• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Earth Wise

A look at our changing environment.

  • Home
  • About Earth Wise
  • Where to Listen
  • All Articles
  • Show Search
Hide Search
You are here: Home / Archives for testing

testing

Help from elephants in cooling buildings

September 15, 2025 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Elephant ears play a crucial role in keep the giant animals cool.  Elephants don’t have significant sweat glands.  Instead, they rely on their large ears to regulate body temperature.  Their ears make up 20% of their body’s surface area.  The ears act like a natural air conditioner, making use of a network of blood vessels close to the surface that help dissipate heat when it’s hot and absorb heat when it’s cold.

Researchers at Drexel University have developed a new approach to passive heating and cooling that has the potential to make buildings more energy efficient.  The idea, published in the Journal of Building Engineering, embeds the equivalent of a vascular network within cement-based building materials.  The network, when filled with paraffin-based material, can help passively regulate the surface temperature of walls, floors, and ceilings.

Building energy demand contributes almost 40% of the production of greenhouse gas from energy use, and about half of building energy use is spent maintaining comfortable temperatures.

The new temperature regulation method puts a grid of paraffin-filled channels in the surface of building concrete.  When temperatures drop, the paraffin transitions from liquid to solid and releases heat energy.  When ambient temperatures rise, the paraffin absorbs heat energy, producing a cooler surface.  This is essentially the same way elephants as well as jack rabbits regulate their temperatures with their large ears.

The Drexel study was a proof-of-concept effort, but the results are promising enough to warrant further work.  With additional testing and scaling, it has the potential to make a significant contribution to ongoing efforts to improve the energy efficiency of buildings.

**********

Web Links

Drexel Engineers Want to Make Buildings More Energy Efficient by Making Walls, Floors and Ceilings More Like Elephant Ears

Photo, posted September 1, 2016, courtesy of Nane Kratzke via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

AI and greener cement

July 28, 2025 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Cement pretty much holds the modern world together.  The amount of cement required to create our infrastructure is almost incomprehensible.   By weight, humanity consumes more cement than food, about 3 pounds per person per day.  The cement industry produces around eight percent of global CO2 emissions, which is more than the aviation industry.  So, if the amount of emissions produced making concrete could be reduced by even a few percent, it would make a significant impact.

Cement plants utilize rotary kilns heated to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit to burn ground limestone down to a substance called clinker.  That energy-intensive combustion process emits large amounts of carbon dioxide.  However, the combustion process accounts for much less than half of the emissions associated with making concrete.  The majority comes from the raw materials needed to produce clinker.

One strategy to reduce concrete emissions is to modify the cement recipe itself, replacing some of the clinker with alternative materials.  Some producers already make use of materials like slag from iron production and fly ash from coal-fired power plants.   

A team of researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland is making use of machine learning to simulate and optimize cement formulations that would emit significantly less CO2 while maintaining the same high level of mechanical performance.  This AI-based approach eliminates time-consuming experiments and conventional complex simulations.

The Scherrer Institute seeks to discover new materials and the effort has already yielded some promising candidates.  The next steps will be testing some of these recipes in the laboratory. 

**********

Web Links

AI paves the way towards green cement

Photo, posted July 3, 2007, courtesy of Tim Shortt via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Microplastics and antibiotic resistance

April 14, 2025 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Microplastics are a real problem.  They are pretty much everywhere.  They are in our food, in the oceans, on mountains, up in the clouds, and most alarmingly, in our bodies.  All of that is already bad news, but researchers at Boston University have found that microplastics may also be contributing to antibiotic resistance in dangerous bacteria.

The researchers observed that bacteria exposed to microplastics become resistant to multiple types of antibiotics commonly used to treat infections.  Bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics for a number of reasons, including misuse and overprescribing of medications.  However, a major factor influencing antibiotic resistance is the microenvironment – the immediate surroundings of a microbe – which is where bacteria and viruses replicate.

The Boston University study tested how the common bacterium E. coli reacted to being in a closed environment with microplastics.  The plastics provide a surface that the bacteria can attach to and colonize.  When attached to a surface, bacteria create a sticky substance called a biofilm that acts like a shield, protecting the bacteria and keeping them affixed securely.  The tests showed that microplastics supercharged the biofilms so much that when antibiotics were introduced, they were unable to penetrate the shield.

