When most people think of the term “accounting,” they think of banks, money, and profits. But in a world affected by climate change, accounting for carbon is one of the tools researchers use to determine the consequences of climate change and suggest ways to mitigate the problem. One of these researchers is Dr. Peter Curtis, a professor in and Chair of the Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology at Ohio State University.

The word “nanotechnology” is most often familiar in the context of science fiction, but since the first nanomaterials were discovered in the 1980s, these tiny structures have become a part of new developments in the fields of medicine, engineering, and construction, and they have been integrated into consumer products from food storage to clothing.

However, with their increasing use, many researchers are beginning to raise questions about the ecological impacts of nanoparticles, with little known about their possible effects as they enter natural environment. Will they clump together into larger structures that could be eaten by fish and other aquatic organisms, possibly causing damage? Or will the larger clumps of nanoparticles settle to the bottom of a lake or stream where they could affect Lake Erie’s benthic communities? Nobody really knows, and that could be a real problem.

Agriculture is Ohio’s number one industry, encompassing more than 14 million acres of farmland and providing more than $5 billion worth of crops every year. But if predictions come true and climate change continues, the associated rising temperatures could seriously affect all aspects of agriculture: the types of crops farmers plant, when and where crops are planted, and the policies that will be needed to manage agriculture in harmony with environmental protection needs.