Planet Watch Radio Podcast

For Jean and Jerry Thomas, organic farming came out of a love of gardening and an aversion to pesticides and the polluted world both of them grew up in around Los Angeles. Now, four decades later, they have handed a rich legacy to their children who are running Thomas Farms, a flower business that went through a long stage as an organic farm. In this podcast, they talk about how farming this way can help heal the planet and our own health.  Air Date: January 14, 2018 on KSCO radio station AM1080

We hear from Dr. Robert Kopp, one of the leading climate scientists in the U.S. talking about the most recent government report and what it says about sea level rise. Also, a story about selective logging in Santa Cruz County and a wave energy test facility in Oregon. Plus bombogenesis, ridiculously resilient ridges, and other new names for unusual and extreme weather events.  Air Date: January 7, 2018 on KSCO radio station AM1080

Happy New Year from Joe and Rachel! Welcome to a new bunch of shows and an expanding network of radio stations running the program. In the coming year we'll have more interviews with leading scientists and engineers and big thinkers helping us figure out how to live more wisely on this planet. For this week, Joe has picked out his favorite bits from last year to share with you. Air Date: December 31, 2017 on KSCO radio station AM1080

In this podcast we hear from family and far flung friends (in Norway and Virginia) and explore the traditions, rituals and science behind winter time and solstice. Rachel reads from Jean Ritchie's "Singing Family of the Cumberlands" about old Christmas and the first Christmas trees to come into the mountains in the 1930's. Plus, talk of New Grange, the physics of light, and other lore.  Air Date: December 24, 2017 on KSCO radio station AM1080

Chie Kawahara and Kurt Hurley designed their passive house to save tons of energy. Find out how they turned a 95-year old house into a modern energy saving miracle. And they did it without solar electricity! More at Midorihaus.com. Plus, what's greener, fake or real Christmas trees? Alexis Navarro explores this vexing question.  Air Date: December 17, 2017 on KSCO radio station AM1080

Why do our brains behave so differently around water, and how can we harness that relationship to clean up the rivers and oceans of the earth? We talk with best-selling author and marine biologist Wallace J. Nichols about his book BlueMind and the new book he's writing about ways to save the blue part of our planet. Air Date: December 10, 2017 on KSCO radio station AM1080

This week's program focuses on the opportunity within the tragedy that is Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. Will the island move rapidly to embrace solar and micro-grids to make it more resilient? Will it go back to being 50% reliant on fossil fuels in giant centralized plants? Find out with journalist Ana Campoy and energy expert Cathy Kunkel. Kunkel grad­u­ated summa cum laude from Prince­ton Uni­ver­sity and received her B.A. in physics in 2006. As a Churchill Scholar, Kunkel com­pleted her Mas­ter of Advanced Study from the Depart­ment of Applied Math­e­mat­ics and The­o­ret­i­cal Physics from Cam­bridge Uni­ver­sity. Cathy was a Ph.D. stu­dent at the Energy and Resource Group at the Uni­ver­sity of Cal­i­for­nia at Berkeley.

A tour of an off-the-grid solar home in California with Bob Stayton, author and engineer, plus passive cooling of your home and homemade solar bread . Air Date: July 16, 2017 on  KSCO radio station AM1080 Power Shift: From Fossil Energy to Dynamic Solar Power is Bob's new book, available on Amazon. Contact Radio Planet Watch hosts Joe Jordan and Rachel Anne Goodman at radioplanetwatch@gmail.com

Solar energy! The sun can provide clean energy and can save you money. Find out from solar expert Jack Martin how he won a solar car race with a vehicle he built,  and why. Community College teacher "Sustainable Jack", who has taught solar installation to thousands, discusses alternative energy and environmental issues on his show "Home Power Radio Hour" every week on our affiliate radio station WCOM-LP in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. From another of our affiliate radio stations, WGRN FM Community Radio out of Columbus, Ohio, we interview community radio founder Eugene Beer. Bringing the two solar pioneers and community radio champions into our studio in Santa Cruz, California with their long-time friend "Cosmic Joe" yields a fun and far ranging conversation from solar ferries and boats, advanced vehicles of all sorts, frontiers of electric power, and - as Jack says, "Bringing The Hope of Sustainability to a Terminal Culture." Tune in for all of this, plus Joe's usual astronomical gems and scientific br

An interview with former Cato Institute and ALEC climate skeptic, Jerry Taylor, who studied the scientific literature on global warming and changed his views. He is now a strong advocate for finding solutions to anthropogenic climate chaos. Also find out what consequences we can expect from the President's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord. Air Date: June 4, 2017 on KSCO 1080

If you live in London or San Francisco, a constantly renewing source of water hovers all around you: Fog. Planet Watch interviews  California State University Monterey Bay scientist Dr. Dan Fernandez about his work capturing moisture from fog and how that research may someday allow all of us to have water making machines in our backyards.

