Planet Watch Radio Podcast

Astrophysicist Martin Gaskell discusses—at virtually the same time as its publication to the word—what has been called the "greatest astronomical discovery of all time." The conversation ranges from science to intriguing notes on spirituality. Dr. Gaskell is a professor of astronomy at the University of California Santa Cruz.

An Infrared View of the M81 Galaxy | NASACredit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Dr. Gaskell shares fascinating insights about Black Holes, Gravitational Waves, the Nobel Prize, Mars Exploration, going back to the Moon, the Origins of the Universe, and the relationship between science and spirituality.

With a Ph.D., 1981, University of California, Santa Cruz andPostdoctoral fellow (1981-1983), University of Cambridge, Dr. Gaskell is currently a researcher and lecturer in Astronomy & Astrophysics at UCSC.

His primary research interests are in theoretical and observational studies of what happens around the most bizarre objects in the universe: supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies.  As matter spirals into these black holes, it produces a tremendous release of energy as what is called an "active galactic nucleus" or AGN for short.

AGNs are the most powerful energy sources in the universe (more powerful than an entire galaxy of stars).  Because they are so luminous they can be seen far away —back to the early days of the formation of galaxies when the universe was young.

Much of Gaskell's work involves collaboration with other researchers around the world. "I like to work at the interface of theory and observation.  My research involves observations with giant telescopes on the ground, satellites in space, computer simulations, and sometimes just good old fashioned pencil and paper."

Monterey Bay Salmon and Trout Project Executive Director Ben Harris talks about the importance of salmonids—salmon and trout— in maintaining the ecological health of ocean and land.

Harris explains how and why Pacific salmon populations have drastically declined, and describes efforts underway to help native Monterey Bay populations of Coho and Steelhead recover from the brink of extinction. He also discusses why farmed salmon should be "off the table" and how food choices we make at the market can affect not only the fate of the fish, but also the health of the oceans and our own well-being.

Harris pursued his life-long interest in fish by earning his B.S. in Fisheries Biology from Humboldt State University in California and then an M.S. in Fisheries Resources from his native West Virginia University. One of his goals as the Executive Director of MBSTP is to bring back the much-loved Salmon and Trout Education Project.

On this episode of Planet Watch, an inspiring and uplifting interview with Lynne Cherry, the originator, producer and director of  Young Voices for the Planet films. Lynne talks about her current film project and also discusses the mental health considerations involved in educating the young about climate change and environmental crisis.

Young Voices for the Planet, a film series, features youth working to limit climate change and its impacts in their communities and around the planet. The films document inspiring success stories of youth speaking out, creating solutions, challenging decision-makers, informing their communities, and catalyzing change. The engaging films, which feature diverse students from elementary to high school age taking on a variety of projects to reduce the carbon footprint of their homes, schools and communities, are available to students and teachers. The films are supported by standards-aligned, interdisciplinary, project-based curriculum. "The Young Voices for the Planet movies allow your young voices to be heard. Seeing what other young people have done and are doing will inspire you to action!"

Lynne is author/illustrator of 30 award-winning children’s books including her popular and beloved rain forest classic, The Great Kapok Tree and her environmental history A River Ran Wild. Lynne received her BA from Tyler School of Art; a Masters in History at Yale University. She has had artist-in-residencies at Princeton University, the Smithsonian Institution and Cornell University and science-writing fellowships from the Marine Biological Lab and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She was a winner of a Metcalf Fellowship and the Brandwein Prize. Her academic writings include a chapter in “Written in Water” published by National Geographic Books, a chapter “Kids Can Save Forests” in “Treetops At Risk” edited by Dr. Margaret Lowman (Springer) and a chapter “Teaching Climate Change With Hope and Solutions: Lessons from a Film Project” in the book “Education in Times of Environmental Crisis.” (Routledge, 2016)

Nuclear Winter, first described by Drs. Brian Toon, Rich Turco, Tom Ackerman, James Pollack, and Carl Sagan ("TTAPS")   equates the plume of smoke from a comet impact that covered Earth causing the great extinction of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago with the global winter that could extinct most life on Earth in the event of a Nuclear War. Understanding what the scientists told them of the threat of Nuclear Winter led to Reagan and Gorbachev to initiate a nuclear non-proliferation treaty process that has been followed by every US president since, until Trump. In his recent TedTalk Dr Toon  renews those warnings, that nuclear weapon detonation will cause massive atmospheric darkening from world-wide smoke and fires, resulting in the annihilation of much of the life on Earth.

Dr. Toon, currently an Atmospheric and Oceanic a researcher at University of Colorado, was a lead atmospheric chemist on the NASA Ozone Hole research, which led to perhaps the most impressive example to date of human cooperation—the Montreal Protocol Banning Substances that Deplete the Ozone. Since the treaty was signed in 1987 by nearly every country on the planet, the international treaty to phase out ozone depleting chemicals has been carefully monitored. In this episode of Planet Watch, Dr. Toon reports on the progress to date on repairing the Ozone Hole.

Air Date: November 4, 2018 on KSCO radio station AM1080

meeting of Montreal Protocol working group

 

Life on Mars? Dr. Jr. R. Skok of the SETI Institute discusses Current and Upcoming Exploration and Research on MARS

Dr. Skok, explorer and planetary scientist with SETI, earned his B.S. at Cornell University and his Ph.D. from  Brown in Geological Sciences. In the spring of 2017, he took part in an international scientific expedition to study the El Tatio geyser field in the Chilean Andes.

