COLUMBUS, Ohio – The news about the short-term effects of climate change on Ohio is mostly, but on entirely, bad, according to researchers who attended a conference at Ohio State.
Scientists predicted greater precipitation would create more runoff, likely leading to a larger-than-average bloom of blue-green algae in Lake Erie this summer and an El Niño over the Pacific later this year that may mean a very dry 2015 in Ohio.
However, while predicting drought and high temperatures next year, the researchers had good news about Ohio’s forests and energy-conservation efforts.
These were some of the findings delivered during a conference of nearly 200 researchers, educators, and policy makers at OSU on May 15. The meeting was hosted by the university’s Byrd Polar Research Center and the Office of Energy and the Environment.
The 3rd U.S. National Climate Assessment, released days before, painted a grim picture of the results of global warming.
Longer storm seasons and more severe storms are contributing to heavy domestic and agricultural runoff, which contains too much phosphorus, into Lake Erie where it feeds the harmful algae blooms, according to Jeffrey Reutter, director of Ohio Sea Grant.
The algae dies as it move into the lake’s Central Basin, east of Sandusky, and sink to the bottom where their decomposition sucks the oxygen out of the bottom of the lake, creating a “dead zone” covering thousands of square miles, Reutter said.
He could not say whether this year’s algae bloom would be as bad as the one three years ago, which was the largest in the lake’s history but did predict that the dead zone would probably reappear this year.
Another prediction was that an El Niño over the Pacific Ocean late in the year will generate warm winds in North and South America and Australia.
While the resulting drought and high temperatures are expected to shrink crop yields, Ohio farmers will likely suffer less than those in nearby states.
Ohio’s forests, which are recovering from heavy logging in the early 20th Century, are expected to fare better than those in the arid west or along the coasts.
The scientists also pointed to some encouraging signs that Ohio is learning to conserve energy.
An official with American Electric Power explained a pilot project to install “smart” power meters in homes, which he has cut the average length of power outages by 30 percent, and reduced power consumption as much as 3 percent.
Meanwhile, the Ohio Hospital Association is leading a unique initiative that to reduce power consumption in healthcare through energy audits.