The Planet Today
por Matt Norden and Nick Gennusa
Matt and Nick are back for their first episode of 2022. Quick Hits Friday features a solar farm in Kentucky (Coming Soon to This Coal County: Solar, in a Big Way - The New York Times (nytimes.com)), Food waste in California (New California law creates opportunities to waste less food (ktnv.com)), A wind farm in Montana (Montana's largest wind farm underway near Miles City | State & Regional | billingsgazette.com), The Marshall Fire in Boulder, Colorado (Marshall fire explained: Why Boulder County had 100+ mph winds that stoked wildfire (denverpost.com)), And fossil fuel free flights in Denmark by 2030 (Denmark to make domestic flights fossil fuel free by 2030 - BBC News).
Matt and Nick kick off their last show of 2021 with a few extra Quick Hits before their Holiday Sendoff. The boys talk about what TPT and their listeners have meant to them this year and their goals for the show in 2022! Their Quick Hits include are greenhouse gases for vegetarians (https://www.ecowatch.com/vegetarian-meat-greenhouse-gases-2655937991.html), Helping manatees in Florida (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/07/climate/manatees-florida-feeding.html?referringSource=articleShare), 11 million oysters being added to the Hudson River in New York (https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/11-million-oysters-added-to-hudson-river-in-lower-manhattan/ar-AARGMYB?ocid=uxbndlbing), The tornados that hit Kentucky, Tennessee, and Illinois (https://news.yahoo.com/are-the-deadly-kentucky-tornadoes-linked-to-climate-change-163255350.html), Bugs breaking down plastics (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/dec/14/bugs-across-globe-are-evolving-to-eat-plastic-study-finds), And a black box documenting climate change (https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/07/world/earth-black-box-climate-change/index.html). TPT was recently ranked #7 on Feedspot’s Top 20 Wildlife Conservation Podcasts list, which you can check out here: https://blog.feedspot.com/wildlife_conservation_podcasts/
Matt interviews Miss Delaware, Sophie Phillips, prior to the Miss America Competition, which begins the day this episode drops! First Matt and Nick break down their Quick Hits of the week, starting with a dual-use solar and blueberry farm in Maine (https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2021/11/agrivoltaic-pilot-program-set-to-provide-critical-insights/), Conservationists fighting to save the smallest rabbit in North America (https://www.nature.org/en-us/magazine/magazine-articles/pygmy-rabbits/), The rising cost of Carbon in Europe (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-03/european-benchmark-carbon-surges-above-80-euros-for-first-time), And desertification in Brazil (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/03/world/americas/brazil-climate-change-barren-land.html). You can vote for Sophie for Miss America by searching for “Miss America DE Spotfund” or at the link below. Tune in to the Miss America finals December 16 on the free version of Peacock! https://www.spotfund.com/story/7e9d1588-1fe6-4518-9e83-d9fd3fc33342
Matt and Nick discuss Episode 1 of Netflix’s Down to Earth with Zac Efron! Zac was unfortunately busy this week, so he didn't answer our DM's to be a guest. First, their Quick Hits are cutting methane through cow feed (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-19/cow-feed-that-cleans-potent-methane-burps-nears-europe-rollout), how roundabouts impact climate change (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/20/climate/roundabouts-climate-emissions-driving.html?referringSource=articleShare), a report from the US Interior department about drilling for oil and gas (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/26/climate/climate-change-drilling-public-lands.html?referringSource=articleShare), and the latest survey about climate change in the US (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/americans-climate-change-real-survey_n_6196a0b6e4b044a1cc048d83).
Happy Thanksgiving! Matt gives a quick update on some big changes coming to The Planet Today starting in January of 2022.
