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URBANA, Ill. ­– Plant-covered roofs have become a regular sight in Portland, Oregon. The city is a leader in incorporating green infrastructure for stormwater management, including free street trees, rebates for small residential housing footprints, and green roofs.

Green roofs, also known as rooftop gardens or ecoroofs, typically have a layer of plants growing in soil on top of the roof, as well as material for waterproofing, structural support, and insulation. A new study from Reed College in collaboration with the University of Illinois and Portland State University explores the benefits of green roofs and how much Portland residents are willing to pay to increase the number of green roofs across the city.

GENESEO, Ill. — The notion of carbon markets is not new, but has been pushed to the forefront of recent in ramped-up efforts to sequester carbon dioxide.

“The main reason to reduce those emissions is because of climate change concerns and an often-stated goal is to reach carbon neutrality,” said Gary Schnitkey, University of Illinois farm management specialist, in a Wyffels Hybrids-hosted webinar on April 5.

“Agriculture is seen as an activity that’s part of the thing that can reduce carbon emissions. According to 2019 EPA estimates, agriculture produces 10.2% of the greenhouse gases that are emitted in the United States. By far the larger parts of those emissions are transportation, electricity generation and industry.

“Agricultural activities are looked at as a sink for carbon, not as necessarily a part of the problem, and that’s sort of a good place to be and better than some of the alternatives.”

Read the full article on AgriNews

Since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine has regained its traditional position as one of the most important breadbaskets of the world. More than 55% of Ukraine’s land area is “farmable” and it has some of the most productive soils in the world. According to the USDA, Ukraine produces about 4% of global corn and wheat supplies, 7% of barley, and 31% of sunflower oil.

It is not just the size of Ukrainian crop production that is worrisome for global food supplies, but the fact that so much of it is exported. Ukraine is now the 5th largest exporter of wheat in the world, supplying 10% of global wheat exports. Ukrainian farmers have fallen in love with corn, and now contribute nearly 15% of global exports. Agricultural products are Ukraine’s largest export and were valued at nearly $70 billion in 2021.

Read the full article from Time Magazine written by Scott Irwin, April 14, 2022

Amy Ando, professor in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics (ACE) at University of Illinois, will join the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources (BANR) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine this month. Ando's research covers the creative application of economics to environmental and natural resource challenges such as promoting environmental quality in agricultural systems and improving outcomes from species and habitat conservation.

As part of the 20-person Board, Ando will help oversee research studies on agriculture, forestry, fisheries, wildlife, and the use of land, water, and other natural resources. Such work can address problems that come up when the demand for food and resources impacts the environment. The Board maintains an awareness across these research fields and connects it to the related work in public policy, new research, technology, human resource needs, economic and social trends.

Two years after COVID-19 emerged, researchers have provided three cost-effective actions to help decision-makers prevent future pandemics by stopping “spillover” of diseases from animals into humans: better surveillance of pathogens, better management of wildlife trade and hunting, and reduced deforestation. 

The annual costs of these “primary pandemic prevention” actions (~$20 billion) are less than 5% of the lowest estimated value of lives lost from emerging infectious diseases every year, less than 10% of the economic costs, and provide substantial co-benefits. 

The research by 20 experts, published in Science Advances, was led by Dr. Aaron Bernstein, director of the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. 

“If COVID-19 taught us anything, it is that testing, treatments, and vaccines can prevent deaths but they do not stop the spread of viruses across the globe and may never prevent the emergence of new pathogens. As we look to the future, we absolutely cannot rely on post-spillover strategies alone to protect us,” said Dr. Bernstein of Harvard Chan C-CHANGE.