How Parks Mitigate Climate Change – Diane Regas, Trust for Public Land

“It’s really important that we think about cooling the areas where people are living, working and playing, and parks do that,” Diane Regas Whether you hang out in your local park with your kids or dogs enjoy reading on a park bench, or hiking in a national park this spring, you probably didn’t realize the… Continue reading How Parks Mitigate Climate Change – Diane Regas, Trust for Public Land

“Genius” Scientist Shares Her Secrets for New Ideas – Ingrid Daubechies, Duke University

“To me, creativity is the ability to connect, in often unexpected ways, observations or experiences or skills from completely different realms.” Ingrid Daubechies on Electric Ladies podcast The next time you send a photo to someone from your smartphone, and it asks you for which size to send, you’ll think about that decision differently after… Continue reading “Genius” Scientist Shares Her Secrets for New Ideas – Ingrid Daubechies, Duke University

“Healthy” Cleaning Products – Kay Gebhardt, Seventh Generation

“Science can do amazing things and answer questions for us,” she told me, “but then we can use that knowledge to do this in a responsible way or in an irresponsible way….Science is good to have. Then, what are you going to use it for and how do you do it responsibly?” Kay Gebhardt What… Continue reading “Healthy” Cleaning Products – Kay Gebhardt, Seventh Generation

Adapting to Climate Change – Beth Gibbons, Adaptation Professionals

“We now have an appetite for intervention. There’s a willingness because we are all at a point where the impacts are being felt so broadly…The urgency is being met with a will to act.” Beth Gibbons Local leaders are managing the very real devastation to their communities and economies caused by extreme weather events, while… Continue reading Adapting to Climate Change – Beth Gibbons, Adaptation Professionals

The Press, Climate & Diversity – Wanda Lloyd, Author, ‘Coming Full Circle: From Jim Crow to Journalism,’ Former News Executive

“There are environmental issues that are very important to people on a local level…(but they are) being covered (by the local news media) based on everyday issues in local communities… because it affects tourism, it affects the economy, it affects a lot of things, not to mention the places that we live…(and) because it affects… Continue reading The Press, Climate & Diversity – Wanda Lloyd, Author, ‘Coming Full Circle: From Jim Crow to Journalism,’ Former News Executive

Secret Success of Women in STEM – Ariane Hegewisch, Inst for Women’s Policy Research

“The biggest problem with the official surveys that we rely on a lot… [by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, BLS], is that…the number of women isn’t plentiful enough yet to have enough data on an annual basis to come up with reliable estimates.” Ariane Hegewisch on Green Connections Radio.
There’s a little secret about the pandemic-economic recession that economists are not talking about much: that women in STEM jobs actually did pretty well. Why? Because STEM jobs are what economists call “professional” jobs and they have been in demand and therefore, not cut for the most part. Listen to Ariane Hegewisch, Program Director for Employment and Earnings at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research explain why and how women in STEM fields can benefit in this engaging conversation with Green Connections Radio host Joan Michelson.

Lessons From Coronavirus For Future Climate Change Public Health Crises

Climate scientists have been warning us that, “Climate change carries a threat to human health and health care systems in the coming decades,” as ATS journal (of The American Thoracic Society) reported. I am not saying – and have not heard – that there is any association between the current novel coronavirus and climate change.  However, this outbreak and how we manage it does provide lessons for how we ought to prepare for and manage any potential increase in infectious diseases that scientists predict will come with the extreme weather events, droughts and other environmental ecosystem changes brought on by climate change.

Is AI Biased Against Women? Miriam Vogel, of Equal-AI

Miriam Vogel

Listen closely the next time you get directions on your smartphone or order Alexa to do something. Did you notice that the voices of personal digital assistants like GPS systems, Siri and Alexa are female? Why is that? Especially when the sophisticated problem-solving technologies like IBM Watson and Microsoft’s Einstein are named after men. That’s what a recent UN study found. But does that mean AI is biased against women?

Earth Science & Climate – Katharine Hayhoe, Renowned Climate Scientist, Time 100

One or the most prominent voices on climate change is one of our amazing scientist guests, Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, who was chosen as one of Time magazine’s “Top 100 Pioneers” and is great fun too. Dr. Hayhoe is an Atmospheric Scientist and the Director of the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University – and teaches in the Political Science Department. An interesting combination…Listen to her easy way of helping us understand the science..

Resilient Communities – Katharine Burgess, Director of Urban Resilience, Urban Land Institute

With our communities on the front lines of climate change risk – homes, businesses, schools and local economies – we are relieved that there are courageous, innovative leaders who are taking action and creating added value (with low budgets). They are using natural solutions and conservation methods that we can all learn. Meet Katharine Burgess, Director of Urban Resilience at the Urban Land Institute, as she shares her insights from working with communities on Green Connections Radio in this conversation with host Joan Michelson. You may want to forward this podcast to your mayor, Congressperson or City Manager – and take notes for your own community!