The summer is warm and sunny in Corvallis, but my travels draw me east. Over and past the Cascades is an open land where the cold sparkling waters of a river flow north, and the sweet smell of Ponderosa pine blends with the fresh scent of lodgepole — the Deschutes National Forest. My one-person tent [...]
Tag » Sustainability
February 26, 2013
Roots of Relationship
Under the pine needles lies one of the secrets to forest health
February 14, 2013
Posture for the Planet
Green Yoga combines inner peace with ecological consciousness
For many people, yoga is a form of relaxation. But in India, the birthplace of the exercise, yoga is beginning to stretch beyond the boundaries of one’s self and into the ecological realm. A new movement called “Green Yoga” encourages men and women who practice yoga — called yogis and yoginis — to strive for [...]
October 10, 2012
Eco-roofs and Earthquakes
Research will guide new structural standards
Growing greenery on roofs brings many benefits. Buildings stay cooler, saving energy. Roofs last longer, saving money and materials. Birds and insects find new habitat, helping ecosystems. And green roofs make urban spaces more aesthetically and spiritually pleasing, as well as reducing heat-island effects for city dwellers. But there are some costs that need to [...]
September 10, 2012
Behind the Screens
OSU-UO partnership aims at greening the flat-panel display industry
Some of today’s flat-panel TV and computer screens are nearly as big as a living room wall. They bring us unimaginably sharp detail, from the spots on butterfly wings to the grimace on a linebacker’s face. Whether hooked up to your cable feed, DVD player or wi-fi, this technology is becoming integral to daily life. However, our love of flashy high-res has a dark side.
June 7, 2012
Wheat for the West
Land grant research catapulted wheat farming into an economic power that feeds the world
It is arguably the plant that made the West. Pioneers brought wheat in practically every wagon on the Oregon Trail. It fed farm families in the Willamette Valley and miners in the John Day and California gold-rush towns. It was currency and foreign exchange. As the nation grew, scientists developed dryland and irrigated growing techniques. [...]
April 11, 2012
Toward a scholarly embrace
Environmental Humanities Initiative brings science and the humanities together
Ambling along the oaky trails at Finley Wildlife Refuge last Saturday morning — one of the first days without rain in a long, long time — my two friends and I paused at the edge of a pond along Woodpecker Loop. Just under the murky surface, several rough-skinned newts were swimming in slow motion, their [...]
February 21, 2012
Quartet for the Earth
Four students bring distinct perspectives to climate change research
A mountaineer, a world traveler, an athlete and a Chinese scholar pursue answers to climate change questions.
February 20, 2012
Learning to think like a planet
In a rapidly changing environment that will challenge human relationships, how can we maintain a respectful and ethical culture?
February 20, 2012
State of Change: Building Our Shells
“The attitudes of Oregonians toward climate change are somewhat unknown, but small-scale surveys indicate that many residents of our state would consider it a problem worth attention by policymakers.”
– Oregon Climate Assessment Report
October 27, 2011
Rice Paddy People
In a rural village, farmers fight industrial pollution
The young Chinese laborer was desperate. Like millions of other migrant workers in China’s dash to industrialize, he had left his home and family to work in a factory in the rural interior. Now, environmental officials had closed the zinc smelter in Futian where he worked, and without a job, nearly out of money and [...]
September 15, 2011
Hydro-deja vu: 50 Years of Water Resources Research at OSU
A statewide water research program has addressed critical issues for Oregon
“The Congress has found that we have entered a period in which acute water shortages are hampering our industries, our agriculture, our recreation, and our individual health and happiness.”
September 14, 2011
Speaking of Plastic
Plastic doesn't belong in the ocean, but let's get real
You might have heard a few supposed facts about plastic in the ocean: 1) There is a massive swirling gyre of plastic, the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” between California and Japan that is twice the size of Texas; and 2) this plastic debris outweighs plankton and is growing in size. Interestingly, the scientific literature does [...]
September 14, 2011
Bright Idea
The future of solar energy could be on your desk — the inkjet printer
In the beginning, there was silicon, and it was really good. Silicon is one of the most abundant elements on Earth. It gave us golden, sandy beaches and sunlit kitchen windows. Beer mugs and home insulation. Silicon Valley in California and Silicon Forest in the Pacific Northwest. Personal computers and the Information Age. And solar [...]
September 14, 2011
Sticky Business
Incidental discovery could lead to a revolution in the adhesives industry
The OSU researchers were working toward a hot-melt adhesive made from cheap and plentiful vegetable oils that could be used in wood composites. For that purpose, they were making little progress. But at one point, Kaichang Li, an international expert in wood chemistry and composites, and his postdoctoral research associate, Anlong Li, noticed that their [...]
