KGNU - How On Earth

Today on How on Earth, Beth speaks with William Penuel, faculty in the School of Education at CU Boulder, and part of the Renee Crown Wellness Institute. He designs and studies curriculum materials, assessments, and professional learning experiences for teachers in STEM education, especially in science. His work is beginning to focus more on cultivating compassion and dignity in schools and on promoting equitable collaboration in small group learning in STEM classrooms. Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Show Producer: Beth Bennett Additional Contributions: Joel Parker Engineer: Shannon Young Listen to the Show;

Photo credit: WateReuse Colorado Water Recycling for Climate Resilience (start time: 7:54) When you poured tap water into your coffee maker this morning, or flushed the toilet, you may not have been thinking about where that water came from, or where it flowed to next. Pegged to World Water Week, on this week’s How On Earth host Susan Moran interviews Austa Parker, PhD, an environmental engineer who is a consultant for the firm Brown and Caldwell on national water-reuse issues. She formerly worked for Denver Water and as an adjunct professor at CU Boulder. Our discussion focuses on direct potable reuse (DPR), the process of transforming treated wastewater, including human effluence, into drinking water. Climate change, intensifying droughts and population growth in the already parched U.S. West are pressuring states and cities to pursue DPR as a means of becoming more climate-resilient. Resource links: WateReuse Colorado WateReuse Association (national) Colorado’s regulations (passed in late 2022) on direct potable reuse Hosts: Susan Moran, Joel Parker Show Producer: Susan Moran Engineer: Joel Parker Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Listen to the show here:

On today’s show, Benita speaks with author John Perlin about his book, A Forest Journey: The Role of Trees in the Fate of Civilization. The book follows the rise and fall of human civilizations as they fuel their success and reap their downfall by using trees as a key resource. Photo Credit: UC Santa Barbara and Patagonia Media Published by Patagonia, Perlin revised this third edition of his environmental classic to include new scientific findings that further link the importance of trees in combating climate change and in creating life on Earth as we know it.   Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Show Producers Benita Lee and Shannon Young Engineer Shannon Young Listen to the Show:

On today’s show Beth talks with Dr Elissa Epel, about her book, The Stress Prescription,Seven Days to More Joy and Ease. As the director of UCSF’s Aging, Metabolism, and Emotion Center and associate director of its Center for Health and Community, she studies stress, aging, and obesity. Her book is quick and easy to read yet leaves you with so many applicable practices that can change your outlook and reduce the stress in your life while simultaneously giving you the basic science on the how and why of stress and the role of the techniques she espouses. And, an upcoming lecture on the CU Boulder campus on bioarcheology, March 15. Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Show Producers Beth Bennett and Leilani Henry Engineer Shannon Young Listen to the Show:

A DALL-E generated image of this interview. We talk with Dr. Casey Fiesler, Associate Professor of Information Science at the University of Colorado, Boulder about “generative AI,” particularly regarding ChatGPT and DALL-E, which are topics of recent news stories expressing excitement and concern. We asked ChatGPT to write a description of what such an interview might be: Dr. Casey Fiesler joins Joel Parker on the KGNU radio science show How on Earth to discuss generative AI and its recent breakthroughs, such as ChatGPT and DALL-E. Fiesler explains that these AI models use deep learning algorithms to generate new content, such as text or images, based on patterns found in existing data. She acknowledges the impressive capabilities of these models, such as DALL-E’s ability to create highly realistic images from textual prompts. However, Fiesler also raises concerns about the potential negative impacts of generative AI, including the perpetuation of biases found in training data or the creation of harmful fake content. Fiesler emphasizes the importance of responsible development and use of these technologies, as well as ongoing research into addressing these issues. After you listen to the show, you can determine how accurate is that description.  And can you identify the three interview questions we asked that were generated by ChatGPT? Host & Producer: Joel Parker Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Featured Music: “Reflection” – generative music by Brian Eno Listen to the show:

Stewart Udall and the Politics of Beauty Colorado Environmental Film Festival is an annual event that takes place in Golden, at the American Mountaineering Center.  This year’s festival starts Thursday Feb 23, 2023 and goes through Sun, Feb 26, 2023.  Today, we talk with festival co-chair Dave Steinke and Environmental Filmmaker John DeGraff.  We feature the films, Stewart Udall and the Politics of Beauty, Reviving Rivers, The Issue with Tissue, and A Good Neighbor. Host, Producer,Engineer: Shelley Schlender Executive Producer: Beth Bennett

Your Brain on Music (start time: 6:18): Most people love music, whether it’s opera music, jazz, rock-n-roll, gospel, nursery rhymes or another genre. Whether you’re a trained professional or someone who just likes to sing in the shower or listen to your favorite playlists, you’ve likely felt the power of music in shaping your thoughts, feelings and behavior. But how? Many scientists have been researching how music affects the human brain, and how music can help treat many neurological and other disorders. Today, host Susan Moran interviews Indre  Viskontas, a cognitive neuroscientist and associate professor of psychology at the University of San Francisco. She’s also a classically trained opera singer and a director. Her 2019 book is How Music Can Make You Better.  And Dr. Viskontas also directs communications for the Sound Health Network, an initiative that promotes research and public awareness of the impact of music on health and well-being. She also hosts a podcast called Inquiring Minds. Host, Producer: Susan Moran Engineer: Shannon Young Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Listen to the show here:

Mountain lion, northern Colorado, http://www.wildnaturemedia.com In this episode, Jill Sjong interviews Wild Nature Media‘s David Neils who has been studying mountain lions and other apex predators in Colorado’s wild lands for over 20 years using remote cameras.  They visit one of the front range’s best habitats for mountain lions, the Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch, located near where the Big Thompson Canyon opens up west of Loveland. Sylvan Dale has put 70% of its land into a conservation easement. We get answers to our mountain lion questions: what is predictable about them? What are our greatest misunderstandings about them?  What makes certain Colorado lands such an ideal habitat for them? In what ways are they remarkably different from other apex predators? How are their populations doing?  And what about the recent media coverage on mountain lions? Listeners can learn more about mountain lions and other apex predators at Wild Nature Media, and sign up for presentations, workshops and nature hikes. Host and Producer:  Jill Sjong Executive Producer:  Beth Bennett Listen to the show:

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope – JWST – was launched on December 25th, 2021.  We talked with scientists and engineers about JWST’s first year and some of the projects it is being used for.  In this second part of our JWST special, our guests and their projects are: Dr. Imke de Pater (Distinguished Professor Emerita, University of California, Berkeley): ERS observations of the Jovian System as a demonstration of JWST capabilities for Solar System science Dr. Michael Ressler (Principal Scientist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory): Star Formation in the Extreme Outer Galaxy Dr. Jacob Jencson (Postdoctoral Researcher, Johns Hopkins University and Space Telescope Science Institute) De-mystifying SPRITES with JWST Check out Part 1 of this feature (2022 Dec 20) Host & Producer: Joel Parker Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Featured Music: “Floating in Heaven” by Graham Gouldman and Brian May Listen to the show:

This week on How on Earth, Beth speaks with Professor Carol Gigliotti about her new book, The Creative Lives of Animals. She provides a new perspective on animals as agents in their own lives, as valuable contributors to their world and ours, and as guides in understanding how creativity may contribute to conserving the natural world. Presenting a powerful argument for the importance of recognizing animals as individuals and as creators of a healthy, biodiverse world, this book offers insights into the creativity of animals. Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Show Producer: Beth Bennett Additional Contributions: Susan Moran, Tom McKinnon, Joel Parker Engineer: Shannon Young Listen to the show: