This Green Earth

Author and conservation storyteller Millie Kerr shares her new book "Wilder: How Rewilding is Transforming Conservation and Changing the World." (01:34)Then Director of the Community and Natural Resources Institute, Jessica Schad, shares the results of a recent survey of 3,750 Utahns about their perceptions of environmental issues of importance to the state. (23:58)

Nell and Chris have an update on the climate related court case involving kids versus the state of Montana. Is Montana denying a child's constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment? Yesterday, a district judge ruled in the kids favor. (1:26)Then, they take a deep dive into Florida’s waters to uncover the why behind the mass bleaching event happening to the state’s coral reefs. They discuss the details and potential fallout from the damage with Jennifer Moore, the Threatened Coral Recovery Coordinator with NOAA Fisheries. (3:38)They end the hour talking conservation with David Livermore, Utah’s State Director for The Nature Conservancy. Livermore discusses the many conservation projects taking place throughout our state and what the organization is focusing on now and in the coming years. (27:23)

Dr. Winifred Frick, Chief Scientist at Bat Conservation International and an associate research professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UC Santa Cruz, explores how populations respond to anthropogenic and natural stressors and how we use science to inform conservation. (01:41)Then, Dr. David Parrott, Assistant Director of the Great Salt Lake Institute, discusses his studies, particularly the halophilic bacteria and fungi found in and around the Great Salt Lake. (24:14)

In her latest book, "Brave the Wild River," science journalist Melissa Sevigny takes readers on a journey down the Colorado River in 1938.Then, U of U vertebrate paleontologist Mark Loewen discusses the excavation of a fossil plant in northeastern Utah that indicates the presence of a humid forest there during the late Jurassic period.

Kim Hersey with the Division of Wildlife Resources talks about bats in Utah. (1:30)Then, Anna Gannet Hallar from the University of Utah’s Department of Atmospheric Sciences talks about a recent U.S. News and World Report study ranking Utah low in the natural environment category. (27:02)

Journalist Gloria Dickie discusses her new book, "Eight Bears: Mythic Past And Imperiled Future."Then Tracy Coppola, the National Park Conservation Association’s Senior Colorado Program Manager, will speak about the overall health of our National Parks.

Julia Olson, the Executive Director of Our Children’s Trust, represents a group of young plaintiffs between the ages of 5 and 22 who filed a lawsuit accusing the state of Montana of violating their constitutional rights as it pushed pro-fossil fuel policies that devastated the environment and impacted their health. It is the first case of its kind. Leif Richardson is a conservation biologist with the Xerces (zer ces) Society for Invertebrate Conservation, where he heads up the California Bumble Bee Atlas, a multi-year community science project to survey the diversity and distributions of 25+ native bumble bee species.

Nell and Chris speak with Alicia Marrs, the Director of Western Water at the National Wildlife Federation. Alicia discusses the recent Supreme Court decision that has narrowed the scope of the Clean Water Act. (1:48)Then, Cheryl Fox from Summit Land Conservancy shares information about the connection between land conservation and water in the Great Salt Lake – it starts with the watershed. (25:59)

First Dr. Kimberly Nicholas, an associate professor of sustainability science at Lund in Sweden, discusses her book, "Under the Sky We Make: How to Be Human in a Warming World."Then ecologist James Cornett shares his new book "The California Deserts: Then and Now," which uses repeat photography to examine how climate change has impacted arid landscapes.

Sika Gadzanku from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory discusses floating solar panels, the underlying technology, the benefits and potential impacts. Then, marine biology professor and author, Dr. David Scheel shares his comprehensive book about these fascinating sea creatures called "Many Things Under a Rock: The Mysteries of Octopuses."