This Green Earth

Colby College in Maine recently completed a study of chemical compounds called PFAS's , these are found in "fluro"-type ski waxes. On this episode of This Green Earth, Nell and Chris are joined by a lead author of this study, Gail Carson, who talks about this research, it's surprising findings and why changes in the use of this type of ski wax are being pursued. These "forever" chemicals can get into the snow, soil and surface water, causing biological harm to the local ecology.

On this episode of This Green Earth Walt Meier of the National Snow and Ice Data Center joins the show. He talks with Chris and Nell about the record amount of sea ice that has melted this past summer up in the Arctic Ocean, how close open water is to the North Pole and, the role climate change is playing in that annual event.

On this episode of This Green Earth host Chris Cherniak heats things up talking about fire and ice. The west coast fires are consuming record amounts of land, property and lives in California and Oregon, while Arctic Sea Ice is at it's near-record minimum this week. Sean Sublette with the research group Climate Central will explain how current weather conditions are "fueling" fires up and down the coast and how longer-term climate change is influencing the size, intensity and duration of the

In this episode of This Green Earth , meteorologist Dr. Jeff Masters, a regular blog and features contributor to Yale Climate Connection s, talks tropical storms. Dr. Masters co-founded Waether Underground in 1995 while working on his Ph.D. in air pollution meteorology at the University of Michigan . He worked for the NOAA Hurricane Hunters from 1986-1990 as a flight meteorologist. He speaks with Chris and guest cohost Carolyn Warwra specifically about why hurricanes are undergoing rapid

In this episode of This Green Earth Chris Cherniack and guest cohost Carolyn Wawra speak with owner Jeff Jewett. He is the owner of Spring Back Utah Matress Recycling Company. A company that takes apart mattresses and boxsprings and re-cycles the metal, plastic and fabric removed, thereby reducing the amount of mattresses and boxsprings typically disposed of in landfills.

On this episode of This Green Earth Chris Haramoto joins the show to talk about about East Canyon State Park's award of the International Dark Sky Park designation. This classification means that East Canyon State Park has beautifully dark night skies that allow visitors to clearly view the Milky Way and other celestial objects. In order to be designated a Dark Sky Park, Haramoto and park staff, interns, and volunteers, had to meet the stringent programming, monitoring and infrastructure

On this episode of This Green Earth , Amanda Barth with the Utah Department of Natural Resources talks about " Utah Pollinator Pursuit " a program that allows citizens to monitor, track and upload data on the Monarch's habitat, populations and where abouts. The monarch butterfly is an iconic species in North America and its annual migration cycle is one of the most remarkable in the world. However, over the past 20 years, the butterflies population has declined by more than 80 percent throughout

On this episode of This Green Earth acclaimed nature writer David Gessner talks about his new book: Leave It as It Is: A Journey Through Theodore Roosevelt's American Wilderness . The book is an honest account of Roosevelt's - at times - flawed and inconsistent relationship with nature, wildlife and, Native Americans. But Roosevelt also believed in what Gessner calls "muscular environmentalism"; Nature and public lands as a source of physical, intellectual and emotional wellness. As a result, He

Dr. Keith Roper , a professor and Department Head of Biological Engineering at Utah State University joins Chris and Nell on This Green Earth . Dr. Roper has been studying the corona virus and it's RNA presence in domestic raw wastewater. Specifically, he's been looking into whether the presence of this RNA can be used as an early indicator of upcoming outbreaks within a community, business or school. He discusses his research, it's findings and it's potential use by public health officials to

Jeff Bousson is a program manager with Utah Clean Energy . He is also helping to head up a Community Advisory Committee which is exploring strategies to reduce Park City and Summit County's commercial and residential building carbon footprint. The committee has met a couple of times but there's still time for citizens, HOA's and property managers to join in.