[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/EW-06-20-14-EPA-Carbon-Dioxide-Standards.mp3|titles=EW 06-20-14 EPA Carbon Dioxide Standards]
Death by air pollution
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/EW-06-19-14-Death-by-Air-Pollution.mp3|titles=EW 06-19-14 Death by Air Pollution]
The human health effects of air pollutants are hotly debated. Since air pollution is typically a long-term, diffuse problem, it is difficult to link human mortality to any particular air pollutant. Studies of the human health effects of acute chemical spills are much easier. [Read more…] about Death by air pollution
Wasting food
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/EW-06-18-14-Wasting-Food.mp3|titles=EW 06-18-14 Wasting Food]
Scientists have long been concerned about potential food shortages in a world facing climate change and a rapidly increasing population. [Read more…] about Wasting food
Sunken shipping containers
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/EW-06-17-14-Sunken-Shipping-Containers.mp3|titles=EW 06-17-14 Sunken Shipping Containers]
Shipping containers on cargo vessels – technically called intermodal containers – have been around since the 1950s. These large steel boxes, some of which are over fifty feet long, are used to carry thousands of goods around the world. [Read more…] about Sunken shipping containers
A window of opportunity
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/EW-06-16-14-Birds-and-Residential-Buildings.mp3|titles=EW 06-16-14 Birds and Residential Buildings]
Much has been written about collisions of birds with radio-towers and tall buildings, especially during migration. Now a new study documents another large source of bird mortality—collisions with window glass in residential and low-rise buildings. [Read more…] about A window of opportunity
China’s polluted groundwater
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/EW-06-13-14-Chinas-Polluted-Groundwater.mp3|titles=EW 06-13-14 China’s Polluted Groundwater]
As China continues to develop at a rapid pace, attention has been given to its poor air quality and smog. But a new report on the country’s land and water resources has revealed what is perhaps an even graver problem. [Read more…] about China’s polluted groundwater
Large wildlife loss
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/EW-06-12-14-Large-Wildlife-Loss.mp3|titles=EW 06-12-14 Large Wildlife Loss]
The decline of large mammals – like elephants and giraffes – is problematic for a number of reasons. Their loss disturbs ecosystems, not to mention the moral implications of allowing some of the most majestic creatures on Earth to approach extinction. But new research suggests another reason we should worry about the loss of large wildlife. [Read more…] about Large wildlife loss
Solar power for the developing world
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/EW-06-11-14-Solar-Power-for-the-Developing-World.mp3|titles=EW 06-11-14 Solar Power for the Developing World]
Our lives are filled with smartphones, computers, appliances, and other things that run on electric power. As a result, it is easy to forget that more than 2 billion people live without electricity. Providing electricity to people in the developing world is a daunting task. But many of these people live in sunny places, where solar power provides a good solution. [Read more…] about Solar power for the developing world
The referee called “foul”
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/EW-06-10-14-Biofouling.mp3|titles=EW 06-10-14 Biofouling]
As a child, I remember looking with some fascination at barnacles on the piers in a Cape Cod harbor, and reading about how their growth on the bottoms of boats so slowed their progress in the water that dry-docking for barnacle removal was a common practice. Growths of marine organisms on hard surfaces fall under the general term biofouling. [Read more…] about The referee called “foul”
Our leaky planet
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/EW-06-09-14-Leaking-Oil.mp3|titles=EW 06-09-14 Leaking Oil]
Petroleum deposits formed millions of years ago, when organic-rich sediments were buried and transformed under heat and pressure deep in the Earth’s crust. Most deposits remain deep in the Earth, making it expensive to drill for oil and gas. However, geologic uplift occasionally brings deposits back near the Earth’s surface. [Read more…] about Our leaky planet
Beefalo
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/EW-06-06-14-Beefalo.mp3|titles=EW 06-06-14 Beefalo]
In the early 1900s, a rancher conducted a breeding experiment that resulted in a cattle-buffalo hybrid called beefalo. Also known as cattalo, the unruly animals still exist and are now causing major problems in Arizona. [Read more…] about Beefalo
Untapped hydroelectric power
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/EW-06-05-14-Untapped-Hydroelectric-Power.mp3|titles=EW 06-05-14 Untapped Hydroelectric Power]
Hydroelectric power is still the largest renewable energy source in the US, providing about 7% of our electricity generation. In New York, where Niagara Falls has been providing power for over a century, hydropower provides 17% of the state’s electricity. [Read more…] about Untapped hydroelectric power
Chemical plants and schools
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/EW-06-04-14-Chemical-Plants-and-Schools-.mp3|titles=EW 06-04-14 Chemical Plants and Schools]
Just over a year ago, the town of West, Texas drew national attention when a fertilizer facility exploded, killing 15 people and injuring more than 300. The blast destroyed whole neighborhoods, apartment complexes, and schools. And unfortunately, it’s far from the only destructive incident that’s occurred recently as a result of hazardous chemicals. [Read more…] about Chemical plants and schools
Mosquitoes in urban areas
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/EW-06-03-14-Mosquitos-and-Urban-Areas.mp3|titles=EW 06-03-14 Mosquitos and Urban Areas]
Now that summer is finally on the horizon, so too is mosquito season. More than an annoyance, mosquitoes can spread serious illnesses, like West Nile virus and Dengue. And while we may associate mosquito bites with activities like hiking and camping, the nuisance insects are also very active in urban areas. [Read more…] about Mosquitoes in urban areas
No-till farming
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/EW-06-02-14-No-Till-Farming.mp3|titles=EW 06-02-14 No-Till Farming]
Overall, the loss of grassland in favor of farmland throughout the Midwest has resulted in a loss of wildlife diversity. But recent research from the University of Illinois has shown that the soybean fields that abound throughout the region actually attract nesting birds. [Read more…] about No-till farming
Just how safe are our parks?
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/EW-05-30-14-National-Parks.mp3|titles=EW 05-30-14 National Parks]
Our national park system enjoys almost universal bipartisan support in Congress. True, the parks don’t get all the money they need, but there is no obvious constituency that seeks to dismantle the park system. We all believe that the parks preserve at least a token of the natural heritage of this country, and certain parks, like the Grand Canyon, are iconic. [Read more…] about Just how safe are our parks?
Storing energy with liquid air
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/EW-05-29-14-Storing-Energy-with-Liquid-Air.mp3|titles=EW 05-29-14 Storing Energy with Liquid Air]
A growing percentage of our electricity comes from solar and wind power. Both of these sources are plentiful, but both sunshine and wind come and go. To really depend on these energy sources, we need to be able store the energy they generate when they are most productive so we can use it at other times. [Read more…] about Storing energy with liquid air
Nurturing some nature in all of us
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/EW-05-28-14-Natural-History-.mp3|titles=EW 05-28-14 Natural History]
I grew up with a butterfly net in hand. Not that my parents appreciated it. My mother dreaded most things in nature—rodents, poison ivy, and bugs. Even my rock collection was regarded as dirty. But my early comparisons of butterflies taught me about the variation within species; there was no perfect specimen of the cabbage butterfly. [Read more…] about Nurturing some nature in all of us
Seas of garbage
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/EW-05-27-14-Seas-of-Garbage.mp3|titles=EW 05-27-14 Seas of Garbage]
The protracted and complicated search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has exposed a worldwide problem that hadn’t previously gotten much attention: the oceans are full of garbage. [Read more…] about Seas of garbage
Eagles and wind farms
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/EW-05-26-14-Eagles-and-Wind-Farms.mp3|titles=EW 05-26-14 Eagles and Wind Farms]