Matt interviews Keith Hutchings of The Comfortable Home Project! First, Nick and Matt’s Quick Hits of the week are: Youth climate activists petitioning the United Nations (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/10/youth-activists-petition-un-to-declare-systemwide-climate-emergency?utm_term=Autofeed&CMP=twt_gu&utm_medium&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1636528594), Timber poachers and tree DNA (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/10/us/justin-wilke-maple-fire-tree-dna-sentenced.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur), the health of the River Thames in London (https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/11/11/sharks-thames-river-london/?utm_source=reddit.com), and a recap of how COP26 ended (https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/11/13/climate/cop26-glasgow-climate-summit/cop26-glasgow-climate-deal?referringSource=articleShare). For more about The Comfortable Home Project, click here: https://www.thecomfortablehomeproject.com.au/?fbclid=IwAR3Vovn7qIuYMC_S99i6xvy0CF9_90hw4isMGn1R2QS7p6aQr9GqQ06vb00 or here: https://www.facebook.com/The-Comfortable-Home-Project-1560280234274991/?ref=page_internal Keith can be found on LinkedIn here:https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-hutchings-09927148/
Matt and Nick are joined by guest co-host Giselle Herrera to talk about the impact that the world’s richest 1% have on the environment. Their Quick Hits of the week include a bold plan for Ithaca, NY (https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2021/11/03/ithaca-new-york-decarbonize-electrify/), a project at the University of Minnesota to reduce bird collisions (https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/minnesota/articles/2021-11-08/university-of-minnesota-project-aims-to-stop-bird-collisions), Toyota’s climate history (https://www.carscoops.com/2021/11/toyota-named-third-most-obstructive-company-towards-climate-change-after-exxonmobil-chevron/), the first week of COP26 (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/07/so-what-has-cop26-achieved-so-far), and the Infrastructure Bill passing in the House (https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/roads-transit-internet-infrastructure-bill-81005655).
Nick and Matt discuss the National Geographic Documentary, Smoky Mountain Park Rangers. Their Quick Hits of the Week include last weekend’s G20 meeting (https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/10/31/world/g20-summit-2021-biden), Day 1 of COP26 (https://www.cnn.c23om/2021/11/01/world/cop26-climate-leaders-summit-intl/index.html), California Condors joining the short list of animals to reproduce without a mate (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/in-extremely-rare-event-two-female-birds-make-babies-without-males?cmpid=org%3Dngp%3A%3Amc%3Dsocial%3A%3Asrc%3Dtwitter%3A%3Acmp%3Deditorial%3A%3Aadd%3Dtw20211028animals-condorsvirginbirth&sf250816130=1&loggedin=true), and Matt talks about his visit to Putting Green last weekend (https://www.puttinggreenbk.org/about).
Nick and Matt discuss the economics behind deforestation and a new report by Global Witness (https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/deforestation-dividends/#conclusion-ill-gotten-gains). Their Quick Hits of the Week include Climate Change’s impact on national security (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/21/climate/climate-change-national-security.html?referringSource=articleShare). how our fossil fuel usage compares to our climate goals (https://apnews.com/article/climate-science-business-environment-europe-dcbcc6388b24c8b83476ddea14b92e21), Biden’s Build Back Better net zero plan (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/21/kathy-castor-interview-climate-crisis-democrats), Tuskless elephants (https://www.businessinsider.com/african-elephants-evolved-to-be-tuskless-ivory-poaching-2021-10), and how national parks are becoming more accessible for guests with autism (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/heres-how-parks-and-public-lands-are-becoming-more-autism-friendly).
Matt interviews Kelly Jacobs of the University of Delaware about managed retreat, the relationship between gas, oil, and plastic and more! First, Nick and Matt’s Quick Hits of the week are weather related deaths declining for now (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/weather-disaster-related-deaths-are-downwarming-could-undo-that-trend), the amount of solar panels required to power the world (https://theconversation-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/theconversation.com/amp/solar-panels-on-half-the-worlds-roofs-could-meet-its-entire-electricity-demand-new-research-169302), a massive Ocean cleaning project (https://www.businessinsider.com/ocean-cleanup-device-removed-plastic-pacific-garbage-patch-2021-10), a California bill banning gas yard equipment (https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/576227-california-to-ban-gas-lawn-mowers-leaf-blowers), and a major offshore wind plan for the United States (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/13/climate/biden-offshore-wind-farms.html?referringSource=articleShare)!