Saving Coral Reefs
Coral reefs are home to 25% of all marine life – approximately 800,000 species. But these vibrant, colorful landscapes are more than just a home for life; coral reefs are animals themselves.
The Many Modes of Transportation
Dr. Susan Shaheen, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California-Berkeley, joins us this week to highlight the country’s current infrastructure and what more needs to be done to promote greater citizen mobility with bikes, scooters and other non-motor modes of transportation.
The Environmental Effects of Staggering Palm Oil Production
In the U.S., most Americans commonly use vegetable or olive oil when cooking. While we don’t often here about palm oil, it’s in many of the products that we buy at the grocery store, including everything from food to personal care products. And abroad, palm oil is widely used in cooking and frying. Last year, global consumption reached 72 million tons. …
The Slow-Looming, Invisible Crisis of Climate Change
With billions across the world staying home right now due to coronavirus, air pollution in many major cities has cleared making way for blue skies and new views of nature. This week, Viewpoints speaks with journalist and author Thomas Kostigen about the role of geoengineering in tackling another approaching global crisis: climate change.
A Shifting Landscape: The Challenges Facing Suburbia Today
Cookie cutter houses, large backyards and shopping centers took hold during the rapid rise of suburbia during the second half of the 20th century. Now, towns across the U.S. are facing a new set of challenges from climate change to shifting demographics that require a different landscape than what was first constructed. We speak with two experts about the …
The End of Ice
Journalist and author Dahr Jamail exposes how climate change is affecting our ecosystems and natural landscape, including the melting and disappearance of massive ice glaciers. We discuss the long-term consequences of global warming and what we can do as a society to reverse the damage.
Greener Gardening During Climate Change
Gardeners always seek to get the most out of their plants, but some are finding that their plot of land doesn’t produce the way it used to because of wildly changing, extreme conditions—torrential rain, then draught, heat then cold. We talk to two experts who explain ways to increase your garden’s productivity, and how it can help combat climate change.
Dealing With Climate Change Around the World
We’re all familiar with the various ages such as the Jurassic and the Paleozoic, but have you ever heard of the Anthropocene? We meet a woman who has traveled around the world looking at how climate change caused by humans has transformed areas of our planet and how people are looking for creative ways to deal with the changes in lifestyle, agriculture and …
The Psychology of Climate Change (2015)
We’ve heard a lot about climate change and global warming over the past 20 years or so, but ironically people care about it less now than they did a decade ago! We talk to a researcher and author about how the framing of climate change can skew the message and create attitudes that affect how we think of global warming and how we become motivated – or not – …
Superstorms and America’s Aging Weather Infrastructure
One fact that was brought out during the onslaught of that Hurricane Sandy was the need to update our nation’s weather forecasting and emergency management systems. We talk to a journalist and author who conducted research on the storm, the systems that tracked it and found out how our weather forecasting, tracking and evacuation protocols and equipment need …
