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Wildlife and Habitat

Global Warming And The Nitrogen Problem

September 13, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/EW-09-13-17-Global-Warming-and-the-Nitrogen-Problem.mp3

Excess nitrogen in the environment is a big problem.  The most visible aspect of the problem is the spread of toxic algae blooms in oceans, lakes and other bodies of water.  But there are other effects as well such as unwanted alterations to ecosystems.

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Genetic Engineering And Conservation

September 8, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/EW-09-08-17-GE-and-Conservation.mp3

Genetic engineering, or equivalently synthetic biology, is a multi-billion-dollar enterprise involved in pharmaceuticals, chemicals, biofuels and, of course, agriculture.  In these fields, it is already the source of a great deal of controversy.  But there is increasing interest in using synthetic biology (or synbio) technology as a tool for protecting the natural world, which is a prospect some find tantalizing and others find absolutely terrifying.

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Elephant Tourism

September 6, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/EW-09-06-17-Elephant-Tourism.mp3

Elephant tourism is an activity through which tourists can observe and interact with the stately mammals.  A quick online search reveals all sorts of elephant pictures and selfies – patting, washing, riding, and the like.  But this popularity comes at a great cost to elephants. 

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A Floating Wind Farm

September 5, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/EW-09-05-17-A-Floating-Wind-Farm.mp3

Offshore wind farms are becoming increasingly important around the world.  Europe has thousands of wind turbines off its coasts generating more and more of its power.  The first offshore wind farm in the U.S. opened for business last year and more are on the way.

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Poor Neighborhoods And Mosquitoes

September 4, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/EW-09-04-17-Poor-Neighborhoods-and-Mosquitoes.mp3

Mosquito-borne diseases pose a growing risk to public health in urban areas. Asian tiger mosquitoes are a vector of high concern as they thrive in cities, live in close association with people, and can reproduce in very small pools of water. 

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The Dirty Laundry On Dirty Laundry

September 1, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/EW-09-01-17-Dirty-Laundry.mp3

We’ve discussed the problem of microplastics polluting our oceans at great lengths on this program before.  Much of the small plastic particles result from the breakdown of plastic litter, such as plastic bags, packaging, and other materials.  Another source is microbeads, which are often found in health products such as face scrubs and even some toothpastes.  But there is a another source of microplastic pollution that is quite troubling: dirty laundry.

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National Parks Are Too Popular

August 31, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/EW-08-31-17-National-Parks-Are-Too-Popular.mp3

National Parks are often thought of as America’s natural cathedrals – serene places we visit to commune with nature and soak up its grandeur.   Millions of Americans and other people from around the world are drawn to these amazing places.  Unfortunately, it is now too many millions.

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Restoring Sediment To Save Wetlands

August 25, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/EW-08-25-17-Restoring-Sediment-to-Save-Wetlands.mp3

The world’s rivers carry billions of cubic yards of sediment – sand, silt and other material – and transport it to wetlands and coastal areas.  Until fairly recently, this was viewed as a negative thing.  But that has changed.

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The Monarch Highway

August 24, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/EW-08-24-17-The-Monarch-Highway.mp3

We have talked about the monarch butterfly on a number of occasions.  The population of these iconic orange and black butterflies in North America has plummeted from 1 billion to 33 million over the past 20 years.  People have undertaken a variety of efforts to try to save the species but now a major project to restore the dwindling habitat of the monarch is underway.

[Read more…] about The Monarch Highway

Invasion Of The Sea Pickles

August 22, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/EW-08-22-17-Invasion-of-the-Sea-Pickles.mp3

Sea pickles are translucent, tubular creatures that are usually found in tropical ocean waters.   Also known as pyrosomes, they are actually made up of many small multicellular organisms that are linked together in a tunic to form a tubelike colony that is closed on one end.

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Can The Great Barrier Reef Be Saved?

August 17, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/EW-08-17-17-Can-The-Great-Barrier-Reef-Be-Saved.mp3

There have been many stories in the media about the ongoing environmental crisis at Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.  Over the past two years, the reef has lost almost half of its coral because of bleaching events.   Faced with this situation, the Australian government created the Reef 2050 Plan, a strategy to protect and maintain the reef through the year 2050.

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Turtles Delay Flights

August 11, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/EW-08-11-17-Turtles-Delay-Flights.mp3

Recently, we talked about the problems New York’s native turtles have during their mating season as they cross roads and highways seeking places to lay their eggs.   The state Department of Environmental Conservation even issued recommendations for how people can help turtles avoid getting crunched by cars.

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Tipping Points

August 9, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/EW-08-09-17-Tipping-Points.mp3

A tipping point is a point in time when a small thing can make a big change happen.  The term was popularized in sociology in recent decades, but really comes from physics where is refers to adding a small amount of weight to a balanced object causing it to topple over.

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Could Coral Reefs Be Wiped Out?

August 8, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/EW-08-08-17-Could-Coral-Reefs-Disappear.mp3

A new study warns that coral reefs are in danger of disappearing forever.  According to U.N. research, the world’s coral reefs could die out completely by mid-century unless carbon emissions are reduced enough to slow ocean warming.

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Satellites And Conservation Science

August 3, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/EW-08-03-17-Satellites-and-Conservation-Science.mp3

Satellites orbiting the earth are becoming an increasingly powerful tool for counting and monitoring wildlife populations and to answer a host of other questions about the natural world.

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Doing More Harm Than Good

August 1, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/EW-08-01-17-Antibacterials.mp3

A group of more than 200 scientists and medical professionals has issued a consensus statement in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives urging that antimicrobial chemicals like triclosan and triclocarban should not be used in consumer products.  The experts say that these substances offer no health benefits and are actually causing health and environmental harm.

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Yellowstone Grizzlies

July 27, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/EW-07-27-17-Yellowstone-Grizzlies.mp3

Grizzly bears once roamed much of North America and symbolized the continent’s untamed wilderness.  But hunters and trappers nearly wiped them out across most of the Lower 48 states by the late 1800s.

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Sahara Greening And Tropical Cyclones

July 25, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/EW-07-25-17-Sahara-Greening-.mp3

Global weather patterns are influenced by environmental conditions in places around the world.  One of the world’s major weather creators is the Sahara Desert.  The Sahara is the largest hot desert in the world.  The only larger deserts of any sort are in the polar extremes of the planet and are thus not hot deserts at all.

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A Trillion Ton Iceberg

July 24, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/EW-07-24-17-A-Trillion-Ton-Iceberg.mp3

Back in February, we did a story about a rapidly-growing crack in the fourth-largest ice shelf in Antarctica.  At that time, the crack in the Larsen C ice shelf was more than 100 miles long and was growing at a pace of about 5 football fields a day.

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Palm Oil Progress

July 21, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/EW-07-21-17-Palm-Oil-Progress.mp3

According to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil or RSPO, almost 12 million tons, or 21% of the global supply of palm oil, is now certified as responsible and sustainable.  The massive expansion of palm oil plantations has been one of the primary causes of global deforestation.  This has been especially the case in Borneo, where 85% of global palm oil production takes place.

[Read more…] about Palm Oil Progress

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