KGNU - How On Earth

On this week’s show Beth speaks with Joe Swanson and Laura Backus to discuss some of the invasive weeds that are plaguing Boulder County. Joe is the County Weed Coordinator for Boulder County Parks & Open Space. Joe has worked for over 17 years in rangeland and natural areas management and has been on the forefront of Boulder County Parks & Open Space natural areas invasive weed management program. Laura is a local ecologist with several decades of experience and concern in the same area. The efforts they describe are helping to restore the ecology and ecosystem function in our incredibly diverse open space lands. Photos of invasive weeds are available on the county website as is a form for reporting them.

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Animal Communication Science (start time: 2:57)  Whether you own a dog or horse, or have listened to dolphins, wolves, chimpanzees or other wild animals, you’ve probably wondered what they’re saying when they communicate vocally – and why do they communicate the way they do? Our guest, zoologist Arik Kershenbaum, explores recent scientific discoveries in animal vocal communication in his new book Why Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Communication (Penguin Press). His exploration of wolves howling, dolphins whistling, gibbons warbling, and far more, poses more questions than answers about the natural world, including our place in it. In this week’s science show (listen here or download the podcast) host Susan Moran interviews Dr. Kershenbaum, a lecturer and fellow at Girton College, University of Cambridge, where he is a member of the Bioacoustics Research Group. Previously he wrote the book The Zoologist’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Hosts: Susan Moran, Joel Parker

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In this fire prone season, we talk with experts about an ancient building technique that might reduce the chance that a building’s going to burn. Unfired, compressed earth blocks are a building material that involves clay, sand and lime.  Our guests are architect-engineer Lisa Morey and one of her clients, Matteo Rabescini, who had such a home built in Superior, Colorado after the 2021 Marshall fire.  You can read more at Colorado Earth/Nova Terra, Heart of A Building, and Lisa Morey’s substack.

Hosts: Esther Frost, Joel Parker

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Wildfire smoke has marred the Front Range in recent weeks, due to Megafires that are likely to become more frequent.  And more smoke is likely.

Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World (Starts 00:00) Beth Bennett speaks with author John Vaillant about the Canadian firestorm that forced 100,000 people to run for their lives . . . and why firestorms like this are becoming more common.  (For extended version, go here)

Smokey Skies (Starts 15:00) The Front Range is getting eye-stinging smoke from wildfires over 1,000 miles away . . . last week, from Canada, and this week, likely from California, according to the Colorado Smoke Blog.  University of Utah Atmospheric Scientist Dr. Derek Mallia speaks with Rocky Mountain Community Radio Director, Maeve Conran, about why wildfire smoke travels so far, and how people can protect themselves from its toxic effects.

Host/Producer: Shelley Schlender

Clever Chickadees on the Front Range (start time: 4:20) Many of us wake up these days to a chorus of songbirds, including mountain and black-capped chickadees. Host Susan Moran interviews Scott Taylor, an ecologist at CU Boulder and director of the Mountain Research Station near the Continental Divide, about a multi-year study, the Boulder Chickadee Study, in which the Taylor Lab team is learning about the interbreeding and food-storing behaviors of these two closely related species.

Hosts: Susan Moran, Joel Parker

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On this week’s How on Earth we’re airing a show produced by Science Moab‘s Peggy Hodgkins. She speaks with Professor Kari Veblen, who is currently a professor of rangeland ecology at Utah State University. Her research focuses on the ecology and management of rangelands, including questions related to restoration, plant community dynamics, grazing and unraveling livestock vs. wildlife effects on their environment. Her research takes place predominantly on multi-use rangelands that are managed simultaneously for livestock production and wildlife conservation. She works closely with both public and private land managers, as well as interdisciplinary teams of scientists, to find ways to improve restoration and other management practices.

Executive Producer: Susan Moran

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In this episode, we talk with journalist and author Rebecca Boyle about her book Our Moon – How Earth’s Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are. We discuss how the Moon impacts all aspects of our lives including the creation of life. It is a key component to philosophy and religion, culture and agriculture, art and science, sense of time, and sense of our place in the universe.

Producer/Engineer: Joel Parker

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Making “Compostable” Products Truly Compostable (start time: 0:56)  You’ve probably wracked your brain at some point trying to figure out whether the compostable-labelled clamshell or the green-tinted plastic cup you got at a restaurant is truly compostable.  Many products contain misleading and outright false claims, leaving consumers confused about how to do good by the planet.  Indeed, tons of food and yard waste, as well as organic food-packaging products, end up in landfills, where they decompose under anaerobic conditions and generate methane, a greenhouse gas far more potent, if shorter-lasting, than carbon dioxide. Organic waste from landfills and wastewater is the third largest source of human-related methane emissions, after livestock and oil and gas emissions, according to the Rocky Mountain Institute.

Host/ Show Producer: Susan Moran

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This week on How on Earth, Beth talks with author and cheesemaker extraordinaire and author, David Asher, about his book Milk Into Cheese: The Foundations of Natural Cheesemaking. The science and art of cheese.

Executive Producer: Shelley Schlender

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Matt Johnson of Namaste Solar and Stu Cummings of Go Electric Colorado  share climate friendly ways to keep your home power going, even if power from your utility suddenly goes out.  It’s a discussion spurred by April’s massive power outages, when Xcel Energy Colorado abruptly shut off power to over 150,000 Denver Metro homes, citing concerns that downed power lines might spark a wildfire.

Hosts: Shelley Schlender, Esther Frost