Podcasts

Selected Podcasts

featuring areas of Cary-based research

Acid rain: Progress but not triumph Podcast Though not in the news as much as it once was, acid rain remains a problem. Power plants, factories, and vehicles give off sulfur and nitrogen oxide emissions, which react in the atmosphere to form sulfuric and nitric acids. These acids are then deposited back onto the landscape in rain, snow, fog, or particles. More »	Methane: The other greenhouse gas Podcast Most of us are familiar with the idea that we need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to prevent global warming. Methane is also a problem, and we hear about it much less frequently. But compared to carbon dioxide, methane's impact on climate change is some twenty times more powerful. More »	Bad news for maple syrup and moose Podcast Following an exhaustive review of more than fifty years of long term data on environmental conditions at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the results are clear: spring is advancing and fall is retreating. More »
The Clean Water Act's 40th birthday Podcast Just four decades ago Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River was known for its flammability. It, and countless other rivers, streams, and lakes were used as dumping grounds for sewage and commercial waste. More »	Have deer gotten a false rap for Lyme disease? Podcast It's commonly believed that Lyme disease risk is tied to the presence of deer ticks and white-tailed deer. But this simply isn't correct. More »	Earthworms are invading our forests Podcast In the northeastern U.S., all earthworms are non-native. And they are damaging our forest habitats. More »
The dirty truth about unpaved roads Podcast In rural areas, unpaved roads hold a certain charm. They restrict the volume and speed of traffic and, compared to their paved counterparts, are less expensive to build. But are they a greener alternative? More »	Eavesdropping on your neighbors? Even the birds do it Podcast Most of us use the sounds around our homes to take measure of our neighborhood: the sounds of lawnmowers, the next-door neighbors having a party, an alarm system being triggered—it's all part of the information we process about our surroundings. More »	Why you should brake for possums Podcast The next time you see a possum playing dead on the road, try your best to avoid hitting it. Because it turns out that possums are allies in the fight against Lyme disease. More »
Are fish made of maple leaves? Podcast Most of us learned about the aquatic food web in high school. Using a sealed aquarium, teachers explained that plants form the base of the web, with the organic carbon they create supporting aquatic life—from invertebrates to sport fish. More »	We all know about rain forests. Now we are learning about fog forests Podcast There's a desert in north-central Chile that receives less than six inches of rain a year. Right in the middle of it is a lush mountain forest that is dense with trees, bromeliads, ferns, and mosses. More »	Science, art, and music-all in the same room Podcast The Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies is a scientific research and education organization. Sixteen Ph.D. scientists explore pressing environmental problems including acid rain, forest health, the ecology of Lyme disease, and pharmaceuticals in our waterways. More »
Why should we care about freshwater mussels? Podcast There were once three hundred species of mussels in the United States. They supplied food to Native Americans and people harvested them for pearls and for mother-of-pearl to make buttons. Now, hardly anyone eats freshwater mussels and buttons are mostly made of plastic. More »	Cities as ecosystems? Podcast Ecologists define an ecosystem as a unit of the landscape—a forest, a lake, or a river. Often, they are interested in the movement of materials through that area. Rain may deposit nitrogen in a forest, while a stream may carry nitrogen away from the forest and into a river. More »	Where did all the acorns go? Podcast For many years, oaks in the Northeast were prolific acorn producers. The 2010 crop was record-breaking—many will recall getting hit with acorn rain or slipping on acorns underfoot. Last fall, however, acorns were scarce. More »