Perpetual Notion Machine

It is summer…

The snow has melted. The leaves are green. And the summer buzz is back.

The Brood of X have emerged. The cicadas are out, proud and loud.

On today’s show (Thursday June 24, 2021), we learn the truth behind the buzz on Perpetual Notion Machine. The host Anita Nsubuga learns about the intriguing world of cicadas from the Wisconsin Bug Guy, PJ Liesch (Twitter: @WiBugGuy). We learn the truth behind the buzz. We also explore the history of insects and their close relationship with shrimp and lobsters. And most importantly, how to live in peace with our little, bug friends.

So, what’s behind the buzz?

Stay tuned to find out.

Image courtesy of: Adam Cai & Lucas Lenzi on Unsplash 

This month on the Wisconsin Climate & Energy Broadcast, Abby Corso joins hosts John Greenler and Jessica James to discuss how to center equity in the climate and energy conversation. Corso talks about state and federal policies and how frontline-communities and local governments are leading the charge for an equitable energy transition.

Abby Corso is the Chief Strategy Officer at Elevate, an organization that wants everyone to have access to clean and affordable heat, power, and water in their homes and communities. 

Learn more about one program, the Justice40 Accelerator, a partnership between five different organizations working with frontline-communities to apply for federal funds. 

Photo by Science in HD on Unsplash

 

Why do we have so damn many dams and have they outlived their purpose? Reuben Frey joins host Patrick Sajbel to talk about what prompted construction over the last century and what environmental benefits that can be gained by demolishing old dams.

Frey received BS and MS degrees in Biology, Ecology and Environmental Studies from UW-Stevens Point and Eastern Illinois University. He has worked in fisheries for state agencies in Wisconsin, Arizona, and Utah and now works for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Host Robert W. Monthey interviews Dr. Susan Paskewitz, an entomology professor at UW-Madison, about ticks, Lyme disease, and a new information tool called “The Tick App.”

The interview covers tick identification, habits, and how Lyme disease is transmitted to humans. The interview also covers ways to prevent being bitten by a tick, and how app is used as a daily log for the data in the ongoing study of Vector-borne disease.

You can download the Tick App here.

As vaccinations against the SARS CoV-2 virus ramp up, perhaps more slowly than they should, the goal of herd immunity seems to be in reach. But its explanation since last Fall has not necessarily cleared up its confusion. So, tonight, the Perpetual Notion Machine has invited Ajay Sethi, an epidemiologist and Associate Professor in Population Health Sciences at UW-Madison, to help clear up the confusion. In his discussion with PNM’s Dennis Shaffer, Ajay points out that if enough people in a community have immunity, then the spread of an infectious disease and the outbreaks of infection will be significantly reduced, or maybe even eliminated. However, a highly contagious virus like COVID-19 requires a high amount of immunity, mostly through vaccinations, in order to achieve this result. In other words, there is a threshold, or R0 point, between those immune, ie. those vaccinated, and those not yet immune. Ajay says that we don’t know this point. But we do know that as more people get vaccinated, the number of COVID cases and deaths have dropped at lot. But also, for those not vaccinated or immune, this is NOT a signal to stop wearing masks and congregating in crowds. Ajay reminds us that COVID will not go away completely, just as a new variant has been reported in Vietnam.

Here are some links to more information:

Badger Talks video on herd immunity

Johns Hopkins Public Health on herd immunity

The Mayo Clinic’s definition of herd immunity

And a New York Times article by Apoorva Mandavilli on whether herd immunity can be reached. Apoorva was a past volunteer on PNM.

Featured Image courtesy: AJC1 at Flickr.com

WORT 89.9FM Madison · PNM: Introducing The Wisconsin Climate & Energy Broadcast

Welcome to a new feature of PNM called the Wisconsin Climate & Energy Broadcast, an offshoot of the Wisconsin Energy Broadcast hosted by Heather Allen and Nan Fey. This is a show about clean energy and climate change, ranging from reducing carbon in our atmosphere to adapting to ever increasing severe weather.

On this show, we introduce you to the new hosts, John Greenler and Jessica James, and talk with Heather Allen about renewable energy in Wisconsin.

Heather Allen is the Executive Director of RENEW Wisconsin.

 

Photo courtesy of @gonz_ddl on Unsplash.com 

 

How can science-based global environmental initiatives be advanced at national policy level as well as local community projects? PNM host Patrick Sajbel welcomes Madison resident Karen Kendrick-Hands to share her story and perspectives on environmental activism.

Through her leadership in Rotary International, a new seventh focus area of Protecting the Environment was added. She is co-founder and Projects Director at Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG). Karen is an active leader in the Citizens’ Climate Lobby and Co-leader of its Rotary Action Team, advancing science-based policy initiatives to address the public’s environmental concerns.

What are old-growth forests? How did European settlement of Wisconsin change our landscape and what remains of our ancient forests? In this edition of Perpetual Notion Machine, host Patrick Sajbel speaks with John Bates, naturalist and author of nine books on Wisconsin.

John spent over 30 years in research of the ecosystems of Northern Wisconsin, served on the Board of the Nature Conservancy, and has a Masters Degree in Environmental Science from UW Green Bay. He is a regular speaker at Canoecopia, and runs guided trips in the North.

He spent 15 years tracking down old-growth forests around the state while writing his most recent book “Our Living Ancestors: The History and Ecology of Old-growth Forests in Wisconsin (And Where to Find Them)”.  John joins us today from his home in Mercer, WI.

 

What is Vibranium?

Can we create it?

Or, do we need to be in the ficitonal world of Marvel?

This week, host Anita Nsubuga and her guest, Professor Michael Arnold unearth the truth behind Vibranium. Professor Michael Arnold hails from Univerisity of Wisconsin’s (Madison) Department of Materials Science and Engineering. On this episode, we discover the truth behind elements. How different combinations of elements form materials or polymers. We explore the evolution of material formation and the innovations in materials sciences.

As for Vibranium, maybe we could create a stronger element…

Who knows?

Stay Tuned.

Image courtesy of:  Carlos Gabriel Morales Toro (ArteGamor) on Pixabay

In this Earth Day edition of the Perpetual Notion Machine, we head to a remote part of the globe, Antarctica. Our guests include Matthew Lazzara, meteorologist at the Antarctic Meteorological Research Center & the Space Science and Engineering Center at UW-Madison, and also department chair of Physical Sciences at Madison College, and Ethan Koudelka, student researcher at Madison College. COVID-19 has put a hold on most research throughout the continent. The few that have ventured to Antarctica have gone through rigorous protocols and quarantines before even setting foot on the continent. So far, no one there has contracted the disease. The last time Matthew went to Antarctica was about 3 years ago.

But that doesn’t stop nature, like last February when an iceberg called A-74 broke off, or calved, from the Brunt Ice Sheet and Shelf. Calving is a normal process, although it usually takes years before a crevice to develop and expand to the point of breaking off an iceberg. However, climate change has effected different parts of Antarctica, not uniformly over the entire continent. Warmer deep water in the ocean has had more of an effect on ice shelves than warmer surface temperature. An example is the Larsen Ice Shelf on the Antarctic peninsula. Section B broke off a few years ago, and the resulting iceberg soon disintegrated. Now, Section C has formed a crevice.

This image and the Featured Image show a satellite picture of the A-74 iceberg and a size comparison with Chicago.

Image courtesy: NASA Earth Observatory by Joshua Stevens from Wikimedia Commons

This image shows the calving and its progression on the Larsen C Ice Shelf.

Image courtesy: Erik de Haan from Flickr