Access Utah

Walter Link and Miriam Wollaeger, a young geologist couple in 1920s Wisconsin, set out to find oil to supply the surging U.S. demand. This exciting work will allow them to build their lives in South and Central America, Indonesia, and Cuba. But from the first posting in Columbia, they quickly discover that no women are working in the field in these places. While Walter faces the hardships and thrills of exploration in the jungles and mountains, and eventually becomes chief geologist for Standard Oil, Miriam is left behind in the colonial capitals during Walter’s often lengthy times away. She defines herself through the limited means left to a woman within their small societies: playing bridge or polo by day and dancing into the wee hours with early KLM pilots, diplomats, and the footloose sons of moneyed Americans and the European aristocracies. She also raises three children, has intimate involvements, learns the local languages, and takes up teaching. But she is not satisfied. And finally she does something about it.

At a recent Climate Change Town Hall in Logan, USU physicist and climate researcher Dr. Rob Davies invited audience members to share their stories of environmental change and activism. He encouraged brainstorming possible solutions to climate change and acknowledged the power of an individual to effect change in the world, even though “often we’re paralyzed, we’re passive because we don’t see the whole path to the finish line.”

This is a unique moment for Utah. Five colleges and universities in the state now have women presidents, several for the first time. These institutions include Utah State University, University of Utah, Utah Valley University, Salt Lake Community College, and Westminster College. As a part of our UPR Original Series Utah Women 20/20, we’ll talk with three of those presidents on Monday’s Access Utah. We’ll explore what this means for Utah and for these universities and colleges. Our guests will include USU President Noelle E. Cockett, UVU President Astrid S. Tuminez, and SLCC President Deneece G. Huftalin.

When we encounter conflict with another culture, we get confused, frustrated, offended, or even angry.

As we head into the holidays we want to know what you’re reading. What’s on your nightstand or device right now? What is the best book you’ve read this year? Which books would you suggest as gifts? We’d love to hear about any book you’re reading, including in the young adult & children’s categories. One suggestion or many are welcome.

In Eager, environmental journalist Ben Goldfarb reveals that our modern idea of what a healthy landscape looks like and how it functions is wrong, distorted by the fur trade that once trapped out millions of beavers from North America’s lakes and rivers. The consequences of losing beavers were profound: streams eroded, wetlands dried up, and species from salmon to swans lost vital habitat. Today, a growing coalition of “Beaver Believers”—including scientists, ranchers, and passionate citizens—recognizes that ecosystems with beavers are far healthier, for humans and non-humans alike, than those without them. From the Nevada deserts to the Scottish highlands, Believers are now hard at work restoring these industrious rodents to their former haunts. Eager is a powerful story about one of the world’s most influential species, how North America was colonized, how our landscapes have changed over the centuries, and how beavers can help us fight drought, flooding, wildfire, extinction, and the ravages of climate change. Ultimately, it’s about how we can learn to coexist with our fellow travelers on this planet.

Throughout its history, America has been defined through maps. Whether made for military strategy or urban reform, to encourage settlement or to investigate disease, maps invest information with meaning by translating it into visual form. They capture what people knew, what they thought they knew, what they hoped for, and what they feared. As such they offer unrivaled windows onto the past.

Over the next several decades, as human populations grow and developing countries become more affluent, the demand for energy will soar. Parts of the energy sector are preparing to meet this demand by increasing renewable energy production, which is necessary to combat climate change. But many renewable energy sources have a large energy sprawl—the amount of land needed to produce energy—which can threaten biodiversity and conservation. Is it possible to meet this rise in energy demand, while still conserving natural places and species?

Daniel James Brown’s bestseller “The Boys in the Boat” is a story about beating the odds and finding hope in the most desperate of times—the improbable, intimate account of how nine working-class boys from the American West showed the world at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin what true grit really meant.

Patty Rayman was born with the ability to communicate with animals and has helped thousands of people resolve many types of behavior, health, attitude and relationship issues with their animal companions. In working with all types of animals, she has developed techniques to help people move from conflict to cooperation in their relationships.