This Green Earth

On today's This Green Earth, hosts Nell Larson and Chris Cherniak speak with (01:30) Dr. Bonnie Baxter, Director of the Great Salt Lake Institute and biology professor at Westminster College and (27:07) Kevin Perry, Professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Utah. Over the past decade, the Great Salt Lake has continued to deplete. It is now a third of its original size and recently the last remaining boats were pulled from the Great Salt Lake Marina. The troubled body of water desperately needs more water. These record lows are taking a toll, and the effects are wide reaching. These two environmental experts speak to the issues of this once great lake and what the future holds.

In this episode of This Green Earth, (01:51) Marc Peterson with Citizens Climate Lobby comes on the show to answer the question: What will it Take to reduce global warming and how are we already moving in the right direction? He'll also help explain the details of the $370 billion climate and tax package recently passed by the Senate.Then, (27:49) Andrea Walker, Salt Lake County Director for Agriculture and Natural Resources brings us the buzz on bees. She’ll talk about everything from honey bee biology to the Utah bee keeping community.

On today's episode of This Green Earth hosts Nell Larson and Chris Cherniak speak with : (01:52) Evan Fricke, an ecologist at Rice University. When it comes to keeping pace with a changing climate, plants face a particular challenge, they are quite literally rooted in place. Now, their ability to move to cooler areas as places heat up is being further imperiled by loss of animals which plants often hitch a ride. They discuss a study that shows how technology can step in to predict how quickly plants need to migrate to remain in a climatic zone where they can survive.Then (27:37) Kimberly Flores, owner of FulFILLed Utah comes on to talk about her local business that specializes in low-waste living. At her shop you can reduce, reuse, and refill from a curated selection of eco-friendly personal care items and household cleaning products.

On today's This Green Earth guests include: Zach Schumm, an arthropod diagnostician in the Department of Biology at Utah State University. Chris and Nell speak with Schumm about ticks. In Utah the American dog tick and Rocky Mountain wood tick are the most commonly encountered species and are starting to become most active right now. Then local author, Melissa Marsted, comes on the show to talk about her new book, The Bird that Lives in Paradise. This is Marsted’s ninth book in her Wildlife Adventures for young readers series. Finishing out the show is Ecologist and Founder of Ecology Bridge Sarah Jo Dickens who brings us an update on the success of the recent Garlic Mustard Games.

On this week's This Green Earth, hosts Chris Cherniak and Nell Larson speak with Department of Wildlife Resource’s Bruce Johnson. He comes on to discuss invasive quagga mussels in Utah waters, and what is being done at a State level to protect our lakes, and how you can help mitigate the contamination.

On this week's This Green Earth, hosts Nell Larson and Chris Cherniak speak with special guests including: (01:41) Michelle De Haan, Park City's water Quality and Treatment Manager and Mike Luers, General Manager of the Synderville Basin Water Reclamation District. They join the show to discuss the Annual Water Quality Consumer Confidence Report and water testing. Then (32:20) Kayli Yardley, Statewide Prevention and Fire Communications Coordinator, joins the show to discuss Utah's current wildfire season.

Dr. David Stoner, Research Assistant Professor for Wildland Resources at Utah State University, joins the show to talk about encounters with wildlife. Now that summer is here and more people are hiking and camping, Stoner gives us the facts about mountain lions, shares why drought and warming have the potential to increase human encounters, and tells us the best way to handle an encounter.

Nicholas Mallos, senior director of Ocean Conservancy’s Trash Free Seas Program joins the show to discuss the recent ban on single-use plastics in National Parks and the positive outcomes this could have on the health of our oceans, as well as the good example it can set for conservation efforts moving forward.

On today's This Green Earth, hosts Claire Wiley and Chris Cherniak speak with Jordan Clayton (1:42), Supervisor with the Utah Snow Survey and Natural Resources Conservation Service about snowfall, rainfall, soil moisture and water storage levels throughout Utah.Then (24:49), we speak with Andy Davis, research scientist at the University of Georgia, about this data and the life of a Monarch. For years, scientists have warned that monarch butterflies are dying off in droves. New research coming from the University of Georgia suggests that the population of monarchs has remained relatively stable over the past 25 years.Published in Global Change Biology, the study states that population growth during the summer compensates for butterfly losses duet to migration, winter weather and changing environmental factors.

On today's This Green Earth, hosts Nell Larson and Chris Cherniak will be speaking with (01:50) Peter Wilf, a Professor of Geosciences at Pennsylvania State University. He will be discussing the findings of a leaf fossil study that unveiled a prehistoric forest in Brunei. They will uncover how this study relates to investigations in climate change. Then, the hosts discuss (28:21) monarch butterfly populations and how microplastics are impacting pathogens in our oceans. Chris and Nell end the show with (36:07) Mike Sargent to discuss his work as a lobsterman and the future of Maine's lobster industry.