Archives for January 2014
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/EW-01-31-14-Agricultural-Air-Pollution1.mp3|titles=EW 01-31-14 Agricultural Air Pollution]
Drones provide a window into the deep ocean
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/EW-01-30-14-Ocean-Drones.mp3|titles=EW 01-30-14 Ocean Drones]
With the advance of science and technology, few corners of the Earth remain unexplored. But much of what goes on beneath the surface of our oceans remains a mystery. [Read more…] about Drones provide a window into the deep ocean
Exotic greenhouse gases
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/EW-01-29-14-Exotic-Greenhouse-Gases.mp3|titles=EW 01-29-14 Exotic Greenhouse Gases]
Most of the public believes that our climate is changing, and that we are at least partially responsible. Our activities release huge quantities of greenhouse gases, which trap heat radiation trying to leave Earth’s atmosphere. Our emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide are causing the planet to warm. [Read more…] about Exotic greenhouse gases
Don't weep for this willow
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/EW-01-28-14-Wicker-Fuel.mp3|titles=EW 01-28-14 Wicker Fuel]
Biomass – plant matter that can be burned or converted into liquid fuel – is an important source of renewable energy that augments more common sources such as wood and heating oil. Ideal biomass crops can be grown quickly and cheaply on marginal agricultural lands. [Read more…] about Don't weep for this willow
When your sofa makes you sick
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/EW-01-27-14-Flame-Retardants.mp3|titles=EW 01-27-14 Flame Retardants]
The New Year has brought a new law in California that could lessen the use of flame retardants in furniture. [Read more…] about When your sofa makes you sick
Getting toxic chemicals out of consumer products
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/EW-01-24-14-Toxic-Chemical-Campaign.mp3|titles=EW 01-24-14 Toxic Chemical Campaign]
When grocery shopping, many of us check the labels of the foods we’re buying to evaluate ingredients and nutritional information. But what about the many products we buy that contain chemicals we’re unfamiliar with – or that don’t come with labels at all? [Read more…] about Getting toxic chemicals out of consumer products
Localities declaring energy independence
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/EW-01-23-14-Energy-Independence-.mp3|titles=EW 01-23-14 Energy Independence]
In the last election, voters in Boulder, Colorado passed a measure giving the city permission to break ties with the local corporate utility and create a municipal electric utility that would aggressively pursue the fight against climate change. The progressive community was not satisfied with the green initiatives of Xcel Energy, the existing utility. [Read more…] about Localities declaring energy independence
The environmental impacts of hair salons
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/EW-01-22-14-Hair-Salons.mp3|titles=EW 01-22-14 Hair Salons]
Hair salons have a certain fragrance. You always know when you’re in one. No surprise, since nearly 5000 chemicals are listed as products for hair care, including 3300 synthetic compounds. Beyond the shampoo and conditioner, there are hair dyes, oils, propellants, and various sprays to keep hair in place. [Read more…] about The environmental impacts of hair salons
Cogeneration
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/EW-01-21-14-Cogeneration.mp3|titles=EW 01-21-14 Cogeneration]
When Superstorm Sandy shut down the lights over much of New York City in 2012, a number of facilities retained full heat and power. These places weathered the storm because they had cogeneration systems, better known as CHP or Combined Heat and Power Systems. [Read more…] about Cogeneration
Let’s quit carping about it
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/EW-01-20-14-Grass-Carp.mp3|titles=EW 01-20-14 Grass Carp]
In the 1960s, grass carp were brought to the U.S. from Asia to control weeds in southern fish-farming operations. Unfortunately, like so many other exotics, these fish escaped into the wild, and have been moving northward. As of last month, they were found to be reproducing in Lake Erie. [Read more…] about Let’s quit carping about it
Climate injustice
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/EW-01-17-14-Climate-Injustice.mp3|titles=EW 01-17-14 Climate Injustice]
As nations around the world grapple with the challenges of climate change, traumatic events such as the devastating typhoon in the Philippines can focus our attention on the complex issue of climate injustice. [Read more…] about Climate injustice
Clearing the stage
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/EW-01-16-14-Deforestation.mp3|titles=EW 01-16-14 Deforestation]
You might think that it would be easy to keep track of deforestation around the world. Does the landscape have trees, or not? Turns out, it’s not easy. Much deforestation is associated with small clearings that do not show up on aerial photographs. And, many times governments do not want to admit to the rates of deforestation that they tolerate. [Read more…] about Clearing the stage
Riding the winds
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/EW-01-15-14-Windmills-II.mp3|titles=EW 01-15-14 Windmills II]
The impact of windmills and wind turbines on birds is controversial, to say the least. It’s not surprising that the American Wind Energy Association claims that there is no significant mortality of birds associated with windmills. It’s alarming that Save the Eagle International reports that 116 Golden Eagles were killed each year at the wind-turbine farms in Altamont Pass, California. But each of these groups has a clear agenda. Who are we to believe? [Read more…] about Riding the winds
Regulating fracking
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/EW-01-14-14-Regulating-Fracking.mp3|titles=EW 01-14-14 Regulating Fracking]
Hydraulic fracturing – better known as fracking – has driven a boom in natural gas production in the United States over the past decade. Fracking is also at the center of a raging controversy over its potential effects on public health and the environment. Despite these concerns, the federal government has left the issue of fracking regulation to individual states. [Read more…] about Regulating fracking
Food and climate change
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/EW-01-13-14-Food-and-Climate-Change.mp3|titles=EW 01-13-14 Food and Climate Change]
A leaked draft of a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that global warming may cause a world food shortage in coming years. [Read more…] about Food and climate change
Tax: It’s a dirty word
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/EW-01-10-14-Carbon-Tax.mp3|titles=EW 01-10-14 Carbon Tax]
Most economists agree that the best way to reduce the use of fossil fuels and lower the emission of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere would be to put a tax on carbon emissions. That would open a competitive market for alternative sources of energy, raise sorely needed government revenues, and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. A carbon tax would even preserve the freedom to buy a big, low-mileage car, if you want one. [Read more…] about Tax: It’s a dirty word
Gold’s tarnished side
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/EW-01-09-14-Golds-Tarnished-Side.mp3|titles=EW 01-09-14 Gold’s Tarnished Side]
The price of gold has more than doubled in the past decade, as a flood of new buyers has entered the world’s commodity market. Gold is in demand for jewelry and as a hedge against erosion in the value of traditional currency. Lots of new effort is devoted to finding new deposits of gold and to mining old veins that were not economical just a few years ago. Big new mines are proposed in Alaska and Canada. [Read more…] about Gold’s tarnished side
Forest fragmentation
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/EW-01-08-14-Forest-Fragmentation.mp3|titles=EW 01-08-14 Forest Fragmentation]
Scientists have long known that habitat fragmentation poses a threat to native species. It can lead to stress on the surviving animals, and weakened genetic fitness due to their smaller breeding populations. [Read more…] about Forest fragmentation
Schools and the environment
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/EW-01-07-14-Schools-and-the-Environment.mp3|titles=EW 01-07-14 Schools and the Environment]
A group of public school systems across the country has formed an alliance to make schools more environmentally responsible and to help change nutrition and sustainability policies. Known as the Urban School Food Alliance, the group includes the public schools in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and Orlando. [Read more…] about Schools and the environment
Seawater: It’s just not the same anymore
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/EW-01-06-14-Ocean-Acidification.mp3|titles=EW 01-06-14 Ocean Acidification]