PODCAST · science
60-Second Earth
by Scientific American
Tune in every Sunday for quick reports on the science of the environment and the future of energy. It'll just take a minute!
Episodes
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New Map Knows Noise
National Park Service researchers recorded ambient sound from all over the country to find out where there’s still stillness. David Biello reports
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Oil-Eating Microbes Have Worldwide Underground Connections
Life thrives even deep inside Earth and scientists are beginning to suspect extensive connections among those underground environments. David Biello reports
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Siberian Winters See Temp Uptick
The long-term winter warming of Russia’s far north has gotten a boost from industrialization. David Biello reports
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Dig This: China Cuts Coal Production
The biggest single source of global warming pollution actually started to shrink in 2014. David Biello reports
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Is Recycling Worth the Effort?
The value of recycling depends on the material in question and whether all hidden costs and benefits go into the analysis. David Biello reports
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Tropical Forests Pay Price for Gold Rush
Desire for gold has made mining in tropical forests financially worthwhile, leading to ecosystem destruction. Cynthia Graber reports
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Cheap Oil Means Raise the Gas T-Word
Low oil prices present an opportunity to come to grips with our crumbling infrastructure and the cost of climate change. David Biello reports
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Meet the (Newest Known) Beetles!
Researchers announced the discovery of 98 beetle species previously unknown to science. David Biello reports
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Oil Spill Sullies World Heritage Site
The Sundarbans, part of the world's largest mangrove forest and stretching across India and Bangladesh, have been tarnished by a 350,000-liter oil spill. David Biello reports
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Plummeting Petroleum Price Gases Up Global Warming
Good news for gas and oil consumers can be bad news for the environment. David Biello reports
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Movies Can Boost Solar Power
The pattern that stores a film on a Blu-ray disc also can help improve photovoltaics. David Biello reports
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Sun's Magnetic Field Boosts Earth Lightning
When the Sun's magnetic field is pointed away from Earth, lightning strikes in the U.K. go up 50 percent. Christopher Intagliata reports
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Wildlife Crime? There's an App for That
A new tool may help officials crack down on the illegal wildlife trade. David Biello reports
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Protected Areas Get Short Shrift
Protected land and sea areas serve the wildlife within them as well as the humans who live near them. But countries are backtracking on their financial commitments to these vital regions. Steve Mirsky reports
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Clock Ticking on Climate Change Prevention
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's new synthesis report adds urgency to the need to cut additional greenhouse gas pollution
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Better E-Waste Handling Helps Environment and Health
Plastic-removal machines will enable Ghana's e-waste recoverers to get at valuable metal guts without burning off the exteriors. David Biello reports
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Bottling the Sun's Power on Earth
A breakthrough in fusion could solve the world's energy problems, but remains improbable. David Biello reports
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Ebola Gorilla Vaccine Could Prevent Human Outbreaks
Infected gorillas and chimps butchered for meat may be behind Ebola outbreaks. David Biello reports
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Wildlife Population Plummeted Since 1970
A World Wildlife Fund report estimates losses of 40 percent of all individual land and sea animals, and a 70 percent population crash of all river animals, since 1970. David Biello reports
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People Power Takes Aim at Climate Change
Participlants in the People's Climate March in New York City September 21st hope to persuade world leaders at the U.N. Climate Summit that follows. David Biello reports
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Ozone Hole Closing Up, Thanks to Global Action
The world united to combat the ozone hole, can we do the same for climate change? David Biello reports
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Historic Abundance of Blue Whales Returns in California
The mighty blue whale is back after being nearly hunted to extinction. David Biello reports
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How to Save the Woods
The first step in solving the world's forest problem is recognizing the world's forest problem. David Biello reports
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Spill Some Oil? Magnetize It for Cleanup
A physicist may have dreamed up a new way to clean up oil spills. David Biello reports
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Antique Markets Used to Launder Poached Ivory
Legal ivory markets that are supposed to only deal in stockpiles and antiques inevitably launder poached ivory. Close them all, says WCS vice president for species conservation. David Biello reports
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Bahamas Creation Linked to African Dust
Cyanobacteria fed by nutrients carried over the Atlantic in African dust may have initiated the process by which, over millions of years, calcium carbonate collected to build the Bahamas. David Biello reports
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Some Coral Should Produce Shells in Acidifying Ocean
Of four common corals and algae tested, three still produced shells in conditions that mimic oceans if atmospheric CO2 concentrations reached 1,000 ppm. David Biello reports
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Ants Could Help Warming Cry Uncle
At test sites, the exposure of rock by ants accelerated the absorption of atmospheric CO2 by the rock by as much as 335 times compared with ant-free areas. David Biello reports
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Urban Growth Defines This Century
How existing cities expand and new cities emerge will determine how humanity fares in the 21st century. David Biello reports
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Environmental Crime Funds Terrorism
Environmental destruction—from smuggling elephant tusks to illegal dumping of toxic waste—generates as much as $213 billion annually for criminals and terrorists. David Biello reports
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Future Smog Looks More Persistent
Computer models show that increased levels of greenhouse gases, along with their trapped heat, will make the atmosphere more stagnant, leading to many more days of unhealthy air. David Biello reports.