Why are so many Americans confused about climate change and what to do about it? Dr. Connie Roser-Renouf of Yale's Program on Climate Change Communication has been measuring and describing attitudes about how severe a threat climate change poses and what people think should be done. Turns out, geography and recent weather events have at least as much to do with attitudes as does which party someone belongs to. Humanity (7+ billion people) is having a profound impact on the Earth's climate system, through our climate and energy-related behaviors, consumer choices, social and cultural norms, communication patterns, and activism. Dr. Roser-Renouf's research seeks to measure, track and understand the motivations and barriers to large-scale behavioral change and climate action.

An interview with NASA scientist Carol Stoker, an expert on Mars, the Red Planet. Carol Stoker is a staff planetary scientist at NASA Ames Research Center. Her most recent work is focused on developing instruments and robotic systems for space exploration and testing them in terrestrial analog environments. She has led field experiments in the Antarctic, arctic, undersea, and deserts in the southwestern US to demonstrate robotic systems to search for life on other planets. Her projects have won six NASA group achievement awards and she has over 100 publications. She is actively involved in the robotic exploration of Mars and in planning for future human exploration. She is currently a co-investigator on the Mars Phoenix mission that recently performed sampling near the north pole of Mars to search for habitable environments for life. She also currently leads activities to develop and test drilling systems to access the Martian subsurface to search for evidence of life. Original Air Date: May 7, 2017.

Local citizen Alex Yasbek discusses the work of  Citizens Climate Lobby, a non-profit, nonpartisan, grassroots advocacy organization focused on national policies to address climate change. Yasbeck explains the basics of the Carbon Fee and Dividend Plan now gaining traction with policy makers.   Also, Joe Jordan reports live from the Washington DC Climate March.               Air Date: April 30, 2017 on KSCO radio AM 1080

 The "Singing Scientist" Dr. Peter Weiss, an atmospheric chemist from the University of California, Santa Cruz, speaks about fog, mercury in the soil, and his role as a science educator. Also, Joe Jordan reports live from the Washington D.C. Science March. Dr. Weiss' research interests include sea-air transfer of methylated mercury and impacts on coastal marine fog, mercury bioaccumulation in coastal terrestrial food webs, the global biogeochemical cycle of mercury, sulfur, and nitrogen; and environmental toxicology and justice. More at his Fog Blog! Air Date: April 23, 2017 on KSCO radio station AM1080    

How are educators approaching the topic of climate change in the classroom? Two retired high school science teachers, Pauline Seales and Roland Saher,  talk about their efforts to bring the next generation up to speed on the science of climate change, the probable consequences of denying and delaying mitigation measures, policy issues, and solutions.

Ever thought of making your own electricity in a nearby stream? We’ll talk with Don Harris, world-class guru on micro-hydropower and inventor of the Harris Hydroelectric Permanent Magnet Turbine about his experiences with these low-cost, high-return devices. Don lives up in the hills in the off-grid community of “Last Chance”, north of Santa Cruz, but his electric power generating systems have been installed at small stream sites all over the world. Air Date: April 9, 2017 on KSCO radio station AM1080

Climate Action Coordinator for the city of Santa Cruz, California – Dr. Tiffany Wise-West discusses the city's Climate Action Plan and the process of preparing for sea level rise. She explains the distinctions between climate mitigation and adaptation and describes the city's  first sea level rise vulnerability and social vulnerability assessments, in which her team produced maps with census blocks deemed the highest socially vulnerable as they intersect with climate hazard map projections. She share some ideas about how a city can incorporate environmental justice into their Climate Adaptation Plan.

A visit with former California Assemblymember and environmental champion, Fred Keeley. Fred has been an advocate for the oceans and land for as long as he's been in politics. He was recently instrumental in the designation of the Santa Cruz County Cotoni Coast Dairies land as a national monument. Keeley lectures on local and state government at San Jose State University, California State University Monterey Bay, and at the Panetta Institute for Public Policy.