reading →

Ohio’s farm crisis is visible from space

Ohio’s unplanted, late-planted, and drowned farm fields, along with those present throughout the Midwest, are actually visible from space, according to a July 2 Washington Post story that interviewed, among others, CFAES soybean expert Laura Lindsey. As seen by satellite, the story says, the region’s beleaguered fields are “more brown belt than farm belt.”

“Right now, farmer stress levels are really high,” Lindsey is quoted as saying in the story. “Farmers are worried about losing their farms.”

CFAES’s “Addressing 2019 Agricultural Challenges” website, launched in response to Ohio’s record rain, offers resources to help those farmers.

Ohio’s farm crisis: ‘Climate Smart’ conference is Thursday

A reminder that CFAES’ Climate Smart: Farming with Weather Extremes conference is this Thursday, July 18, in Plain City, northwest of Columbus. The event will look at what farmers can do to adapt to weather and climate changes.

Aaron Wilson, CFAES climate specialist and a speaker at the event, says “the idea is to get people to start thinking about building resilience to the changes we see.”

Admission to the conference is free and open to the public, but the deadline, unfortunately, has passed for reserving lunch.

Read CFAES’ press release about the conference.

Ohio’s farm crisis: What farmers can do to deal with extreme weather

What can Ohio farmers do about the state’s recent record rainfall? How can they handle prevented planting and other issues caused by that rain? Going forward, how can they help their farms adapt to our wetter, warming world? Those and other questions will be answered at Climate Smart: Farming with Weather Extremes, a conference set for Thursday, July 18, in Plain City.

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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.