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Poisoned Poor Killed in Millions by Pollution
The Global Alliance on Health and Pollution calls for a war against pollution to save the lives of more than eight million people annually. David Biello reports
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I Just Want to Say One Word to You: Plastiglomerate
Thanks to us humans, there's a new type of rock in the geologic record. And it's part plastic. David Biello reports
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Better Car Labeling Could Pump Up Fuel Efficiency
When gas mileage cost was explicitly revealed on new car window stickers, potential consumers were more likely to choose the most efficient vehicle. David Biello reports.
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Pope Francis Pleas for the Environment
In a May 21 speech Pope Francis warned that despoiling the environment would come back to haunt humanity. David Biello reports
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Poetry Poster Sucks Up Smog
A building-sized poem shows how billboards could help cut pollution from cars. David Biello reports
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Hurricanes Move Away from Equator with Expanding Tropics
Since the 1970s the locations where tropical cyclones (hurricanes and typhoons) reach their maximum intensities have shifted toward both poles at a rate of about 35 miles per decade. David Biello reports
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Bumper Corn Looks Dicey in Drought
Corn plants bred to be planted very close together thrive in good weather but appear to be particularly vulnerable to the droughts predicted in the coming decades. Cynthia Graber reports
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Biodiversity Survives Extinctions for Now
A meta-analysis of ecosystems finds that species losses in any given place do not yet translate to large changes in the number of different species in that place. David Biello reports
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Earthquake Deflection Takes a Tiny Step
Building on light-cloaking work, physicists took a small step toward the goal of shielding cities from earthquakes by deflecting incoming energy. David Biello reports
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Citizen Environmental Monitoring Could Keep Officials Honest
Smartphones, cheap satellite imaging and crowdfunded enterprises have made citizen oversight possible that was undreamed of by past transparency advocates and environmentalists. David Biello reports
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Space-Based Solar Collectors Could Have a Sunny Future
The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory has a working prototype for a space-based solar energy collector and distributor that would beat the cloudy-day problem. David Biello reports
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Realistic Climate Models Exhibit Greenhouse Gas Sensitivity
A consideration of the role of sootlike particulates and ozone implies that the climate should will not be insensitive to increasing levels of greenhouse gases. David Biello reports
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Lighting May Cut Seed-Rich Bat Guano Production
Bats ate less fruit in lit areas than in dark ones, which may lessen their seed-dispersal activities needed to bring back slashed rainforests. Cynthia Graber reports.
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Air-Gun Oil Exploration Wrongs Right Whales
The U.S. government has given industry permission to use of lethally loud seismic devices up and down the east coast. David Biello reports
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Climate Currently Pays for Increased Human Wealth
A new study attempts to quantify CO2 emissions if economic growth continues. David Biello reports
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Cities Befriend Select Plants and Animals
As more people move to cities, careful planning could mean a happy home for both humans and a substantial amount of wildlife. David Biello reports
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Global Warming Freezes Penguin Chicks
More rain related to a warming climate soaks Magellanic penguin chicks to the skin before their waterproof feathers grow in, killing them from hypothermia. Allie Wilkinson reports
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China Holiday Travel Puts Spotlight on Transportation
Lunar New Year means tens of millions of travelers in China, mostly by bus but increasingly by car, which is bad news for air quality. David Biello reports
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If the Fuel Source Ain't Clean, Your Electric Car Ain't Green
A host of factors determine the role of electric and hybrid cars in reducing greenhouse gas pollution, such as whether coal is their ultimate fuel source. David Biello reports
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Tune in every Sunday for quick reports on the science of the environment and the future of energy. It'll just take a minute!
HOSTED BY
Scientific American
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How many episodes does 60-Second Earth have?
60-Second Earth currently has 312 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
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Tune in every Sunday for quick reports on the science of the environment and the future of energy. It'll just take a minute!
How often does 60-Second Earth release new episodes?
60-Second Earth publishes regularly with 312 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
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Who hosts 60-Second Earth?
60-Second Earth is created and hosted by Scientific American.
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