Where We Live

Ridership on Metro North and the Hartford Line has plummeted as many residents suddenly stopped commuting by public transit during the pandemic.

But as the federal government eyes infrastructure as a recovery priority, will Connecticut benefit?

This hour, we talk to Senator Richard Blumenthal about what this could mean for our region’s rail system.

And some proponents in our region see this as an opportunity to bring high speed rail to Connecticut. Is that a realistic possibility for our state?

GUESTS:

• Senator Richard Blumenthal - Connecticut U.S. Senator; member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
• Curt Johnson - President of Save the Sound
• Elizabeth Deakin - Professor Emerita of City and Regional Planning and Urban Design, University of California, Berkeley and co-editor of High-Speed Rail and Sustainability: Decision-making and the Political Economy of Investment

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ridership on Metro North and the Hartford Line has plummeted as many residents suddenly stopped commuting by public transit during the pandemic.

But as the federal government eyes infrastructure as a recovery priority, will Connecticut benefit?

This hour, we talk to Senator Richard Blumenthal about what this could mean for our region’s rail system.

And some proponents in our region see this as an opportunity to bring high speed rail to Connecticut. Is that a realistic possibility for our state?

GUESTS:

Senator Richard Blumenthal - Connecticut U.S. Senator; member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

Curt Johnson - President of Save the Sound

Elizabeth Deakin - Professor Emerita of City and Regional Planning and Urban Design, University of California, Berkeley and co-editor of High-Speed Rail and Sustainability: Decision-making and the Political Economy of Investment

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the pandemic, some residents have been working paycheck to paycheck to pay their bills, many have lost jobs and not everyone has a place to live.

This hour, we talk about the state of homelessness in Connecticut and across the country. Many community organizations have been working on new and innovative solutions to reduce  homelessness. 

How will leaders work to end homelessness in our state?

 GUESTS:

• Rabbi Donna Berman - Executive Director, Charter Oak Cultural Center
• Amanda Gordon -  Deputy Executive Director, Journey Home
• Steve Berg - Vice President of Programs and Policy for The National Alliance to End Homelessness

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the pandemic, some residents have been working paycheck to paycheck to pay their bills, many have lost jobs and not everyone has a place to live.

This hour, we talk about the state of homelessness in Connecticut and across the country. Many community organizations have been working on new and innovative solutions to reduce  homelessness. 

How will leaders work to end homelessness in our state?

 GUESTS:

Rabbi Donna Berman - Executive Director, Charter Oak Cultural Center

Amanda Gordon -  Deputy Executive Director, Journey Home

Steve Berg - Vice President of Programs and Policy for The National Alliance to End Homelessness

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Insects are the most abundant group of animals on the planet. There are an estimated 10 quintillion of them on Earth.

But in recent years, scientists have found disturbing evidence that insect populations are on the decline around the world.

The environmental threats to insects are numerous: deforestation, pesticides, and climate change all seem to play a part in declining populations, a phenomenon UConn ecologist David Wagner and colleagues described as a “death by a thousand cuts” in a January 2021 special issue of PNAS dedicated to the issue of insect decline.

This hour, we talk with the scientists and journalists trying to make sense of the precipitous decline in insect populations around the world.  We hear from a Nevada researcher whose recent study in the journal Science helps pinpoint the role of climate change in disappearing butterfly populations across the American West.

And we ask: what does loss could mean for us, and what can we do about it?

GUESTS:

• Elizabeth Kolbert - Staff writer at the New Yorker and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction. She wrote a cover story for National Geographic’s May 2020 issue about worldwide insect decline. Her new book is Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future
• Dr. David Wagner - Entomologist and Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UConn
• Dr. Matthew Forister - Insect ecologist at the University of Nevada, Reno

Further Reading:

National Geographic: Where Have All The Insects Gone? (April 23, 2020)

“If humans were to suddenly disappear, biologist Edward O. Wilson has famously observed, the Earth would ‘regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed 10,000 years ago.” But “if insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos.’ It is, therefore, shocking—and alarming—that in most places scientists have looked recently, they’ve found that insect numbers are falling.”