Microplastics are everywhere, but they are especially prevalent in impoverished places where sanitation may be limited.  Refugees, asylum seekers, and forcibly displaced populations are already at increased risk of contracting drug-resistant infections.  The prevalence of microplastics adds another risk to the already difficult lives of these people.

**********

Web Links

Microplastics Could Be Fueling Antibiotic Resistance, BU Study Finds

Photo, posted May 15, 2021, courtesy of Felton Davis via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Fighting fires with man-made wind

March 12, 2025 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Fighting fires with artificial wind

Researchers at Ohio State University have developed a new portable tool that may help firefighters battle blazes more efficiently and with less risk.

Traditional firefighting methods include chemical foams – which are toxic – and the use of hydrants, which can strain water resources.  The recent fires in Southern California demonstrated the need for efficient fire suppression methods.  The new device works to suppress flames using conductive aerosols, which are small particles that can direct electricity.

The device uses vortex rings – small donut-shaped bands of air – that transform the aerosol particles into short pulses of wind that convert nearby oxygen into ozone.  This accelerated airflow generates rapid turbulence, which disrupts the natural combustion process and quickly extinguishes the target fire.

The device resembles a small bucket, attached to an arm brace.  Firefighters would aim the bucket toward the fire, and it would use bursts of compressed air to deliver aerosols in an electric arc to fight the fire.

Testing identified a coarse copper solution for the vortex ring material and simulations showed that the device would succeed in suppressing fires.  They then worked on optimizing the power and range of the device.

Depending on the size of the fire and number of firefighters, it is likely that several of the devices would be required in a real emergency.  According to the developers, the design of the vortex launcher is actually very simple and is very scalable.  The device is maneuverable in tight spaces and could be taken through doors and indoor environments.  Vortex rings can carry chemical payloads over longer distances than other methods, making firefighters safe by staying further from flames. 

**********

Web Links

New device uses electrically assisted wind to fight fires

Photo, posted November 12, 2024, courtesy of the USDA Forest Service via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Ocean geoengineering

October 24, 2024 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A start-up company is exploring ocean geoengineering

As greenhouse gas emissions continue to be dangerously large and the perils of climate change are increasingly apparent, the world is increasingly exploring ways to deliberately intervene in climate systems.  A number of these ideas involve introducing substances into the atmosphere, but there are also ways to tinker with the oceans.

The oceans naturally absorb about a third of the carbon dioxide that humans pump into the atmosphere, mostly by burning coal, gas, and oil.  People are exploring ways to get the ocean to take up even more of the carbon dioxide.  One approach that is gaining traction is known as alkalinity enhancement.  By adding limestone, magnesium oxide, or other alkaline substances to rivers and oceans, it changes their chemistry and makes them soak up more carbon dioxide.

This approach has been around for a while as a way to mitigate acid rain in rivers and has been very successful.  A start-up company in Canada called CarbonRun is building a machine that grinds up limestone and will release the powder it produces into a local river in Nova Scotia.  The limestone in the river will be naturally converted into a stable molecule that will eventually be washed into the seas, where it should remain for thousands of years.

Expanding this approach to oceans faces many challenges including the costs and complexities of obtaining, processing, and transporting vast amounts of limestone to where it is to be released.  There are also potential environmental issues to grapple with.  But CarbonRun and others are moving forward with testing the approach.

In any event, the biggest barrier to ocean alkalinity enhancement is proving that it works.  That effort is underway.

**********

Web Links

They’ve Got a Plan to Fight Global Warming. It Could Alter the Oceans.

Photo, posted May 27, 2007, courtesy of John Loo via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Dark chocolate is not so dangerous

July 15, 2024 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

dark chocolate does not seem so dangerous after all

Last year, Consumer Reports published a story stating that a third of chocolate products contain potentially dangerous amounts of heavy metals, in particular lead and cadmium. Since it contains much more cacao, dark chocolate was singled out as the most worrisome product.  Needless to say, chocolate lovers found this report quite alarming.

A new study by Tulane University published in Food Research International employed a larger sample size, expanded the scope of testing to 16 metals, and included a risk assessment of toxic metals as well as accounted for the nutritional contribution of essential minerals.

The conclusions of the study were that dark chocolate poses no adverse risk for adults and contains nutritionally beneficial levels of essential minerals.  Some risks remain for very young children, but only from a very small number of chocolate products and only when large quantities are consumed.

