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Designing Whale-Safe Lobstering Gear
Ship strikes can be deadly for North Atlantic Right Whales, but many of their untimely deaths are from entanglements with fishing gear, usually the long ropes that attach lobster and crab traps at the bottom of the ocean to buoys at the surface. Mark Baumgartner of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution explains alternative options and challenges of transitioning to a new type of fishing gear.
EV Price War
Despite inflation automakers including Tesla, Ford and General Motors are now in a price war over electric vehicle sales. The lowered stickers also bring some models under the $55,000 price cap required to qualify for federal tax credits. Jim Motavalli, who writes about green transportation for Autoweek and Barrons, discusses what these aggressive price markdowns mean for electric vehicle consumers.
The Nutmeg's Curse
Native to the Banda Islands in Indonesia, nutmeg and other spices like cloves were coveted for their trade value by colonial powers, who set about exterminating the local people to dominate the nutmeg trade. In his 2021 book The Nutmeg's Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis, author Amitav Ghosh reveals the origins of our current climate crisis in the violent extractive economies pioneered by colonial powers centuries ago.
Big Oil Under Fire in Puerto Rico
Sixteen municipalities in Puerto Rico sue big fossil fuel companies for damages from Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The communities allege the fossil fuel companies learned their products would change the climate and intensify storms and then colluded to lie about it to the public. Melissa Sims is a Senior Counsel with the law firm Milberg that represents the plaintiffs. A win for the plaintiffs would be historic.
Rebuilding With Resilience in Puerto Rico
Climate change has supercharged massive storms like Hurricane Maria in 2017 that devastated Puerto Rico, killing thousands of people. Bobby Bascomb travelled to the island in 2018 and found ravaged communities organizing to rebuild with resilience.
Controversial Oil CEO to Lead UN Climate Treaty
Activists are expressing outrage in the wake of the decision by the United Arab Emirates to appoint oil executive Sultan al-Jaber as President of this year’s UN climate treaty negotiations at COP28 in Dubai. Mithika Mwenda, executive director of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance and May Boeve, executive director of 350.org, explain the concerns and discuss how fossil fuel interests are deflecting progress in the treaty process.
Burning Sugarcane Pollutes Communities of Color
Some Florida sugarcane growers near the Everglades still use the archaic method of burning fields to remove the tops and leaves before harvesting the sweet cane stalks. Nearby residents say the smoke and ash promote adverse health effects. As reporter Sandy Tolan explains, communities of color nearby assert they bear a disproportionate burden of adverse health effects from the resulting smoke and ash pollution.
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Designing Whale-Safe Lobstering Gear
Ship strikes can be deadly for North Atlantic Right Whales, but many of their untimely deaths are from entanglements with fishing gear, usually the long ropes that attach lobster and crab traps at the bottom of the ocean to buoys at the surface. Mark Baumgartner of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution explains alternative options and challenges of transitioning to a new type of fishing gear.
EV Price War
Despite inflation automakers including Tesla, Ford and General Motors are now in a price war over electric vehicle sales. The lowered stickers also bring some models under the $55,000 price cap required to qualify for federal tax credits. Jim Motavalli, who writes about green transportation for Autoweek and Barrons, discusses what these aggressive price markdowns mean for electric vehicle consumers.
The Nutmeg's Curse
Native to the Banda Islands in Indonesia, nutmeg and other spices like cloves were coveted for their trade value by colonial powers, who set about exterminating the local people to dominate the nutmeg trade. In his 2021 book The Nutmeg's Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis, author Amitav Ghosh reveals the origins of our current climate crisis in the violent extractive economies pioneered by colonial powers centuries ago.
This Week’s Show
February 3, 2023
listen / download
Hope From Baby Right Whales
listen / download
North Atlantic Right Whales are critically endangered with fewer than 350 individuals left, but the births of several baby whales this season are bringing a glimmer of hope for the species. Sophia Pandelidis reports that so far this season scientists have observed at least 11 living North Atlantic right whale calves in the warm coastal waters of the southern US.
Designing Whale-Safe Lobstering Gear
listen / download
Ship strikes can be deadly for North Atlantic Right Whales, but many of their untimely deaths are from entanglements with fishing gear, usually the long ropes that attach lobster and crab traps at the bottom of the ocean to buoys at the surface. Mark Baumgartner of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution explains alternative options and challenges of transitioning to a new type of fishing gear.
Beyond the Headlines
listen / download
This week, journalist Peter Dykstra reaches Beyond the Headlines to bring us good news about artificial beaver dams, electric vehicles, and brown pelicans.
EV Price War
listen / download
Despite inflation automakers including Tesla, Ford and General Motors are now in a price war over electric vehicle sales. The lowered stickers also bring some models under the $55,000 price cap required to qualify for federal tax credits. Jim Motavalli, who writes about green transportation for Autoweek and Barrons, discusses what these aggressive price markdowns mean for electric vehicle consumers.
The Nutmeg's Curse
listen / download
Native to the Banda Islands in Indonesia, nutmeg and other spices like cloves were coveted for their trade value by colonial powers, who set about exterminating the local people to dominate the nutmeg trade. In his 2021 book The Nutmeg's Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis, author Amitav Ghosh reveals the origins of our current climate crisis in the violent extractive economies pioneered by colonial powers centuries ago.
Ice Fishing on a Tidal River
listen / download
Winter can be cold and dark, but the bright light reflected from frozen lakes, ponds, and streams can be cheery and warm. Mark William Damsel explains the joys of ice fishing on a frozen river in this audio postcard.
Special Features
Field Note: I’ll Take Menhaden
Menhaden fish once gathered in schools several miles long and were a common food for predators like sharks, sea birds, and bass. But after humans turned them into everything from supplements to fertilizer their numbers plummeted by roughly 90 percent. In Long Island Sound they’re finally bouncing back and Explorer in Residence Mark Seth Lender, witnesses their return.
Blog Series: Mark Seth Lender Field Notes
Field Note: Wishful Thinking - Leopards of the Olare Oruk River
Young leopards have a lot to learn. In the Maasai Mara, on the banks of the Olare Oruk River, Explorer in Residence Mark Seth Lender followed one such Young leopard progress along the learning curve.
Blog Series: Mark Seth Lender Field Notes
...Ultimately, if we are going prevent large parts of this Earth from becoming not only inhospitable but uninhabitable in our lifetimes, we are going to have to keep some fossil fuels in the ground rather than burn them...
-- President Barack Obama, November 6, 2015 on why he declined to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline.
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