Science: Butterflies are vanishing in the western U.S.—but not for the reasons scientists thought (March 4, 2021)

“Earth is in the midst of an insect apocalypse, with thousands of species dwindling over the past several decades. Scientists have often blamed habitat loss or pesticide use. But a new study of butterflies in the western United States has found that warmer fall weather may be taking as big, if not a bigger, toll.” Read the full study here.

PNAS: Eight simple actions that individuals can take to save insects from global declines (January 12, 2021)

“Eight simple actions, most with immediate impact, that many people can undertake on their own, regardless of background, occupation, or geographic location.”

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Insects are the most abundant group of animals on the planet. There are an estimated 10 quintillion of them on Earth.

But in recent years, scientists have found disturbing evidence that insect populations are on the decline around the world.

The environmental threats to insects are numerous: deforestation, pesticides, and climate change all seem to play a part in declining populations, a phenomenon UConn ecologist David Wagner and colleagues described as a “death by a thousand cuts” in a January 2021 special issue of PNAS dedicated to the issue of insect decline.

This hour, we talk with the scientists and journalists trying to make sense of the precipitous decline in insect populations around the world.  We hear from a Nevada researcher whose recent study in the journal Science helps pinpoint the role of climate change in disappearing butterfly populations across the American West.

And we ask: what does loss could mean for us, and what can we do about it?

GUESTS:

Elizabeth Kolbert - Staff writer at the New Yorker and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction. She wrote a cover story for National Geographic’s May 2020 issue about worldwide insect decline. Her new book is Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future

Dr. David Wagner - Entomologist and Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UConn

Dr. Matthew Forister - Insect ecologist at the University of Nevada, Reno

Further Reading:

National Geographic: Where Have All The Insects Gone? (April 23, 2020)

“If humans were to suddenly disappear, biologist Edward O. Wilson has famously observed, the Earth would ‘regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed 10,000 years ago.” But “if insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos.’ It is, therefore, shocking—and alarming—that in most places scientists have looked recently, they’ve found that insect numbers are falling.”

Science: Butterflies are vanishing in the western U.S.—but not for the reasons scientists thought (March 4, 2021)

“Earth is in the midst of an insect apocalypse, with thousands of species dwindling over the past several decades. Scientists have often blamed habitat loss or pesticide use. But a new study of butterflies in the western United States has found that warmer fall weather may be taking as big, if not a bigger, toll.” Read the full study here.

PNAS: Eight simple actions that individuals can take to save insects from global declines (January 12, 2021)

“Eight simple actions, most with immediate impact, that many people can undertake on their own, regardless of background, occupation, or geographic location.”

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our teachers have been teaching virtually for nearly a year. Starting this week, teachers and child care providers are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. 

This hour, we speak with three teachers teaching in our state and hear about what this past year has looked like for them, and their students. 

Teachers were already stretched thin before the COVID-19 pandemic, and now they are being pushed to their limits. Not only are they faced with teaching during the pandemic, but teachers are also responding to history in real time.

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our teachers have been teaching virtually for nearly a year. Starting this week, teachers and child care providers are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. 

This hour, we speak with three teachers teaching in our state and hear about what this past year has looked like for them, and their students. 

Teachers were already stretched thin before the COVID-19 pandemic, and now they are being pushed to their limits. Not only are they faced with teaching during the pandemic, but teachers are also responding to history in real time.

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, the expansion of State Pier in New London advanced with Friday's announcement of an agreement between the city and two companies taking part in the project.

But at the same time, the quasi-public state agency overseeing the project faces ongoing scrutiny.

The latest issue under investigation: the Connecticut Port Authority’s half-million-dollar payment to a company with ties to a former authority board member.

Guests:

Michael Passero -- New London Mayor 

John Henshaw -- Connecticut Port Authority Executive Director 

David Collins -- Day of New London Columnist 

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, the expansion of State Pier in New London advanced with Friday's announcement of an agreement between the city and two companies taking part in the project.

But at the same time, the quasi-public state agency overseeing the project faces ongoing scrutiny.

The latest issue under investigation: the Connecticut Port Authority’s half-million-dollar payment to a company with ties to a former authority board member.

Guests:

Michael Passero -- New London Mayor 

John Henshaw -- Connecticut Port Authority Executive Director 

David Collins -- Day of New London Columnist 

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.