August 28, 2008

Nobody greener: Purdue Agriculture plans talks for Green Week

On Sept. 15-18 faculty members will discuss green topics during brown bag talks each day from noon to 1 p.m. in the Deans Auditorium of Pfendler Hall. The sessions are free, and participants are invited to bring their own lunch.

"Agriculture has always been green, but it's been especially exciting to see all the truly innovative environmental developments in recent years in the industry," said Jay Akridge, interim dean of agriculture.

The speakers and topics follow:

* Sept. 15 - Agricultural practices could reduce greenhouse gases by maintaining carbon in soils and plants. Agricultural economists Jerry Shively and Otto Doering will discuss the economic potential and possible incentives for practices that could help store carbon and reduce emissions in a presentation called "Carbon Economics."

* Sept. 16 - Kim Wilson, professor of horticulture and landscape architecture, will discuss community planning and how a bottom-up, "grass-roots" approach to development recognizes that people are the greatest asset and resource for change.  In the talk, "Designing Sustainable Communities," she also will highlight community service-learning projects undertaken by students and the skills needed for building people capacity at the local level.

* Sept. 17 - In a talk titled "Launching A New Green Revolution for Africa," Gebisa Ejeta, professor of agronomy, will discuss his recent work assisting the Rockefeller and Gates foundations in the new program Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. His own Purdue research efforts in the continent are helping to feed some of the poorest people in the world. A variety of sorghum he developed was the first proven resistant to one of the most damaging weeds to the crop. Striga can be responsible for up to two-thirds of crop losses in the worst areas, but Purdue's striga-resistant sorghum is now popular among farmers in a number of African nations.

* Sept. 18 - Maria Sepulveda, assistant professor of forestry and natural resources, will share how tiny aquatic organisms can determine the health of lakes and streams. Her discussion of "Contaminants and Their effects on Fish and Wildlife" will show how these small sentinels can signal environmental changes that may impact other species.

More information on Purdue's Green Week activities is available online at https://www.purdue.edu/green/

Writer: Beth Forbes, (765) 494-2722, forbes@purdue.edu

Sources: Otto Doering, (765) 494-4226, doering@purdue.edu

Jerry Shively, (765) 494-4218, shivelyg@purdue.edu

Kim Wilson,  (765) 494-1308, kwilson@purdue.edu

Gebisa Ejeta, (765) 494-4320, gejeta@purdue.edu

Maria Sepulveda, (765) 496-3428, mssepulv@purdue.edu

Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Beth Forbes, forbes@purdue.edu
Agriculture News Page

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