March 11, 2018

How Dependable is Renewable Energy

When it comes to America’s energy needs, wind and solar power are free of carbon dioxide emissions. But how dependable are these sources for meeting our energy demands? Then, are you addicted to your smartphone? A science journalist joins us to share advice on how to make your phone less intrusive.

Episode Segments:

The Issues with Wind and Solar Power Ken Caldeira, PhD, Atmospheric Scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science's Department of Global Ecology examined 36 years of weather data and found that wind and solar power could potentially generate up to 80% of U.S. energy needs. However, it would require significant and expensive improvements to the nation's energy transmission grid. He said he was surprised to find that wind power is even less consistently available than solar. He also outlined the ways that energy providers must generate electricity by other means when renewable sources falter.
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How to Break Up with Your Phone Catherine Price, science journalist, author of How to Break Up with Your Phone said that phones and apps are designed to be addictive to users. She explained how the time we spend on them damages our abilities to focus, think deeply, and form new memories. She suggested simple changes to a phone's settings that can make them less intrusive.
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Volunteer Fire Fighting Heather Schafer CEO for the National Volunteer Fire Council said volunteers make up 80% of all fire services across the United States. She said the call volume in recent years has tripled, but volunteer fire departments are struggling to find younger recruits. She said younger people have less spare time to volunteer than previous generations. She outlined the many benefits of volunteering.
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Guest(s) Appearing on this Episode

Catherine Price In my life as a freelance journalist, my written and multimedia work has appeared in publications including The Best American Science Writing, The New York Times, Popular Science, O, The Oprah Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post Magazine, Parade, Salon, Slate, Men’s Journal, Self, Mother Jones, Health Magazine, and Outside, among others. Learn More About Catherine at her website