Meet Me on Planet 3

Episode 6 - Duncan Cook on Learning About Climate Change from Ancient Civilizations

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For Meet Me on Planet 3 podcast episode 6, I interviewed Dr. Duncan Cook, a Senior Lecturer of Geography at Australian Catholic University (ACU). (In American lingo, we'd call him a professor.) Duncan describes some of the archaeological data that support the claim that drought, caused by deforestation, forced the ancient Maya to abandon their inland cities. Climate change, anyone? I seriously learned so much from our conversation. You MUST listen to this interview - Duncan's work and his data are fascinating. I secretly (or not so secretly) hope he invites me on his next expedition!

Some key terms used in this episode:

  • Anthro: Anthro is a prefix that means human. Anthropogenic means caused by humans. For example, anthropogenic sources of carbon indicates carbon dioxide in our atmosphere due to human activities, such as burning coal for electricity.
  • Paleo: Paleo is another prefix, which means occurring in the distant past. For example, the expression "paleo diet" is used to describe foods that could have been hunted or gathered by ancient humans.
  • Geo: A third prefix, geo, means Earth. A Geographer studies not just maps but also how society interacts with Earth's natural environment. Speaking of geography, two locations that come up include the Petén, which is a region in northern Guatemala, and the Yucatán, which refers to an area of Mexico.
  • Catchment: Catchment is another way of describing a watershed, such as the area surrounding a lake or river.
  • Calcium Carbonate: A little high school chemistry for you! Calcium carbonate is an important chemical in seashells. Its chemical formula is CaCO3, revealing that it consists of one calcium atom, one carbon atom, and three oxygen atoms.
  • Isotope: An isotope refers to the same kind of atom with different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei and therefore different atomic masses. For example, Oxygen-16 and Oxygen-18 are isotopes. They are both forms of the element, oxygen, but they have different atomic masses due to differing numbers of neutrons.

    • If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe today, and tell a friend to Meet Me on Planet 3 as well! Also check out my blog, follow @meetmeonplanet3 on Instagram and Twitter, and email me with topic suggestions or questions - [email protected].

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    Meet Me on Planet 3By Deanna Hoffman
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