Surprising News About Wildfires and Climate Change & the Science of Too Much Pleasure
Episode Segments:
Surprising News About Wildfires and Climate Change A surprising new study found that the vast majority of carbon stored in trees before large wildfires was still there after the fires. Mark Harmon, PhD, Professor Emeritus in the Oregon State University College of Forestry says the research has profound implications for future policies relating to forest management and climate change.
The Science of Too Much Pleasure Americans are living in a time of unprecedented access to high-reward, high-dopamine stimuli: drugs, food, news, gambling, shopping, gaming, texting, sexting, Facebooking, tweeting and more. Anna Lembke, MD, psychiatrist, Medical Director of Stanford University Addiction Medicine, Chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic, author of “Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in The Age of Indulgence” outlines new scientific discoveries that explain why the relentless pursuit of pleasure leads to pain, and what to do about it.
The Origins of Your Local Roadside Litter Andrew Gray, PhD, Assistant Professor of Watershed Hydrology in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Riverside, led a recent study that found that most items in roadside litter typically originate less than two miles from where they’re found, and unless humans remove them, most of these items will never leave the environment. He hopes the research will help cities to develop strategies to prevent plastic litter that eventually taints water and air.