Making a Difference for the Environment
Date posted: April 11, 2012
CALS scientists, professors and extension educators have a wide range of environmental expertise. North Carolina’s economy and the quality of life here are linked inextricably with its natural resources — the air, the land and the water upon which we all depend. Thus, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences places a priority on teaching, research and extension education programs that help protect the environment today and into the future. We have an especially strong tradition of helping address problems related to water quality, agricultural waste management, nutrient management and soil preservation and enhancement.
Naturally, many of our strengths are directly linked to our efforts to ensure sustainability of food production well into the future, but that’s not the emphasis of this document. Instead, this document highlights the expertise of scientists and Cooperative Extension specialists who are focusing specifically on understanding, protecting and enhancing the natural world — wildlife and plant life as well as water, air and land — in North Carolina and beyond.
Through research, for example, our scientists are learning more about how fish and other creatures evolve and behave, they are finding new ways to manage insects in lawns and gardens, and they are developing new sources for energy to end our dependence on oil supplies that won’t last forever.
Our undergraduate and graduate education programs are helping all students understand the value of protecting the Earth’s resources, and they are positioning many of these students for careers in fields directly related to the environment.
Meanwhile, our extension programs give people of all ages, in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties and with the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, the knowledge they need to take action locally, through educational programs related to gardening, waste reduction, water protection, energy conservation and more.
Read on to learn more about how the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is making a difference and to find out more about our expertise (PDF | MOBI | EPUB):
Our impact
- New tech removes air pollutants, may reduce energy use in animal ag facilities (NC State News)
- Biodiversity project maps urban ants (CALS Perspectives Magazine)
- Extension helps educate landowners about natural gas leases (Extension Online News)
- Designing jet fuels of the future (CALS Perspectives Magazine)
- Cleaning up fuels of the past (CALS Perspectives Magazine)
- Thoroughly modern maladies (CALS Perspectives Magazine)
- 4,000-plus Master Gardeners make North Carolina a greener place(Extension Online News)
- Right as rain: Gardens lessen impact of runoff (Perspectives Magazine)
- Beyond the yuck factor: N.C. State University soil scientists investigate wastewater reuse (Extension Online News)
- Middle school students create a floating display at golf course (Perspectives Magazine)
- Scaling up research on tiny pest (Student Perspectives)
- Graduate student examines invasive fish species and their ecosystem impacts (Perspectives Magazine)
- New degree program focuses on business … and land (Perspectives Magazine)
- Grad student designs landscapes with both human and environmental health in mind (Perspectives Magazine)
- Cooperative Extension helps Currituck ‘go green’ with new garden and improved storm-water ponds (Extension Online News)
- Research aids understanding of mercury risks to wildlife and people (Perspectives Magazine)
- Yelverton named ‘Most Influential’ in green industry (Perspectives Magazine)
Our expertise
- Air and climate
- Ecology and wildlife
- Economics
- Energy
- Environmental health
- Land and water
- Pest management
Category: Making a Difference
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