April 26, 2011
Optimizing Energy
Simulations and modeling help to boost a fuel cell's energy output
Imagine a black box with knobs on the outside that you can turn. If you add fuel, the box produces electricity. By adjusting the knobs, you can change the power output, but there’s a catch — you’re not sure how far to turn the knobs to produce the most power. For researchers at Oregon State [...]
April 22, 2011
A Slippery Slope
Warm rains and glacial melting trigger dangerous debris flows
Grinding over ancient layers of lava and ash, the glaciers of the Cascade Range act like supersized sheets of shrinkwrap. Stretched taut across tons of pulverized rock, these blankets of frozen snow hold sand, gravel and boulders in place — that is, until they start to melt. Then the sediments, unlocked from the glaciers’ icy [...]
February 10, 2011
Green Tower
A solution for the space-challenged gardener
If your taste buds yearn for home-grown tomatoes, spinach, onions, garlic, lettuce, potatoes and cukes, but your garden is the size of a postage stamp, Al Shay has an idea for you. The instructor in OSU’s Dept. of Horticulture has built a “green tower” that creates nearly 90 square feet of usable plant growing space [...]
February 1, 2011
Lines in the Water
Communities and scientists explore proposed marine reserves
As fishermen, scientists and coastal communities spar over Oregon’s system of marine reserves, OSU researchers and their partners are developing the science. One of their first testing grounds is Port Orford’s Redfish Rocks.
February 1, 2011
Raised Voices
Sea Grant Extension helps communities address problems
Fishing is hard enough. The weather, changing ocean conditions and the fickleness of fish make it tough to track your quarry let alone catch them. Now competition for space in the ocean — an oxymoron in an environment defined by its seemingly limitless expanse — poses new concerns along the West Coast. In the future, [...]
February 1, 2011
From Research to Retail
Bringing science and business together for Oregon seafood
Gilbert “Gil” Sylvia spent childhood summers riding a bus through the lake-studded military base where he lived, hauling buckets of live fish from pond to pond. He and his buddies were trying to alter the balance of species for one reason: to boost their own catches. They never guessed that by dumping sunfish, bass and [...]
January 25, 2011
Cascadia Roulette
The odds are good that a major earthquake will strike the Pacific Northwest in the near future. We're overdue, says Robert Yeats.
Bob Yeats has spent his career preparing people for the possible: a catastrophic earthquake
December 22, 2010
Yellow tang study shows marine reserve benefit
The popular aquarium fish are rebounding after being nearly wiped out
Marine ecologists at Oregon State University have shown for the first time that tiny fish larvae can drift with ocean currents and “re-seed” fish stocks significant distances away – more than 100 miles in a new study from Hawaii.
November 20, 2010
The Greening of Wood Products
Wood composites offer resilience, efficiency and strength.
November 19, 2010
Earth Ethics
Extension’s National Network for Sustainable Living Education has grown from the work of OSU professor Viviane Simon-Brown. Starting with 12 colleagues in five states in 2004, more than 80 people at 30 land grant universities now collaborate to promote planet-friendly lifestyles.
October 30, 2010
Power Wave
Thanks to a partnership between the U.S. Department of Energy, Oregon State University and the private sector, wave energy is moving out of the lab and into the ocean. And none too soon. In the race for carbon-free sources of electricity, this one may make a real difference for Oregon and the nation. There are [...]
October 19, 2010
A Way Forward for Oregon’s O&C Forests
Any fair-minded reading of the history of the O&C (Oregon and California Railroad) lands in Western Oregon would conclude that they were intended to provide economic support for the 18 counties in which they reside.
October 10, 2010
Land “evapotranspiration” taking unexpected turn: huge parts of world are drying up
The soils in large areas of the Southern Hemisphere, including major portions of Australia, Africa and South America, have been drying up in the past decade.
October 2, 2010
Countdown on the Columbia
Deadline looms for the river that turned darkness to dawn
More than 400 dams produce power and control floods in the nation’s fourth largest river basin. The U.S./Canada treaty that established responsibilities for water flow and power sharing is due for renewal.
July 23, 2010
Uncharted Waters
Communities, engineers and scientists prepare for the next tsunami
It may come like it did the last time, in the middle of a cold and blustery January night. Suddenly the ground will begin to shake, windows will shatter, bridges collapse, the electricity will go out and parents will frantically try to find a flashlight and dig sleepy kids out of bed, ignore everything else [...]
