Pulse of the Planet Podcast with Jim Metzner | Science | Nature | Environment | Technology

In Lindsborg, Kansas, folks still mark this time of year with traditions their ancestors brought from Sweden. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the world of package design, you have to think not only of the package itself, but what it's going to be resting upon. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Packages that were previouly made out of plastic, are now being made out of bioplastics. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why would anyone want to cut the toenails of a snapping turtle? Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Snapping turtles are teaching us invaluable lessons about the effects of toxins on the environment. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Microorganisms are part of the "recipe" for making rain, and rain not only cleans the atmosphere of microbes and airborne particles, it serves as a prime mover in stimulating microbial growth. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why would bacteria evolve the ability to freeze cloud water at higher than normal temperatures? Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most scientists refrain from eating anything in their labs, and for good reason. But when it comes to flavor science, tasting chemicals is madatory. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

They're the largest antlered animal in the world and a lot faster that you'd expect them to be. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Isle Royale in Lake Superior, wolves and moose lead an interdependent existence. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You might not expect the wolf population to effect the number of trees in an ecosystem - but it does. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it take to handle a four-story high balloon? Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For many New Yorkers, watching the giant parade balloons being filled on the day before Thanksgiving, has become part of their holiday celebration. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An innovative way is being developed to create nanomaterials - tiny bits of matter - using microscopic organisms called diatoms. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Diatoms are among the world's oldest and most ubiquitous creatures, and they may soon be an important part of one of the newest branches of science and technology. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Farming practices in the mid-west have an impact on the environmental conditions in the Gulf of Mexico. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Off the coast of Louisiana there's a region of ocean the size of the state of New Jersey that's virtually devoid of life. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Off the coast of Louisiana there's about 6000 square miles of ocean that're virtually devoid of life. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Statisticians compile the hard evidence that forms the backbone of much scientific research. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What are the factors that will cause a family to accept a new technology or not? Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Should hand pumps be installed in remote villages in Africa? That's the kind of question statisticians are called upon to answer. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Hindu goddess of good fortune is worshipped during a ceremony of light and chanting, for blessings of spiritual wealth and enlightenment. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Divine statues are bathed with milk, honey, and other symbolic offerings during the Hindu celebration of Diwali. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Diwali is a luminous celebration of enlightenment. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A bat can change the shape of its ear in about one-tenth of a second! Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many bats emit sounds through a "nose-leaf", which is like a little megaphone that surrounds the nostrils. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices