This Green Earth

During the second half of This Green Earth, Nell and Chris chat with Jennifer Gardner, local Park City resident who recently took on the design and construction of an environmentally conscious home. Learn about her experiences, her challenges, and her tips for those who want to follow in her footsteps.

During the first half of This Green Earth, Nell and Chris spoke with Bren Smith, commercial fisherman turned restorative ocean farmer about his new book: Eat Like a Fish - My Adventures as a Fisherman Turned Restorative Ocean Farmer. Bren shared his thoughts on how we can transform our food system while enjoying nutritious, locally grown food, and how in the process, restorative ocean farming can create new jobs and help to address climate change.

During the second half of the show, Nell and Chris spoke with Phyllis Robinson, local chocolatier and founder of Tandem Chocolates about the impacts of the mainstream cocoa industry as well as sustainable and conflict-free chocolate and how to find it.

During the first half of the show, Nell and Chris spoke with Academy-Award nominated filmmaker Danfung Dennis, founder of Condition One , a virtual reality production company that focuses on the creation of immersive environmental documentaries. One such film, This is Climate Change , is showing locally on Saturday evenings and tickets are available for sale online.

Nell and Chris spoke with Nicholas Markels, a recent Park City High School graduate and winner of the Edison Award for his bio-degradable multi-function plastic spoon, fork, knife utensil called a Sporknife. Nick created and submitted 3-D images, engineering designs, and a photograph of the prototype he had built. By designing a single, pull apart plastic utensil made from corn-based plastic, Nick hopes to entice businesses to choose his product for its cost effectiveness and environmental

Last year, legislators passed a bill that established the Utah Inland Port Authority . It will cover some 16,000 acres, or 25 square miles of land just west of the SLC airport; half of it north of I-80 and the other half south. The port will be comprised of warehouses, manufacturing facilities and distribution centers. Proponents of the port say it’s a unique economic opportunity that will bring jobs and connect the state directly to the flow of international trade. But opponents say, not so

During photosynthesis, all plants emit low-levels of infrared light. Now, through the use of satellite technology, scientists are beginning to observe and quantify the health and wellness of forests through this combined flouresence. Troy Magney with the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory helped co-author a paper discussing this science and it's findings. He joins Chris Cherniak and Glen Wright to discuss the work and what it might mean to forest management.

Can Summit County's forests be managed to sequester more carbon? Over half of the county is forested, and with forests under stress from climate and invasive species, what can be done to promote growth, reduce the threat of wildfires, and provide renewable energy? Summit County Councilman Glenn Wright and host Chris Cherniak discuss the issue and potential answers.

John Lin, a professor of atmospheric sciences, discusses a new study that shows that the processes that create ozone pollution in the summer can also trigger the formation of air pollution in the winter. This unexpected finding suggests that certain efforts to reduce harmful wintertime air pollution may actually be backfiring.

Jeff Bousson, Climate Program Manager for Summit Community Power Works , stops by to discuss the group's upcoming programs and activities associated with energy efficiency, energy waste, and renewable forms of electricity.