The study sampled 155 dark and milk chocolates from various global brands sold in the United States.  It modeled the risk of eating one ounce of the chocolate per day or two large whole bars a week.

Only one brand exceeded the international limit for cadmium; four had cadmium levels that could pose a risk for a child weighing less than 33 pounds.  Only two bars contained lead levels above California interim standard, but neither posed adverse risks for anyone.

Lead in chocolate comes from post-harvest processing; cadmium comes from the soil.  South American chocolates generally have higher levels of metals than chocolates from Asia and West Africa.  Most dark chocolate in the U.S. is sourced from West Africa.

**********

Web Links

A dark side to dark chocolate? New study finds very minimal risk for kids from metals in chocolates

Photo, posted February 19, 2012, courtesy of Bodo via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Cloud brightening

June 17, 2024 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Solar geoengineering is a type of climate intervention:  deliberate actions designed to affect the climate.  There are several ways to try to reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the surface of the earth and all of them are controversial.  Perhaps the least controversial approach is cloud brightening.

The idea is based on something called the Twomey effect, which is that large numbers of small droplets in the atmosphere reflect more sunlight than small numbers of large droplets.  Spraying vast quantities of minuscule aerosols into the sky, thereby forming many small droplets, could change the reflective properties of clouds.  If clouds are more reflective, then less sunlight reaches the surface, and the temperature goes down.

This form of geoengineering is thought to be less risky because it can be performed on a localized basis and can use relatively benign materials such as sea salt. 

In early April, scientists from the University of Washington started testing a device that sprays tiny sea-salt particles into the air from the deck of a decommissioned aircraft carrier in Alameda, California.  The test was simply to see whether the machine propelled a mist of suitable size.

Within two weeks, Alameda officials ordered a stop to the experiment, citing potential health and environmental risks.  After a month-long investigation, Alameda ruled that the experiment does not generate a measurable risk to health, wildlife, or the environment.

But before more ambitious experiments take place, there are potential side effects of cloud brightening that need to be studied.  It may turn out to be a useful tool in fighting global warming, but in any case, such technology should not be viewed as a substitute for moving away from fossil fuels.

**********

Web Links

A Test of Cloud-Brightening Machines Poses No Health Risk, Officials Say

Photo, posted September 8, 2011, courtesy of Justin Ladia via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Lithium in Arkansas

April 11, 2024 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

New method being explored to tap lithium deposits in Arkansas

There are more and more electric cars on the road and utilities are installing record amounts of battery storage to back up solar and wind power generation.  Both of these things currently use lithium-ion batteries so the need for them keeps growing.

There is actually plenty of lithium in the world.  Sources of more than 100 million tons have been identified, which is enough to meet the projected needs for decades.  But lithium is not easy, cheap, or environmentally friendly to extract.  It is either blasted out of rocks that are then roasted at 2000-degree temperatures, or it is extracted from brine in places like the high Andes where it leaves behind toxic residues.  Ramping up lithium production could greatly diminish the environmental benefits derived from green technologies.

A technique called direct lithium extraction, or DLE, may be a possible solution.  The lithium is pulled out of brine while leaving other dissolved compounds behind.  It is being tested in many places around the world and appears to offer the lowest negative impacts of available extraction technologies.

The Salton Sea area in California has rich deposits of lithium and is a good candidate for DLE.  But conditions may be even better in Arkansas whose Smackover Formation is a brine-rich expanse of limestone. 

The area was a productive oil field a hundred years ago and then undertook brine-processing in the 1950s to extract bromine.  So, the area already has industrial infrastructure and no new land would need to be cleared.

The former oil fields of Arkansas may become an important domestic source of lithium.

**********

Web Links

In Rush for Lithium, Miners Turn to the Oil Fields of Arkansas

Photo, posted February 26, 2021, courtesy of Ivan Radic via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Plastic-Eating Bugs | Earth Wise

February 3, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

27-year-old Miley Cyrus and 30-year-old Liam Hemsworth divorced exactly one year ago, but still continue to remember each other quite often in conversations with reporters. Recently, Miley indulged in nostalgia once again. During a recording Miley Cyrus boyfriend list of the podcast Barstool Call Her Daddy, the singer said that her ex-husband was her first man. It happened almost 10 years before they got married. I didn’t have that with men until I was 16, but I ended up marrying this guy,

According to a new study, microbes in oceans and soils around the world are evolving to eat plastic.  The study by Chalmers University in Sweden was published recently in the journal Microbial Ecology.

