Earth Wise

  • Autor: Vários
  • Narrador: Vários
  • Editor: Podcast
  • Duración: 0:40:00
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Sinopsis

A look at our changing environment.

Episodios

  • New nuclear power for New York

    09/07/2025 Duración: 02min

    Nuclear power has been around since the 1950s, but it has fallen out of favor in recent decades, in part due to a couple of traumatic disasters at nuclear power plants.  In fact, only two new nuclear power plants have been built in the US in the past 30 years, and they took a very […]

  • Can birds outfly climate change?

    08/07/2025 Duración: 02min

    As global temperatures continue to rise and ecosystems shift, animals are left with limited options. They must either adjust to the changing conditions in their habitats or relocate to cooler environments. For many species, neither choice is easy – or sometimes even possible. Ecologists had long assumed birds were among the most adaptable species in […]

  • More trouble from sea urchins

    07/07/2025 Duración: 02min

    Sea Urchins are real troublemakers.  On the West Coast, the sea urchin population exploded when the sunflower sea stars that eat them were decimated by a wasting disease.  Urchins devour kelp and they ate up 96% of the region’s kelp forests.  Kelp forests serve as shelter and food for a vast array of marine life […]

  • Solutions for cleaner air

    04/07/2025 Duración: 02min

    Air pollution is a problem for most of the world’s cities.  Many cities in India and China continue to face major public health crises due to their polluted air.  American cities also don’t escape from polluted air.  Californian cities still struggle with smog despite decades of effort to reduce it.  But one major city that […]

  • Record forest loss

    03/07/2025 Duración: 02min

    The world lost a record amount of forests last year.  The biggest factor for the unprecedented losses were wildfires that raged around the world. According to the annual update by the University of Maryland and the World Resources Institute, pristine rainforests alone lost 17 million acres, which was nearly twice as much as in the […]

  • It’s only getting warmer

    02/07/2025 Duración: 02min

    Climate science is not popular with the current administration.  Phrases like “climate crisis”, “clean energy”, and “climate science” itself are prohibited from websites, reports, regulations, and other communications by government employees and federal funding recipients.  Once again, the United States is turning away from climate mitigation efforts and will have a drastically reduced ability to […]

  • Saving birds from buildings

    01/07/2025 Duración: 02min

    Researchers estimate that hundreds of millions of birds die hitting buildings every year in the United States.  Striking buildings is believed to be one of the major factors behind the nearly 30% decline in North American bird populations since 1970. Chicago is one of the most dangerous cities for migrating birds based on its location […]

  • Sun powered carbon capture

    30/06/2025 Duración: 02min

    As the world struggles to implement technologies and find the political will to reduce carbon emissions, there are also ongoing efforts to find ways to capture carbon from emitting sources and from the atmosphere itself.  After capturing carbon dioxide, there is then the need to safely store it or make use of it. Current methods […]

  • Fuel from Corn Waste

    27/06/2025 Duración: 02min

    A substantial amount of corn is grown in this country for the purpose of producing ethanol.  The value of doing so is debatable for many reasons.  Nevertheless, the majority of the corn crop is grown for food.  But along with all that corn, there is corn stover.  Stover is the dried stalks, leaves, and other […]

  • The coastal squeeze

    26/06/2025 Duración: 02min

    Globally, coastal areas are being squeezed between rising seas on one side and human development on the other.  The average distance from the high waterline to the first built-up area with human structures or paved roads is less than 400 yards around the world.  The narrower a coast, the sooner rising sea levels cause problems. […]

  • Self-healing concrete

    25/06/2025 Duración: 02min

    Concrete is the most widely used building material on Earth.  It has a dangerous and costly flaw:  it cracks easily.  Cracks in concrete can lead to inconvenient damage or to catastrophic structural failures such as collapses of buildings, bridges, or highways. Concrete is made by mixing crushed stone and sand with powdered clay and limestone […]

  • Our cities are sinking

    24/06/2025 Duración: 02min

    A new study by the Columbia University Climate School has found that all of the 28 most populous cities in the United States are sinking to some extent.  This phenomenon of subsidence is not just taking place in cities on the coast, where relative sea level is an issue, but also in cities in the […]

  • Coexisting birds and solar energy

    23/06/2025 Duración: 02min

    Floating photovoltaic systems – known as floatovoltaics – are becoming increasingly popular.  These are arrays of solar panels installed over artificial water bodies such as irrigation ponds, wastewater treatment plants, and reservoirs.  These projects maximize the space for producing clean energy while not taking up natural lands. Wherever there are bodies of water, there are […]

  • Tracking emissions by satellite

    20/06/2025 Duración: 02min

    Carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides are two of the most problematic human-generated air pollutants that negatively impact air quality, the climate, and human health.  Satellites are an important tool for monitoring emissions of these pollutants, but they have limitations.  For the most part, satellites have limited spatial resolution, meaning that they can’t reliably narrow down […]

  • Advantages of vertical farming

    19/06/2025 Duración: 02min

    Vertical farming has been increasingly used for leafy greens like lettuce and kale, as well as for herbs and a few fruits like strawberries and tomatoes.  A recent study by the Technical University of Munich has investigated the use of vertical farming for a much broader range of foods.  The study looked at the positive […]

  • The cicadas are coming

    18/06/2025 Duración: 02min

    After hiding underground for the last 17 years, billions of cicadas are taking to the skies this summer.  This batch of insects, known as Brood XIV, will cover more of the U.S. than any other 17-year brood.  New York and at least 13 other states – Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, […]

  • Empire Wind resumes

    17/06/2025 Duración: 02min

    In April, the Trump Administration issued a stop order for the Empire Wind offshore wind project in New York, pushing the $5 billion project to the brink of collapse.  The project is being built by the giant Norwegian energy company Equinor.  When completed, the wind farm is expected to deliver enough electricity to power 500,000 […]

  • Restoring oil well sites with moss

    16/06/2025 Duración: 02min

    Researchers at the University of Waterloo in Canada have developed a method for restoring peatlands at tens of thousands of oil and gas exploration sites in Western Canada.  A well pad is a prepared area used for drilling oil or gas wells, encompassing the site where drilling equipment, wellheads, and related facilities are located.  Preparing […]

  • Living in a warming world

    13/06/2025 Duración: 02min

    As global temperatures rise due to increased greenhouse gas emissions, communities around the world face more frequent and intense heatwaves, droughts, and extreme weather events. These growing climate pressures not only strain infrastructure and natural resources, but also play a critical role in shaping where people live.  Recent projections from the First Street Foundation, which […]

  • Natural solutions for disappearing islands

    12/06/2025 Duración: 02min

    Atoll islands are made from sediment produced by corals, clams, snails, and varieties of algae that secrete carbonate.  Under the right conditions, over time, fragments of coral skeletons, shells, and other sediments made by marine life are piled up by waves.  Eventually, islands are formed – some large and some small.  Atoll islands are home […]