For a story published today in Leapsmag magazine, writer Kenneth Miller asked CFAES scientist Rattan Lal, recent winner of the Japan Prize, “Can Soil Solve the Climate Crisis?” Find out what he’s thinking.
Read more about Lal winning the Japan Prize.
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.
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.
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.
📷 with Mr. Toshi Nakahara of the #JapanPrize and @CFAES_OSU soil scientist Rattan Lal, one of two @JapanPrizeAward recipients this year. Congratulations and thank you for representing @OhioState. pic.twitter.com/RmhunKFGvJ
— Michael V. Drake (@OSUPrezDrake) April 8, 2019
Watch the ceremony. Read about Rattan Lal receiving the 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.
In areas from rainfall to lake levels, fish to algal blooms, shipping to agriculture, drinking water quality to public health, “Climate change is causing significant and far-reaching impacts on the Great Lakes and the Great Lakes region.”
That’s according to the science-based Assessment of the Impacts of Climate Change on the Great Lakes, released last week by the nonprofit Environmental Law & Policy Center, based in Chicago, and the nonprofit Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
Here’s another reason to celebrate Ohio Agriculture Week, March 10-16:
CFAES’ Rattan Lal, esteemed soil scientist in the School of Environment and Natural Resources (SENR), recently achieved an unusual triple crown, winning the prestigious World Soil Prize, World Agriculture Prize, and Japan Prize in the span of about four months.
Weather extremes like those seen last year in Ohio, including more rainfall, heavier downpours, and warmer temperatures, will likely become the norm rather than the exception, says CFAES climate specialist Aaron Wilson. He says farmers in the state may need to make adjustments to deal with the extra water. Read the story.
On March 26, Wilson speaks on the topic in Shelby.
Aaron Wilson, climate specialist with CFAES’ OSU Extension outreach arm, presents “Recent Weather Trends & Future Resilience for Farms” at the Ohio Soil Health Symposium on March 26 in Shelby. Read what he said about our wet year last year here, and learn about a new app he helped develop—one that tells farmers the best times to apply fertilizer and manure to avoid rain—here.
Dig further details about the symposium.
The monthly Wooster Science Café series continues at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 6, with “Anti-Science in a Post-Truth World” by Mark Wilson, geology professor at the College of Wooster.