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Posts tagged as “climate change”

LSS 106: The story of the new Cornell CALS Dean and what is new in Alzheimer’s research

February 16, 2021

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In this episode, Mark Sarvary interviewed the new dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Dr. Benjamin Houlton began his term on October 1, 2020, as the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He is also and a professor in the departments of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Global Development.

Hear the story of how Dean Houlton almost received a Cornell Ph.D. and how he works with farmers in both California and in New York state to mitigate the impact of climate change.

In the second interview, Candice Limper talked to Nancy Ruiz about her research at Cornell University, discussing what Alzheimer’s disease is and some of the symptoms. Nancy is a 4th year Ph.D. candidate and is trying to understand what factors contribute to the development of this disease as part of her thesis. During this interview, she describes a mouse model that she uses to understand the molecular mechanisms involved.

In our Locally Birding segment, Kitty Gifford talked about the largest American woodpecker (and used some puns). Kitty mentioned in her segment this recent research: The Re-Establishment of Pileated Woodpeckers in New York City Following Nearly Two Centuries of Extirpation

pileated woodpecker in newfield new york
Pileated woodpecker in Newfield, NY | Photo by Kitty Gifford.

Thanks for listening and thanks to our contributors:

Producer: Mark Sarvary

Segments: Mark Sarvary, Candice Limper, Kitty Gifford

Music: Joe Lewis

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LSS 99: Lowering the Carbon Footprint of Mining Rare Earth Metals; Learning about and Finding Solutions to Climate Change

November 10, 2020

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  • Post-Doc Alexa Schmitz (left) and MEng. student Don Flood (right) of the Barstow lab (photo courtesy of Dr. Barstow)

In today’s episode, we hear about a new technology that can lower the carbon footprint of an energy-intensive mining procedure. We also learn about the causes of climate change, and why the development of new technologies that keep carbon in the earth are so important.

To start off, Janani Hariharan interviews Dr. Buz Barstow from the Cornell Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering. Barstow talks about his research project that uses bacteria to extract rare earth elements in a clean, sustainable way. In this segment, you’ll hear about what rare earth elements are, why they’re important to us, what the current problems are in mining these minerals, and how Dr. Barstow’s team is working to solve some of these problems.

Hurricane Damage (left) and Signs of Drought (right). Images courtesy of Creative Commons (hurricane damage at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Tracking Drought by U.S. Geological Survey. Both marked with CC PDM 1.0)

In our second interview, Esther Racoosin speaks with Dr. Ingrid Zabel, Climate Change Education Manager at the Paleontological Research Institution in Ithaca. Dr. Zabel discusses the new exhibit at the Museum of the Earth (MOE) in Ithaca, “Changing Climate: Our Future, Our Choices”. A virtual version of the exhibit is currently on display at the MOE website, https://www.museumoftheearth.org/exhibit/changing-climate. The live version of the exhibit will open at the museum in late November. To make a reservation to visit the museum, go to this link: https://www.museumoftheearth.org/visit/plan-your-visit.

Producer: Liz Mahood

Interview of Dr. Buz Barstow: Janani Harihanan

Interview of Dr. Ingrid Zabel: Esther Racoosin

Music: Joe Lewis; Blue Dot Sessions

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LSS 69: Carbon makes dirt rich

September 23, 2019
LSS 69: Carbon makes dirt richSoil at Cornell’s Musgrave Research Farm in Aurora, New York. by Kitty Gifford

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In our first segment, you’ll hear Locally-Sourced Science contributor Mark Sarvary.  He went to view the documentary “Dirt Rich”.  In his feature, Mark plays a little of the film and speaks with the organizers and invited panelists (New York Soil Health Co-PI David Wolfe, Groundswell Center for Local Food & Farming executive director Elizabeth Gabriel, and Remembrance Farm co-owner Nathaniel Thompson) who are teaching that the soil ecosystem is the largest carbon sink that we can increase quickly.

Chris Sinton photo provided by Ithaca College
Chris Sinton, Ithaca College

Later on in the show, you’ll hear Meaghan McElroy’s interview of Chris Sinton, Associate Professor and Chair, Environmental Studies and Science at Ithaca College. He talks about why it is important for communities to retain forests as a way to help mitigate climate change.

Producer:  Esther Racoosin

Producer “Dirt Rich” Segment:  Mark Sarvary

Producer of Chris Sinton interview:  Meaghan McElroy

Science News:  Patricia Waldron

Science Events Calendar:  Luisa Torres

Photo of hand holding soil:  Kitty Gifford

Photo of Chris Sinton:  Ithaca College

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LSS 58: Earth Day Edition: Soil science, Energy Day at Cornell and a short history of Climate science.

April 15, 2019
LSS 58: Earth Day Edition: Soil science, Energy Day at Cornell and a short history of Climate science.

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The Earth Day edition features Candice Limper’s interview with Soil scientist Joseph Amsili.  They discuss the living things that benefit soil’s health and how paying greater attention to the quality of soils can benefit the planet. Amsili is an extension associate in the Soil and Crop sciences section at Cornell University.  Joe will be making a presentation at the upcoming workshop on Climate Wise Gardening.

Joseph Amsili holding an alfalfa plant
Joseph Amsili holding an Alfalfa plant

In the second half of the show LSS’s Liz Mahood presents a short history of Climate science.  A list of references is below:

Esther Racoosin visits a poster session at Cornell’s Energy Day, hosted by Cornell Energy Systems Institute and the Cornell Energy Systems Club.

Zach Lee presents his poster

Contributors:  Candice Limper | Liz Mahood | Esther Racoosin | Patricia Waldron

Producer:  Esther Racoosin

Music:  Show Theme by Joe Lewis and Cece Giannotti. Episode includes pieces “Inamorata” and “Idle Ways” from Blu Dot Sessions.

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