Climate

The idea of massively expanding tree planting as a solution to climate change started in the hallowed halls of academia, but has found its way to Capitol Hill. Republican lawmakers have seized on it as a climate policy they can support. 

The threat of climate change can be stressful for anyone, but for the climate scientists who study it day in and day out, that constant stress can take a toll on mental health.

Dr. Susanne Moser is a human geographer who specializes in psychological responses to climate change. She is a researcher out of Antioch University New England in Keene, and she recently co-authored a new paper titled "The Emotional Toll of Climate Change on Science Professionals."

Voting issues are back in the news with Governor Sununu vetoing two Democratic-backed election law bills. Meanwhile a federal judge gives the go-ahead for two Dartmouth College students to sue the state over increased regulations for student voters. 

The recent heat wave with high humidity and temperatures in the 90s may be  the weather of the future for New Hampshire.  And a bobcat burger burglar is nabbed at a Seacoast drive-through restaurant. 

Governor Chris Sununu says he much hasn't thought about President Trump's decision to withdraw the U.S from the Paris Climate Agreement.

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker says the President's decision on Paris is "disappointing;" Vermont Governor Phil Scott calls it "concerning." Both are Republicans, and both say they plan to work across state lines to reduce carbon emissions.

Governor Sununu, meanwhile, says he's not completely sure what he thinks.

Over the past century, heavy rainfall and snowstorms have grown more frequent and more severe in many parts of the U.S.—including the northeast—as a result of our warming climate. In a study published last month, researchers from Dartmouth College, University of Vermont, and Columbia University investigated exactly what those changes looked like here in New England.

The U.N. Climate Change Conference seeks agreement on limiting global warming to just two degrees Celsius over the next century.  Many say that's a tall order, but some are hopeful this summit could be more successful.  We'll take a New Hampshire look at this, including state impacts and efforts.

Guests:

At a packed town hall event in Nashua Tuesday, Hillary Clinton reiterated her plan on how she would address climate change if elected president.

While the asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs may be most familiar, the earth has experienced five great extinctions, and we may be in the midst of the sixth…right here, right now. On today’s show: a startling account of the planet's biodiversity crisis, and the role humans have played in creating it.

Plus it’s easy to condemn the office gossip – but getting the inside scoop at work might just save your career. We’ll discuss why gossip can be good for you. And, America’s only water sommelier explains why his restaurant features a 44-page water menu.

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In early October, one of the largest nuclear reactors in the world was forced to shut down after a swarm of jellyfish flooded and clogged its water cooling pipes. The bloom of jellyfish that devastated Sweden’s Oskarshamn nuclear plant is symptomatic of a global problem. Research out of the University of British Columbia shows a sixty-two percent increase in jellyfish blooms since 1950. Proliferation of the species has been crippling fishing and tourism all over the world and blooms are increasing in frequency, intensity and duration. Gwynn Guilford reported on the proliferation, which appears in large part to be related to the impact of humans on the oceans; her article appeared in Quartz.

The heat wave that blanketed the east coast in mid-July was the longest to hit New York City in a decade. Not surprisingly, the Big Apple broke records for energy usage, as sweltering city-dwellers turned up the AC.  The US leads the world in climate control – but at a significant financial and environmental cost.  Leon Neyfakh is a reporter for the Ideas section of the Boston Globe – and author of the article “How to Live Without Air Conditioning”.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association released temperature data for the past six months on Monday. Reports that NOAA’s data shows this to be hottest first half of the year yet in the Granite state.

New Hampshire wasn’t the only state to break records: all told twenty-eight states had their hottest first six months on record, and for another 15 states the temperatures ranked in the all-time top-ten.