A Little Greener

Wondering how to be a little greener in your own life this year? Join Sara and Casey for a discussion on making environmental resolutions that you can stick to, their personal eco-resolutions, and podcast goals for 2023...plus, a VERY special announcement!

Tuna is a popular seafood choice, but the tuna fishing industry has a number of potential environmental impacts. Casey and Sara talk through how you can determine which tuna is a more sustainable choice simply by the information provided right on the can.

Resources for this episode:

Statista: U.S. Consumption of Tuna

National Geographic: How to Pick the Most 'dolphin-safe' Tuna

Seafood Watch: Tips for Choosing Sustainable Canned Tuna

National Geographic: These Popular Tuna Species are No Longer Endangered

Human Rights Watch: Hidden Chains: Rights Abuses and Forced Labor in Thailand's Fishing Industry

Investigation finds suspected human rights abuse by suppliers of major US and Taiwanese seafood companyBusiness and Human Rights Resource Centre: Global Labor Justice - International Labor Rights Forum Sues Global Tuna Giant Bumble Bee Over False Advertising of ‘Fair and Safe’ Fishing Practices

NPR: Is Sustainable Seafood Really Sustainable?

AquaDocs: Fish Stakes

Seafood Watch: Fishing and Farming Methods

NOAA: Fishing Gear: Pelagic Longlines

Atuna: Wild Tuna vs. Farmed

Wild Planet: Sustainability and Sourcing FAQs

Towards the end of 2022, headlines declared a new breakthrough in nuclear fusion experiments: for the first time ever, scientists were able to get more energy from a fusion reaction than they put in. Like nuclear fission, nuclear fusion does not produce any carbon emissions during the energy production process, so it has potential as a player in clean energy down the road. But, how far down the road? And is the possibility of fusion worth diverting time and resources away from other clean energy technologies w have right now? Sara and Casey discuss the history of nuclear fusion research, what really happened in this latest breakthrough, and what's next for the future of fusion. 

Resources for this episode:

What is ITER?

ITER: What is Fusion?

Nature: Nuclear fusion lab achieves 'ignition.' What does it mean?

CNBC: Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough

Investors Have Now Spent $5 Billion Pursuing the "Holy Grail of Energy"

BBC Science Focus: Why the Promise of Nuclear Fusion is No Longer a Pipe Dream

IAEA: Magnetic Fusion Confinement with Tokamaks and Stellarators

There is a lot to consider before choosing to bring a new pet into your home. Do you have the appropriate space? Can you find and afford veterinary care? Is it even legal for you to own the animal (did you know it's illegal to own a hedgehog in Pennsylvania)? Casey and Sara walk though five big questions to ask yourself before taking on a new pet.

Resources for this episode:

USA Captive Constrictor Snake Human Fatalities

Dog Bite Facts and Statistics

Texas Assistant Coach, Girlfriend Sued After Pet Monkey Allegedly Bites Child

Pet Monkey Euthanized After Biting NY Woman

Do Primates Make Good Pets?

World Wildlife Crime Report

Turtle Poaching for Pet Trade Threatens Half the World's Species

A Shaky Case for Wobbly Snakes

Sara and Casey discuss some of the laws governing ownership and care of exotic cats in the United States, including the new Big Cat Public Safety Act. They explore what this new law means for the welfare of big cats currently in human care, as well as the future of exotic cat ownership.

Resources for this episode:

Congress.gov: Big Cat Public Safety Act Bill Text

WWF: In a Win for Wild Tigers, the US Senate Passes Major Legislation Against Wildlife Crime

The Regulatory Review: Regulating Tiger Kings

MSU Animal Legal & Historical Center: Detailed Discussion of Exotic Pet Laws

US Fish & Wildlife Service: Captive Wildlife Safety Act

Animal Welfare Institute: Big Cat Public Safety Act

MSU Animal Legal & Historical Center: Map of Private Exotic Pet Ownership Laws

If we asked you to think of a cute, furry, bamboo-eating animal, we suspect a certain black and white bear might come to mind. But, this week, we're talking about another panda. The red panda shares a name and some other characteristics with the more famous giant panda, but is actually a very unique species. Casey and Sara discuss why the red panda is actually the OG panda, the pros and cons of being incredibly cute, and why we should care about the conservation of this species.

Resources for this episode:

‘Fake market’: Red panda study finds no real demand behind rise in poaching

IUCN Red List: Red Panda

Red Panda Network

Our series on energy continues as Sara and Casey discuss wind energy. They focus on a couple of specific concerns, especially the impact that wind farms have on birds on bats, and how or if this should impact our use of wind energy moving forward.

Resources for this episode: 

Onshore vs Offshore Wind Energy

University of Michigan: Wind Energy Factsheet

DOE Wind Vision Report

American Bird Conservancy: How Many Birds are Killed by Wind Turbines?

American Bird Conservancy: Wind Risk Assessment Map

Audubon: Can Painting Wind Turbine Blades Black Really Save Birds?

NREL: Partnerships Explore Coexistence of Bats and Wind Farms

Bat Conservation, International: Bats and Wind Energy

Contextualizing avian mortality: A preliminary appraisal of bird and bat fatalities from wind, fossil-fuel, and nuclear electricity

You may have seen recent headlines about the loss of 69% of wildlife from 1970. This data comes from a World Wildlife Fund project called The Living Planet Index, which comes out every two year. Casey and Sara take a look at the report, highlighting what it shows, what it doesn't, what the major areas of concern are, and where we go from here.

Resources for this episode:

A Deep Dive into the Living Planet Index

Living Planet Report 2022

National Geographic: Wildly Misinterpreted Report Still Shows Catastrophic Animal Decline (2018)

Turkey for Thanksgiving dinner is a big tradition in the United States, but how much do you know about the bird itself? Sara and Casey discuss some of the features of the wild turkey and take a look at their conservation success story.

Resources for this episode:

PBS: Wild Turkey Fact Sheet

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Wild Turkey

Audubon New York: How Wild Turkeys Made a 49-state Comeback

NC State College of Natural Resources: Talking Turkey: How the Bird Made a Comeback in North Carolina

Audubon: Let's Talk Turkey Beards

National Wild Turkey Federation: History of the Wild Turkey in North America

Florida Fish and Wildlife: Living With Wild Turkeys

The Peregrine Fund: Did Ben Franklin Really Want the Wild Turkey to be the National Symbol of the United States?

The Franklin Institute: Did Benjamin Franklin Want the National Bird to be a Turkey?

The moon is a constant in our lives. Most of us have marveled at a full moon, some of us remember when man first walked  on the moon, but what we probably don't think about much is how the moon impacts life on Earth. In this episode, Casey and Sara discuss the ways, both large and small, that the moon affects our world.

Resources for this episode:

Natural History Museum: How Does the Moon Affect Life on Earth?

Institute of Physics: How Does the Moon Affect Earth?

Nature: Pull of the Moon

NASA: Earth's Moon

Science News: How the Moon's Light Affects Animals

Lunar and Planetary Institute: The Moon's Influence on Us