The study is the first large-scale assessment of the plastic-degrading potential of bacteria.  There are 95 microbial enzymes already known to degrade plastic. 

The researchers looked for similar enzymes in environmental DNA samples taken from bacteria from 236 different locations around the world. They found that one in four of the organisms analyzed carried suitable enzymes.  Overall, they found many thousands of new enzymes.

The explosion of plastic production in the past 70 years has given microbes time to evolve to make use of plastic.  About 12,000 new enzymes were found in ocean samples and 18,000 in soil samples.  Nearly 60% of the new enzymes did not fit into any known enzyme classes, suggesting that these molecules degrade plastics in ways that were previously unknown.  The large number of enzymes in such a wide range of habitats is an indication of the scale of the problem of plastics in the environment.

The first bacterium that eats plastic was discovered in a Japanese waste dump in 2016.  Scientists tweaked that microbe in 2018 and managed to create an enzyme that was even better at breaking down plastic bottles.

The next step in research is to test the most promising enzyme candidates in the laboratory to investigate their properties and see how effective they can be in plastic degradation.  The hope is to be able to engineer microbial communities with targeted degrading functions for specific polymer types.

**********

Web Links

Bugs across globe are evolving to eat plastic, study finds

Photo, posted June 19, 2013, courtesy of Alan Levine via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The Hunt For Marine Plastic | Earth Wise

December 21, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

How to detect and track floating plastic in the oceans

Estimates are that about 10 million tons of plastic enter the ocean every year.  This is equivalent to a truckload of plastic being dumped into the sea every minute and the stuff is not easy to keep track of.  Some of it ends up in the  infamous ocean garbage patches.  But overall, researchers only know what happens to about 1% of it.

The European Space Agency has decided to find out whether it might be possible to detect and track floating plastic in the oceans using satellite monitoring.  Researchers have a variety of ideas about how best to do this and now the agency is testing some of those ideas.

The ESA maintains something called the Atlantic Basin Facility which is a 7000 square-foot tank equipped to simulate various types of waves and tidal currents.  It is the largest facility of its kind in the world.

Researchers place plastic in the basin consisting of typical items found at sea, such as bags, bottles, marine nets and ropes, plastic cutlery, and Styrofoam balls.  The plastic used in the study included material previously recovered from the sea through ocean cleanup campaigns.  Multiple research groups from European universities used specialized instrumentation to monitor the basin from above.  Techniques included radar remote sensing, something called GNSS reflectometry, and specialized optical instrumentation.

Initial results look promising in that under some circumstances teams received useable signals.  It will take further analysis to determine the ultimate utility of space-based monitoring of plastic entering the ocean.  Marine litter is a large and growing problem.  Figuring out where it all is and where it is going is a necessary part of any solution.

**********

Web Links

Hunting for marine plastic

Photo, posted March 24, 2017, courtesy of Holly Richards/USFWS via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The World’s Largest Tidal Device | Earth Wise

June 18, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

the world's largest tidal power device will be operational soon

Most of the world’s activity in renewable energy is focused on solar and wind power.  The use of both is expanding rapidly. But there is also marine energy to be exploited.  Ocean waves and tidal movements hold huge amounts of energy.  Estimates are that the European Union could get 15% of its power from marine sources.  But ocean energy is currently expensive and there are significant technical challenges still to be overcome.

The world’s largest tidal power device will soon begin testing off the coast of Scotland.  The 680-ton, 240-foot-long, airplane-shaped device will be connected to the European Marine Energy Center for testing. 

The device, built by the Scottish company Orbital Marine Power, is designed to produce 2 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 2,000 homes.   It has a pair of 52-foot-long turbines attached to two wings.

Compared to wind and solar power, the marine energy sector has been much slower to develop because of the many difficulties of working in harsh marine environments as well as the technical challenges associated with harnessing power from waves and tides. But ocean waves and tidal movements hold enormous amounts of energy and have the advantage that they are available at all times, unlike wind and solar energy, which are variable in nature. 

Experts say that the future of tidal energy lies with arrays of floating or sea-bottom-mounted turbines that capture the energy of tidal currents in unobstructed waters.  There are various places around the world where this is an attractive opportunity, most notably in Nova Scotia’s Bay of Fundy, where the world’s most extreme tides – rising and falling more than 50 feet – contain vast amounts of power.

