Natural Mosquito Repellents
June 20, 2017 By EarthWise
https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/EW-06-20-17-Natural-Mosquito-Repellents.mp3
With summer comes mosquitoes and our desire to keep them away from us. The most common repellents are based on the chemical DEET, which unfortunately has been found to have several health and safety problems. Up to 15% of DEET is absorbed through the skin directly into the bloodstream. Diethyl-meta-toluamide, the chemical name for DEET, has been shown to have a variety of toxic effects. Fortunately, it turns out that there are some natural alternatives which may be as effective as DEET, or possibly even more effective than DEET in keeping mosquitoes away from us.
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Use-By Labels And Food Waste
December 20, 2016 By EarthWise
https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/EW-12-20-16-Use-by-Labels.mp3
By some estimates, Americans waste as much as 40% of food that is produced. None of the reasons are anything to be proud of, but one of the most frustrating is the confusing array of food date labels that are supposed to tell us whether the food we purchased should be eaten.
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New Doubts About GMO Crops
November 30, 2016 By EarthWise
https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/EW-11-30-16-New-Doubts-about-GMOs.mp3
Genetically modified crops have been at the center of a great deal of controversy for a number of years. There have been widespread fears that they are unsafe to eat. Continuing studies have indicated that those fears appear to be unsubstantiated.
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A Climate-Friendlier Coolant
November 18, 2016 By Nationally Produced Shows
https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/EW-11-18-16-Climate-Friendlier-Coolant.mp3
Recently, negotiators from more than 170 countries reached a legally binding accord in Kigali, Rwanda to cut the use of hydroflurocarbons, or HFCs, which are chemical coolants used in air conditioners and refrigerators. HFCs are just a small percentage of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, but they are supercharged greenhouse gases that have 1,000 times the heat-trapping potency of carbon dioxide.
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A Hydrogen-Powered Ferry
November 8, 2016 By Nationally Produced Shows
https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/EW-11-08-16-Hydrogen-Powered-Ferry.mp3
The Red and White Fleet has been ferrying tourists around San Francisco Bay since 1892 and is a company committed to environmental sustainability. When looking for ways to reduce the emissions from its fleet of passenger ferries, the company wondered if there was a way to eliminate emissions entirely. That question was put to researchers at Sandia National Laboratories in a very specific form: Is it feasible to build and operate a high-speed passenger ferry solely powered by hydrogen fuel cells? According to a recently-released report, the answer is yes.
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De-Icing Roadways
February 9, 2016 By Nationally Produced Shows
https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/EW-02-09-16-De-Icing-Roadways.mp3
We have been using salt to keep winter roads free of ice and snow since the late 1930s. In the United States alone, some 20 million tons of salt are applied to roadways each year. And while its use has real benefits in terms of safety and navigation, there have been cumulative costs to the environment, including degrading freshwater resources and contaminating groundwater.
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Road Salt
January 19, 2016 By Nationally Produced Shows
https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/EW-01-19-16-Road-Salt.mp3
Snow season is here. The chances are good you’ll find yourself behind a truck spreading salt on the roads in an attempt to deice them. You may even try a little salt on your own front porch. Annually we spread about 20 million tons of road salt in the U.S., and we’ve been doing it since the late 1930s.
Halloween Face Paint: It’s Scary Stuff
October 29, 2015 By EarthWise
The carefree nature of Halloween has made the holiday a favorite among children and the young-at-heart. It’s a day when fantasy can be indulged. Collectively, Americans spend billions of dollars adorning stoops with Jack-o-Lanterns, filling candy bowls with treats, and transforming themselves into zombies, witches, and other creations.
A New Labeling Initiative
September 16, 2015 By EarthWise
https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/EW-09-16-15-Food-and-Fracking-Water.mp3
Hydraulic fracturing – or fracking – is a well-stimulation technique in which rock is fractured by a pressurized liquid to free otherwise trapped natural gas or oil.