Post-Doc Alexa Schmitz (left) and MEng. student Don Flood (right) of the Barstow lab (photo courtesy of Dr. Barstow)
In today’s episode, we hear about a new technology that can lower the carbon footprint of an energy-intensive mining procedure. We also learn about the causes of climate change, and why the development of new technologies that keep carbon in the earth are so important.
To start off, Janani Hariharan interviews Dr. Buz Barstow from the Cornell Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering. Barstow talks about his research project that uses bacteria to extract rare earth elements in a clean, sustainable way. In this segment, you’ll hear about what rare earth elements are, why they’re important to us, what the current problems are in mining these minerals, and how Dr. Barstow’s team is working to solve some of these problems.
Hurricane Damage (left) and Signs of Drought (right). Images courtesy of Creative Commons (hurricane damage at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Tracking Drought by U.S. Geological Survey. Both marked with CC PDM 1.0)
In our second interview, Esther Racoosin speaks with Dr. Ingrid Zabel, Climate Change Education Manager at the Paleontological Research Institution in Ithaca. Dr. Zabel discusses the new exhibit at the Museum of the Earth (MOE) in Ithaca, “Changing Climate: Our Future, Our Choices”. A virtual version of the exhibit is currently on display at the MOE website,
https://www.museumoftheearth.org/exhibit/changing-climate. The live version of the exhibit will open at the museum in late November. To make a reservation to visit the museum, go to this link:
https://www.museumoftheearth.org/visit/plan-your-visit.
Producer: Liz Mahood
Interview of Dr. Buz Barstow: Janani Harihanan
Interview of Dr. Ingrid Zabel: Esther Racoosin
Music: Joe Lewis; Blue Dot Sessions