**********

Web Links

The World’s Largest Tidal Power Device Will Soon Begin Testing Off Scotland

Photo, posted May 18, 2017, courtesy of Chris via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Better Radar For Cars | Earth Wise

August 14, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

new radar technology for safer driving

Major automakers as well as dedicated specialized companies are actively developing autonomous vehicle technology.  Many cars already offer varying degrees of self-driving capability.  These vehicles have a variety of sensor systems that allow them to detect other objects on the road.  Many rely on lidar or on cameras using visible or near-infrared light and these sensors do a pretty good job of preventing collisions.   But all of these systems are pretty much limited to detecting objects within a car’s line of sight.  Of course, human drivers have the same limitation.  We can’t see things hidden around corners or blocked by other objects.

Researchers at Princeton University have developed an automated system that will allow cars to peer around corners and spot oncoming traffic and pedestrians.  The system uses Doppler radar to bounce radio waves off of surfaces such as buildings and parked automobiles.  The radar signal hits a surface at an angle and its reflection bounces off much like a cue ball hits the wall of a pool table.  The reflected signal then hits objects hidden around the corner.  Some of that radar signal bounces back to be detected by sensors on the car.  In this way, the system can see objects around the corner and even tell whether they are moving or stationary.

This new technology could easily be integrated into today’s vehicles.  It would enable cars to see objects that current sensor systems cannot record.  For example, it would allow a self-driving vehicle to see around a dangerous intersection.

The system will require further development, refinement, and testing before it can find its way into our vehicles, but it does represent yet another way that self-driving technology may ultimately result in a safer transportation system.

**********

Web Links

New radar lets cars spot hazards around corners

Photo courtesy of Princeton University.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Safer Ways To Be Blue | Earth Wise

May 5, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A safer way to create blue

Creating blue fabric has always been desirable for people.  It has never been easy, but the original way to do it – by using indigo from plants – has been around for 6,000 years.  Natural indigo is a rare commodity, often referred to as blue gold.  In the 19th century, synthetic indigo was developed and ultimately replaced the natural substance.

Synthetic indigo dye is not an environmentally friendly substance.  In order to get it to adhere to fabrics, substances called mordants are required.  These are commonly made from metals like chromium and aluminum, are generally toxic, and kill off plants exposed to factory wastewater, destroy ecosystems, and poison drinking water.   The dye itself is slow to decompose and is bad for the environment. 

Recently, an organic chemist in Brazil named Erick Bastos has figured out a new way to produce blue dye using, of all things, a pigment from beets.  By extracting the pigment and tweaking its molecular pattern, he has managed to transform the red color of the pigment to a brilliant blue.

Beet roots contain pigments called betalains and just a tiny amount of beetroot juice can render a lot of dye.  By mixing these pigments with a couple of ingredients, a chemical reaction occurred, and the color transformed from red, to yellow, then green, and finally blue.

Testing so far on human liver cells, retinal cells, and developing zebrafish has revealed no toxicity.  The results suggest that the new dye – dubbed BeetBlue – is safe.  Further testing is needed to know if it is truly safe and whether it will last in the wash.  Meanwhile, Professor Bastos is not patenting the dye and hopes it will provide a better way to be blue.

**********

Web Links

How Do You Make a Less Toxic Blue Dye? Start With Red Beets

Photo, posted November 7, 2005, courtesy of Lain Buchanan via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Pulling Water From The Air

October 14, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A couple of years ago, we reported on the early development of a device that harvests water from the air that even works in the low humidity environment of a desert.  Since then, the researchers from UC Berkeley have continued to improve the device and it is now 10 times better than it was two years ago.

The harvester is based on a porous water-absorbing material called a metal-organic framework, or MOF.  The latest version can pull more than five cups of water from low-humidity air per day for every kilogram of the improved MOF material and that is more than enough water to sustain a person.  The harvester cycles around the clock and is powered by solar panels and a battery.

Previous techniques for condensing water from air at low humidity required cooling down the air to temperatures below freezing, which is not economically practical.  The MOF-based device does not require any cooling.

The Berkeley researchers have formed a startup company – Water Harvester, Inc. – which is now testing and will soon market a device the size of a microwave oven that can supply 7 to 10 liters of water per day, which is enough drinking and cooking water for two or three adults.

