A Little Greener

The Dolphin Company, owner of the Miami Seaquarium, recently announce plans to release an orca from the Sequarium back into the wild. Many headlines suggest this is a positive story, and indeed, a whale returning to the wild and rejoining their family would be amazing to see. But, is it reality? Sara and Casey discuss the issues surrounding this particular whale, Tokitae, often called Toki, as well as some of the issues surrounding keeping orcas in human care. 

Resources for this episode:

Scientists: End of orca program a loss

The Debate - The Ethics Of Keeping Whales And Dolphins Captive | A Whale Of A Business | FRONTLINE | PBS

Orcas Don't Do Well in Captivity. Here's Why - National Geographic

Here's why SeaWorld probably won't release its whales into the wild - Los Angeles Times

Tooth damage in captive orcas (Orcinus orca) - ScienceDirect

Bias and Misrepresentation of Science Undermines Productive Discourse on Animal Welfare Policy: A Case Study

Public Display of Marine Mammals | NOAA Fisheries

Cetaceans in Captivity: A Discussion of Welfare - 1999 AVMA Animal Welfare Forum

Killer Whale | NOAA Fisheries

National Aquarium - Dolphin Sanctuary

At Baltimore's National Aquarium, Climate Change Presents Challenges Inside And Out : NPR

Health and Welfare Assessment of Tokitae (also known as Lolita), killer whale housed at Miami Seaquarium

Bottlenose dolphin habitat and management factors related to activity and distance traveled in zoos and aquariums | PLOS ONE

Release of whales from notorious Russia ‘whale jail’ complete - National Geographic

miami-seaquarium-inspection-report - DocumentCloud

Something Rotten at the Miami Seaquarium - International Marine Mammal Project

PolitiFact | SeaWorld says their whales live as long as wild whales do

Towards understanding the welfare of cetaceans in accredited zoos and aquariums - PMC

Take Action for Southern Resident Killer Whales | NOAA Fisheries

You may have seen or heard the acronym PFAS floating around, or perhaps heard of "forever chemicals." Or maybe you've heard that there are some potential concerns with using non-stick cookware, but weren't sure what it was all about. Around since the 1940s, PFAS are used in a variety of ways including in non-stick cookware, stain, grease, and water-resistant clothing, some firefighting foam, and some cosmetics. However, there are a number of concerns around these chemicals, some of which have already been phased out of discussion. Casey and Sara discuss the issues around and potential paths forward from PFAS.

Resources for this episode:

PFAS chemicals overview | ATSDR

PFAS in the US population | ATSDR

Bucks and Montco residents learn more about their exposure to the toxic chemicals in PFAS study - WHYY

Toxic timeline: A brief history of PFAS | Searchlight New Mexico

Authorized Uses of PFAS in Food Contact Applications | FDA

Governments endorse global PFOA ban, with some exemptions

Environmental and Health Impacts of PFAS | | Wisconsin DNR

PFAS Foam on Lakes and Streams

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) | US EPA

Not All In-Home Drinking Water Filters Completely Remove Toxic PFAS | Nicholas School of the Environment

Consumers file class action lawsuits over PFAS in products; EPA focuses on water, landfills

Chocolate is a much beloved treat around the world, but chocolate can have some high environmental costs. By some calculations, chocolate can have a higher environmental impact that some types of meat. Sara and Casey discuss why that is, and what small steps we can take to make our chocolate a little greener. 

Resources for this episode:

Our World in Data Food Graph

Mongabay: Delectable but Destructive: Tracing Chocolate's Environmental Life Cycle

Science of Cooking: How is Chocolate Made?

Study: Environmental analysis along the supply chain of dark, milk and white chocolate: a life cycle comparison

World Cocoa Foundation: Cocoa and Forests Initiative

Study: The Impacts of Cocoa Sustainability Initiatives in West Africa

CABI: Trade-offs between shaded and full-sun cocoa

Utopia: The Difference Between Cacao and Cocoa Explained

Lake Champlain Chocolates: How is Chocolate Made?

Study: Detecting cocoa plantations in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana and their implications on protected areas

Motivations for shade-grown cocoa production in Ghana

Washington Post: What the heck is shade-grown cacao? This pricey treat is actually good for the planet.

Beyond Good Chocolates

Growing food at home has so many upsides, from a lower environmental impact to saving you some money at the grocery store to benefiting your physical and mental health. It's also something you can do even if you don't have a yard! In this episode, Casey and Sara talk through some tips to help you plan your very own veggie garden.

Resources for this episode:

Gardening: Invest in guaranteed growth in your own backyard

Gardening for health: a regular dose of gardening

Backyard gardening: grow your own food, improve your health

Harvesting peat moss contributes to climate change, Oregon State scientist says

Why Gardeners Should Stop Using Peat, and What to Use Instead

Dig into the Benefits of Gardening

Environmental Impacts of Food Production

If you look at a picture of an elephant shrew, you might assume that it's perfectly named. It certainly looks similar to shrews found in many parts of the world and has an elongated nose, reminiscent of an elephant's trunk. While the elephant shrew was initially grouped in with shrews, we now know that it is actually NOT a true shrew. Elephant shrews (now also called sengis) are, in fact, most closely related to...elephants! Sara and Casey discuss these very cute, slightly obscure animals and encourage us to keep small species in mind on this week's episode.

