NPR Science Podcasts

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3/7/08 Antarctic Glaciers Sliding Toward the Sea

 

Pine Island Glacier - 30 km across, 2km thick, 200 km long - glaciar that is putting the most ice into ocean in Antarctic.  It’s been speeding up.

 

This broadcast was lot “we don’t knows”

 

4/4/08 Scientists Discover Antibiotic-Eating Bacteria

 

Bacteria that can eat antibiotics.  Scarily, the newscaster didn’t seem upset by this.  Since it was soil bacteria, maybe he shouldn’t have been.

 

3/14/08 Discovery Casts Doubt on 'Hobbit' Theory

 

Eh.  Turns it out this scientist thinks it is just an isolated genetic group.

 

5/2/08 U.S. Carbon Footprint Difficult to Reduce

Smallest U.S. carbon footprints are still 2x then the average of the world.   As smallest, we mean homeless and Buddhist monks and those with reduced lifestyles.

 

Essentially, even the homeless are eating at soup kitchens – which have a carbon impact. 

 

I do think their economic modeling might have problems- and that’s because they didn’t explain it well.  Gotta love science for Americans.  Soundbites and factoids, without much depth.

 

3/7/08  'Doomsday' Seed Vault Opens in the Arctic

 

Seed bank in the artic circle in Norway.  Less Doomsday, more insurance versus because of lack of crop diversity.

 

Svalbard International Seed Vault – good for crops, but they tend to have mainly crop seeds.    Also only orthodox seeds – seeds that can last in cool dry places.  No cocoa, for example.  500 seeds of each kind of crop.    This really isn’t a global catastrophe seed bank, despite the blast doors and airlocks.

 

BTW – U.S. seed bank is Fort Collins, CO

 

3/21/08 -  Sensing the Atmosphere of Distant Planets

 

Hubble telescope!  Atmosphere of water and methane!  Hot gaseous planet, but we can tell it has organic molecules!!!!!  First baby step, baby!