An even larger version of the harvester, which would be the size of a small refrigerator, would provide 200 to 250 liters of water per day, enough for a household to drink, cook, and shower.  The new company envisions a village-scale harvester that would produce 20,000 liters per day, still running off of solar panels and a battery.

Water Harvester believes the water needs for many people can come out of the thin air.

**********

Web Links

Water harvester makes it easy to quench your thirst in the desert

Photo courtesy of Grant Glover (University of South Alabama) via UC Berkeley.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Packing With Banana Leaves

July 25, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

More and more places are instituting bans on single-use plastic bags.  Places like California and Hawaii already have bans in place and New Jersey is considering such a ban.  New York’s law will go into effect next March.  Supermarkets will no longer provide plastic bags at the checkout line.  But the laws have some exceptions, including the plastic bags used to hold produce and to pack up meats.

Banning or reducing single-use plastic bags is a growing trend in Asia as well including places like South Korea, Vietnam and Thailand.

One supermarket in Thailand came up with a novel approach to eco-friendly packaging:  wrapping produce in banana leaves.  The idea quickly became a viral hit on social media and drew the attention of supermarkets in Vietnam.  Several big supermarket chains in that country also began experimenting with banana leaves as a packaging alternative.

Representatives of Vietnam’s Lotte Mart chain said that the banana leaf packaging was still in the testing phase, but they plan to replace plastic with leaves nationwide very soon.  Aside from wrapping vegetables and fruits, the grocery chain intends to also use the leaves for fresh meat products.

Customers seem to be quite positive about the new packaging noting that it is actually quite attractive visually.  The banana leaf packaging also makes people more aware of the need for protecting the environment.

While Vietnam is a relatively small country, it turns out that it ranks number four in the world for the largest amount of plastic waste dumped into the ocean.  The country disposes of about 2,500 tons of plastic waste per day. So, efforts like the banana leaf packaging are not just symbolically important, they are genuinely a major environmental imperative.

**********

Web Links

Supermarkets in Asia are Now Using Banana Leaves Instead of Plastic Packaging

Photo courtesy of Perfect Homes Chiangmai via Facebook.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Using The Sun To Remove Ice

October 3, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/EW-10-03-18-Using-the-Sun-to-Remove-Ice.mp3

Ice buildup can cause all sorts of problems ranging from performance issues to catastrophic failures.  For example, ice buildup can negatively impact things like airplanes, power lines, wind turbines, and the like.  Preventing this ice buildup typically requires energy-intensive heating systems or environmentally-harmful chemical sprays.

[Read more…] about Using The Sun To Remove Ice

An App For Infection Testing

June 11, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/EW-06-11-18-An-App-for-Infection-Testing.mp3

Researchers at Washington State University have developed a low-cost, portable device that works with a smartphone to detect common viral and bacterial infections nearly as well as clinical laboratories.  Such a system could lead to faster and lower-cost lab results for fast-moving epidemics, especially in rural or lower-resource regions where laboratory equipment and medical personnel are not readily available.

[Read more…] about An App For Infection Testing

Improving Wave Energy

October 28, 2016 By WAMC WEB

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/EW-10-28-16-Improving-Wave-Energy.mp3

Ocean energy is still one of the biggest untapped clean energy sources on the planet.  There are many studies that have shown that it could provide power for millions of homes in the U.S. alone.   But despite this, the technology is still in its infancy and it is unclear when and if it can become a major contributor to our energy needs.

[Read more…] about Improving Wave Energy

Cyanide Fishing

April 14, 2016 By WAMC WEB

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/EW-04-14-16-Cyanide-Fishing.mp3

Most people listening to this have seen a saltwater aquarium before, and many of those likely owned one at some point.  Maybe you still do.  The bright coral and even brighter fish can be found in offices, restaurants, hotels, and homes all over the world.  

[Read more…] about Cyanide Fishing

Primary Sidebar

Recent Episodes

  • An uninsurable future
  • Clean energy and jobs
  • Insect declines in remote regions
  • Fossil fuel producing nations ignoring climate goals
  • Trouble for clownfishes

WAMC Northeast Public Radio

WAMC/Northeast Public Radio is a regional public radio network serving parts of seven northeastern states (more...)

Copyright © 2026 ·