Business and Climate Change: Are Sustainability Efforts Enough?

Climate change for many is primarily about science and environmental impacts, but the linkage to economic concerns is undeniable.

Many believe business opposes limits on carbon, overlooking the fact that many firms supported legislative efforts to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect forests and develop new clean energy technologies. Were these firms merely acting in their own interests while endangering the economy? Why did business engage in the debate? Is the current political impasse regarding climate helpful to business? Has business moved on? This webinar will look at these and related questions.

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One Health: The Dynamics of the Human-Animal Interface in a Rapidly Changing Environment

One Health: The Dynamics of the Human-Animal Interface in a Rapidly Changing Environment

The convergence of human health and animal health has led to a new era of emerging infectious diseases. How will this unique era and the human-animal interface be affected by the impending changes to our environment and alterations to our climate? This webinar will provide information about:

  • The factors that have created this unprecedented era of emerging diseases
  • How environmental changes will impact the human-animal interface
  • Why the One Health Initiative offers a new mindset and solutions to address the health threats created by this unique convergence

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Climate Change and Great Lakes Wetlands

Wetlands provide more value to humans and nature alike per unit area than any other part of our landscape. They control floods, clean up water polluted by fertilizers and other contaminants, and serve as the best carbon sequestration ecosystems on the planet.

Studies by Dr. William Mitsch and his students at Ohio State’s Olentangy River Wetland Research Park over the past 20 years, as well as his studies at Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserve in Ohio, the Florida Everglades, the Louisiana Delta, Botswana’s Okavango Delta, and all over the world have illustrated the “how” of wetlands providing important ecosystem services, including those to mitigate climate change. Recent studies have illustrated that methane emissions from most wetlands do not matter because of their ability to sequester carbon at much higher rates.

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Recent Trends of Heavy Precipitation in the Great Lakes

Recent Trends of Heavy Precipitation in the Great Lakes

Heavy precipitation events can have important impacts on communities throughout the year. Intense cold-season snowstorms and warm-season extreme flooding events, for example, regularly result in high social and economic losses. Heavy precipitation events in the Great Lakes region are caused by both large-scale weather systems (such as cyclones) and local storms induced by the lakes themselves (such as lake-effect snows). Long-term variations in these factors, including possible variations due to climate change, can result in large changes in the occurrence of heavy precipitation. This webinar will provide information about:

  • Vulnerabilities in the Great Lakes region to changes in warm- and cold-season precipitation extremes
  • How the frequency of heavy precipitation events in the Great Lakes have changed over the last century
  • A recent reversal in the long-term trends of lake-effect snows near Lake Michigan
  • How heavy precipitation events could change with a changing climate

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Regional Impacts of Climate Change on Forests and Bird Communities

Climate change is altering species habitats, and these impacts will only intensify as the climate continues to depart from current conditions. The use of species distribution models to evaluate potential responses of birds to climate change is important as we consider management options. This webinar will provide information about:

  • Potential effects of climate change on 147 bird species habitats of the eastern United States
  • Why information on potential climate and tree species habitat changes are important to evaluate when considering potential climate change impacts
  • The importance of communicating uncertainties when applying results to vulnerability assessments.

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Webinar Archives

What Attendees Are Saying

  • “ Here in Minnesota we're using the webinars to provide current research updates. The information is pertinent and timely and by using the OSU webinars for content, we can spend time working on other aspects of climate adaptation. – B. Liukkonen, U of MN Extension

  • “ This is one of the most useful and accessible resources in the Great Lakes basin. Consider it a cornerstone of a growing network of climate professionals in this region. ”

  • “ Thank you, OSU, for providing such a useful tool! Keep’em coming! ”

  • “ Thanks for these webinars. A great resource. ”

Featured Presentations

  • 2010-09-28
    Dr. Jonathan Patz

    University of Wisconsin
    Climate Change in the Great Lakes: Key Vulnerabilities to Public Health in the Region. Read more.

  • 2010-11-02
    Dr. Brent Sohngen

    Ohio State University
    Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Great Lakes Farms and Forests. Read more.

  • 2010-10-14
    Dr. Dan Herms

    Ohio State University
    Effects of Climate Change on Species Interactions in Natural and Agricultural Ecosystems. Read more.

  • 2011-01-11
    Dr. Peter Curtis

    Ohio State University
    Managing Great Lakes Forests for Climate Change Mitigation Read more.

  • 2010-12-07
    Dr. Anthony D. Kendall

    Michigan State University
    Climate Change, Biofuels, and Land Use Legacy Read more.