- Using soil to better serve people and the planet
Dr. Rattan Lal compares soil to a bank account in which the planet needs us to put more in than we withdraw, especially now as we deal with the challenges of climate change and feeding a growing world population. “Every living thing on the planet depends on it. We must make sure we manage soil properly and not take it for granted,” he says.
- The root of a solution to water pollution?
Almost half of Ohio’s lakes, wetlands and streams are tainted with nutrient runoff — fertilizers and animal manure, intended for land, but carried into bodies of water by rain and gravity. Once in the water, those chemicals threaten plant and animal life, water supplies for humans and local economies that depend on water recreation. Could floating islands peppered with nutrient-chomping plants be part of a solution?
- Six things to know about Lake Erie’s algal blooms
The harmful algal blooms that manifest on Lake Erie in the summer can be as murky a concept to understand as they look. But it’s important to recognize the distinct and sometimes dangerous impact these blooms can have beyond the Great Lakes’ banks: Harmful algal blooms are capable of producing toxins that can cause skin rashes, GI problems and varying degrees of damage to a person’s liver, kidneys and nervous system.
- Working toward a cleaner Lake Erie at Stone Laboratory
Growing up in Cleveland, Harrison Fried loved to care for his aquariums, maintaining a healthy world for his fish. It’s a hobby that blossomed into a larger passion: to preserve the environment we all live in. At Stone Laboratory, Ohio State’s island campus on Lake Erie, Fried got to embark on a research study that he hopes will encourage improvements to the lake’s ecosystem.
- Can music reduce livestock aggression?
From the time she was a little girl, Nicole Lorig has always been passionate about two very different things – music and animals. So when the aspiring veterinarian came to Ohio State to study animal sciences, it made sense to add a minor in music to her studies. Soon she was at Ohio State’s Swine Center, observing the reactions of pigs to classical music.