Dr. Skok has been studying deposits from hot spring and geyser systems throughout the world that closely resemble those on Mars, in order to understand what they mean for habitats and preservation of life here on Earth. Based on this work, Dr. Skok and his colleagues at SETI and NASA are planning future expeditions to search for life on Mars.

The evolution of life on Mars could be relevant to Climate Change studies on Planet Earth.

On this episode of Planet Watch, JR also talks about his Made of Mars project and his experiences exploring caves around the planet.

For more on current Mars research see previous Planet Watch episodes with Dr. Chris McKay and Dr. Carol Stoker.

Air Date: October 21, 2018 on KSCO radio station AM1080

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change  (IPCC) 2018 predicts far more dire and rapidly escalating consequences of Climate Change than any IPCC analysis thus far, and calls for a historically unprecedented  transformation of the world economy to avert the worst of the damage.

Dr. Kristie Ebi

Dr. Natalie M. Mahowald

Two of the IPCC's authors, Dr. Nathalie Mehowald of Cornell and Dr. Kristie Ebi of University of Washington, share their thoughts on the report, the problem, and possible solutions.

Air Date: October 14, 2018 on KSCO radio station AM1080

 

 

Chris McKay, NASA Mars Researcher, and Friederike Otto, University of Oxford climate modeller

Science is the focus of this week's Planet Watch.  Senior NASA scientist Chris McKay, in the Planetary Systems Branch of NASA Ames, is an expert on the evolution of the solar system and the origins of life. Chris is also involved in planning for future Mars expeditions, including human exploration of the "Red Planet." Chris will answer the question , "What is Enceladus?" and will share with us what the recent news about this "tortured moon of Saturn" means for the search for life beyond Planet Earth.

In our second interview this week, we talk with Dr. Fredierike Otto, a climate modeler at the University of Oxford, and director of a consortium of scientists in the UK and elsewhere who are working to find the footprint of human caused climate change in extreme weather events. In her July 2018 article in Nature International Journal of Science she predicts that weather forecasters will soon provide instant assessments of global warming's influence on extreme events. Air Date: October 7, 2018 on KSCO radio station AM1080

How secure is the US voting system? The upcoming midterm elections may be the most important in the history of American Democracy. Yet evidence has shown that there was foreign interference in the 2016 election, with suspected attacks on voter registration systems in twenty-one states. A recent DEF CON hacking conference in Washington DC demonstrated serious risks to our critical voting infrastructure, which affect our national security. Any voting system connected to the internet runs the risk of machines being hacked and data being compromised or altered. With our voting machines running on proprietary software that cannot be checked for bugs or malicious code, and no paper records of votes cast on the machines, there is no way to conduct verifiable audits of elections. Researchers have found that many of our systems are riddled with basic security blunders and poorly written software. Going into the midterms, what measures, if any, are being taken to correct vulnerabilities in our voting system? Today on Planet Watch, computer scientist and voting security expert Robert Kibrick discusses what we can do to defend American Democracy and protect every voter's ballot.

Kibrick is a retired research astronomer on staff at the University of California Lick Observatory with expertise in computer networking, software development, programming, hardware troubleshooting, optical imaging, observational astronomy, and mathematical computing. He has been volunteering with the Verified Voting Foundation, a non-governmental, nonpartisan organization founded in 2003 by computer scientists from Stanford University. Electronic voting machines with no verifiable paper trail, massive disenfranchisement of voters, and Electoral College injustices arising from gerrymandering are some of the main issues experts have identified that must to be addressed quickly to keep our democracy alive. Democracy is not a spectator sport. Get involved! Air Date: September 30, 2018 on KSCO radio station AM1080

Brain-Harming Chlorpyrifos

just the latest agricultural pesticide poisoning our children and our planet

Californians for Pesticide Reform  co-director Mark Weller, and author/pesticide activist Mary Flodin talk with with Planet Watch hosts Rachel and Joe about challenges and successes in the decades-long struggle to protect communities from toxic pesticide exposure (www.facebook.com/CaPestReform).

Based out of the Salinas office of the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council, Mark provides mentorship and support for organizers statewide, including Safe Ag Safe Schools . SafeAgSafeSchools.org is a coalition of over 50 organizations and individuals working together to reduce the threat of pesticide exposure in the Monterey Bay area. "SASS" focuses on increasing grassroots pressure on policy-makers to reduce hazardous pesticide use in and around schools and residential communities. Mark is co-author of the book, Dollars and Votes: How Business Campaign Contributions Subvert Democracy. Air Date: September 23, 2018 on KSCO radio station AM1080

Brain-Harming Chlorpyrifos

just the latest agricultural pesticide poisoning our children and our planet

Californians for Pesticide Reform  co-director Mark Weller, and author/pesticide activist Mary Flodin talk with with Planet Watch hosts Rachel and Joe about challenges and successes in the decades-long struggle to protect communities from toxic pesticide exposure (www.facebook.com/CaPestReform).

Based out of the Salinas office of the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council, Mark provides mentorship and support for organizers statewide, including Safe Ag Safe Schools . SafeAgSafeSchools.org is a coalition of over 50 organizations and individuals working together to reduce the threat of pesticide exposure in the Monterey Bay area. "SASS" focuses on increasing grassroots pressure on policy-makers to reduce hazardous pesticide use in and around schools and residential communities. Mark is co-author of the book, Dollars and Votes: How Business Campaign Contributions Subvert Democracy.