Resources for this episode:

Tiny Elephant Shrews Go On Show After Mum Hid Them From Zookeepers

https://sengis.org/

The Guardian: This article is more than 2 years old Tiny elephant shrew species, missing for 50 years, rediscovered

Journal of Anatomy: The rostral nasal anatomy of two elephant shrews.

Mammalia: Footdrumming patterns of southern African elephant shrews

Animal Diversity Web: Macroscelididae

Re:wild

On February 3rd, a train owned by Norfolk Southern Railroad was traveling from Madison, Illinois to Conway, PA, when it derailed near the town of East Palestine, Ohio. Some cars on the train were carrying hazardous materials, and ultimately this resulted in the temporary evacuation of residents near the derailment site, and continued monitoring of air and water quality. Casey and Sara discuss some of the potential factors involved in the derailment and safety concerns associated with the materials, as well as their thoughts around railroad safety and the press received by this event.

Resources for this episode:

EPA Letter to Norfolk Southern

NY Times: Ohio Train Derailment: Separating Fact from Fiction

Huff Post: Animal Deaths Calculated at 43,700 Following Train Derailment in East Palestine

NPR: 7 Key Points about the East Palestine Train Derailment

NPR: How EPA Plans To Keep East Palestine Residents Safe After Derailment

AP: Buttigieg Warns Norfolk Southern to Support Ohio Community

CNN: The Ohio toxic train wreck was ‘100% preventable’ – but there’s no evidence the crew did anything wrong, investigators say

NY Times: In Fog of East Palestine’s Crisis, Politicians Write Their Own Stories

AP: EPA Orders Norfolk Southern to Clean Up Toxic Derailment

Independent (UK): Ohio crew tried to stop train after wheel issue warning, says probe – but it came too late to stop derailment

Articles on climate change will often talk about carbon dioxide levels being higher than they've been in thousands, or even millions, of years. You may also hear things about temperature moving in cycles, or about how different the climate of a certain area used to be. But how do scientists know all of this information before we started taking measurements? That's where proxy data comes in. On this episode, we discuss a few different types of proxy data, learn some new words, and find out just what crystalized rat urine can tell us about climate.

Resources for this episode:

NASA: Carbon Dioxide Vital Signs

NASA: The Raw Truth on Global Temperature Records

NOAA: What are Proxy Data

MIT: How are Gases in the Atmosphere Measured?

British Antarctic Survey: Ice Cores and Climate Change

Scientific American: How are Past Temperatures Determined from Ice Cores?

Texas A&M: Ancient Deepsea Shells Reveal 66 Million Years of Carbon Dioxide Levels

NOAA's Paleoclimatology Data Map

Carbon Brief: How Proxy Data Reveals the Climate of Earth's Distant Past (with alternative access to NOAA's Paleoclimatology Data Map)

Have you ever heard that climate change is a result of solar cycles or volcanoes? Or maybe you've found yourself thinking that it's too late to do anything about climate change anyway, so why bother? Casey and Sara talk through those myths and more, as well as share some tips for having conversations around climate change on this week's episode.

Resources for this week's episode:

National Grid: Six Myths about Climate Change Busted

NASA: Is the Sun Causing Global Warming?

NASA: What Do Volcanoes Have to do with Climate Change?

WWF: 10 Myths About Climate Change

USGS: Volcanoes Can Affect Climate

USA Today: These lies about climate change just wouldn't die in 2022

With the TV show The Last of Us currently all the rage, Sara and Casey talk the real-life zombie fungus. They discuss how zombie fungus works, what the show gets right and wrong, and whether we should be afraid of a zombie fungus pandemic. They also discuss the amazing diversity of fungi and some of the benefits we get from these often overlooked organisms.

Resources for this episode:

Discovery: The Largest Living Thing on Earth is a 3.5 sq mi Fungus

Smithsonian: The Real Zombie Fungus That Inspired HBO's The Last of Us

Vox: The “zombie” fungus in The Last of Us, explained by a biologist

PNAS: Three-dimensional visualization and a deep-learning model reveal complex fungal parasite networks in behaviorally manipulated ants

BMC Ecology: Behavioral mechanisms and morphological symptoms of zombie ants dying from fungal infection

National Geographic: Fungi Are Key to Our Survival, Are We Doing Enough to Protect Them?

Many people may have a passing familiarity with the slow-moving sloth, especially with their recent explosion in pop culture, but there is so much more to the sloth than most people realize. Casey and Sara discuss some of the incredibly unique features of sloths, and also take a look at the pros and cons of their popularity for wild sloth populations.

Resources for this episode:

The Sloth Conservation Foundation