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Chocolate Is Good For Your Brain

August 30, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/EW-08-18-17-Chocolate-is-Good-for-Us.mp3

It is always good to learn about more reasons to eat chocolate and Italian researchers have provided us with some impressive facts to digest with our delicious treats.

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Using Manganese To Transform CO2

August 23, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/EW-08-23-17-Using-Manganese-to-Transform-CO2.mp3

Carbon dioxide is not a very popular substance.  As a greenhouse gas, it is the chief culprit in climate change and, as such, the world continues to seek solutions for preventing its release in the environment.

[Read more…] about Using Manganese To Transform CO2

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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The Great American Eclipse

August 18, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/EW-08-18-17-The-Great-American-Eclipse.mp3

On Monday, August 21, there will be a total solar eclipse visible in a band across the entire contiguous United States.  The last time that happened was in June of 1918.  In fact, the last time a total solar eclipse was visible anywhere at all in the continental U.S. was in 1979.  So, this is a big deal for American eclipse watchers and millions of us will be heading for some part of the 65-mile-wide band of totality that wends its way from Oregon to South Carolina.

[Read more…] about The Great American Eclipse

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.

[Read more…] about Can The Great Barrier Reef Be Saved?

Sustainable Ethanol

August 10, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/EW-08-10-17-Sustainable-Ethanol.mp3

Most gas stations in the U.S. sell a blend of 90% gasoline and 10% ethanol.  Mandated by legislation, the 14 billion gallons of ethanol consumed annually by American drivers is mostly made from fermented corn.   Producing this ethanol requires millions of acres of farmland.

[Read more…] about Sustainable Ethanol

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.

[Read more…] about Could Coral Reefs Be Wiped Out?

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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Biodegradable Microbeads

July 20, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/EW-07-20-17-Biodegradable-Microbeads.mp3

Microbeads are little spheres of plastic less than half a millimeter in diameter that are added to a variety of personal care and cleaning products such as cosmetics, sunscreens and fillers.  They give these products a desirable smooth texture.   However, they are so small that sewage filtration systems can’t remove them and they end up in rivers and oceans where they are ingested by birds, fish and other marine life.

[Read more…] about Biodegradable Microbeads

A CO2 Vacuum Cleaner

July 13, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/EW-07-13-17-A-CO2-Vacuum-Cleaner.mp3

A new carbon capture plant, sitting on top of a waste incineration facility near Zurich, Switzerland, is now sucking CO2 out of the air to sell to its first customer.  The plant opened on May 31, and is the first commercial enterprise of its kind.

[Read more…] about A CO2 Vacuum Cleaner

Pollution In The Middle Of Nowhere

July 10, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/EW-07-10-17-Pollution-in-the-Middle-of-Nowhere-1.mp3

The Pitcairn Islands are a group of four volcanic islands in the South Pacific, mostly known from the famed mutiny on the British ship Bounty. Pitcairn Island itself is where many of the mutineers settled and where some of their descendants live today.   That small island, with a population of 57, is the only one of the group that is inhabited.

[Read more…] about Pollution In The Middle Of Nowhere

Clean Air And Energy

July 7, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/EW-07-07-17-Clean-Air-and-Energy.mp3

Researchers in Belgium have engineered a device that uses sunlight to purify polluted air and, in the process, produces hydrogen gas that can be stored and used for power.  Two teams of researchers separately investigating processes for air purification and hydrogen production combined their efforts to create the new device.

[Read more…] about Clean Air And Energy

Dams And The Environment

July 6, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/EW-07-06-17-Dams-and-the-Environment.mp3

There are an estimated 84,000 dams in the United States which impound 600,000 miles of river, or about 17% of the rivers in the country.  Within the next 15 years, more than 90% of the world’s rivers will be fragmented by at least one dam.

[Read more…] about Dams And The Environment

Fern-Inspired Energy Storage

July 5, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/EW-07-05-17-Fern-Inspired-Energy-Storage.mp3

The amount of solar energy striking the surface of the earth in two hours is enough to supply all of humankind’s needs for an entire year.   For this reason, it is widely thought that solar energy should be our primary source of electricity.  If this is to happen, however, there must be cost-effective ways to obtain solar electricity regardless of the time of day, weather, or seasonal changes. Essentially, there must be ways to store the energy from the sun to use it when we need it.

[Read more…] about Fern-Inspired Energy Storage

China And India Climate Progress

June 30, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/EW-06-30-17-China-and-India-Climate-Progress.mp3

China and India have 36% of the world’s population and produce about 35% of global CO2 emissions, ranking first and third respectively in that category.  The United States, with a little over 4% of the world’s population, produces about 16% of global CO2 emissions, good for second place. 

[Read more…] about China And India Climate Progress

An Aluminum Battery

June 28, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/EW-06-28-17-An-Aluminum-Battery.mp3

The battery industry is currently dominated by lithium-ion batteries.  We have them in our phones and computers. They power electric cars.  And they are increasingly being used to store energy generated by solar panels and other renewable energy sources.

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Improving Energy Storage

June 22, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/EW-06-22-17-Improving-Energy-Storage.mp3

The transition to sustainable energy sources faces many challenges.  One important one is to make those sources as reliable as conventional energy systems.  For technologies like solar and wind power, which can’t operate around the clock, an enabling element is effective energy storage.   Energy storage is critical for both the electricity grid and for transportation.

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More Bears In New York

June 13, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/EW-06-13-17-More-Bears-in-New-York.mp3

The population of black bears in southern New York has grown and expanded its range over the past 20 years, which has led to increased encounters with people.   Until recently, a detailed knowledge of bear populations in the state has been lacking.

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The Methanol Economy

June 8, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/EW-06-08-17-The-Methanol-Economy.mp3

The methanol economy is an idea that was promoted by the late Nobel-prize-winning chemist George Olah since the 1990s.  The idea is to replace fossil fuels with methanol for energy storage, ground transportation fuel, and raw material for hydrocarbon-based products.   Methanol is the simplest alcohol and can be produced from a wide variety of sources ranging from fossil fuels to agricultural products to just carbon dioxide.  Methanol can be used directly as a fuel or it can be reformed into hydrogen, which can then itself be used as a fuel.

[Read more…] about The Methanol Economy

Worms That Eat Plastic

June 7, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/EW-06-07-17-Worms-That-Eat-Plastic.mp3

Plastics clogging up our landfills and polluting our oceans are a scourge of modern life and we struggle with ways to combat this growing problem.  The biggest issue is that most plastics are simply not biodegradable.   Polyethylene, the common plastic found in shopping bags and numerous other products, takes between 100 and 400 years to degrade in a landfill.

[Read more…] about Worms That Eat Plastic

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