All Episodes
Energy Bite — 104 episodes
What's the difference between first and second generation solar cells? | Ep 205
How can semiconductors bring electric vehicles to the next stage? | Ep 204
What are semiconductors? | Ep 203
How much data do smart grids collect? | Ep 202
Are researchers using smart grid data? | Ep 201
What is a smart grid? | Ep. 200
Why is forecasting electricity demand hard? | Ep. 199
How is demand for electricity forecasted? | Ep. 198
Why do electric providers predict electricity demand? | Ep 197
Where was the first nuclear power plant built for domestic peacetime located? | Ep. 196
What fuel did Pittsburgh's first street lamps consume? | Ep. 195
Were there ever natural gas wells within the city of Pittsburgh's boundaries? | Ep. 194
What cities used to be the nation’s centers for refining petroleum? | Ep. 193
Which fuel sources were the most important in Pittsburgh’s history? | Ep. 192
Is biomass a viable energy source? | Ep. 191
What are biofuels and what are they used for? | Ep. 190
Do you ever worry about the environmental impact of all the plastic we use? | Ep. 189
Will we ever run out of fossil fuels? | Ep. 188
What is crude oil and how do we turn it into useful products? | Ep. 187
A lot of cities have goals to reduce greenhouse gases. What are they doing in Pittsburgh? | Ep. 186
What exactly does the metric "global warming potential" entail? | Ep. 185
As our population changes, how will energy use change? | Ep. 184
What exactly is the “Food-energy-water nexus”? | Ep. 183
What are the costs of different types of electricity generation? | Ep. 182
What are variable electricity prices? | Ep. 181
Does energy use inform your shopping habits? | Ep. 180
What are vampire electrical loads? | Ep. 179
How much electricity do data centers consume? | Ep. 178
Coastal Towns: Wind Projects Offshore vs Wind Projects Onshore | Ep.177
Where do most people prefer to have wind energy projects located? | Ep. 176
What do people think about the prospect of a wind farm in their community? | Ep. 175
What's the advantage of adding energy storage to a wind project? | Ep. 174
Where should we build wind energy projects? | Ep. 173
Are biofuels good for the environment? | Ep 172
Why does fuel contain 10% ethanol? | Ep 170
What are the true prices of alternative fuels? | Ep 171
What is a flex fuel vehicle? | Ep 169
Why aren’t alternative fuels more available? | Ep 168
How can we encourage renters and landlords to use less electricity? | Ep 167
Can we help low-income families use less electricity? | Ep 166
Why do people decide to put solar panels on their home? | Ep 165
How should your electricity bill show your consumption? | Ep 164
Can smart meters be hacked? | Ep 163
Where does energy go when we use it? | Ep 162
What are some of the options for using shale gas? | Ep 161
How are new materials important to our energy infrastructure? | Ep 160
How is solar thermal power generated and used? | Ep 159
How is solar electric power generated and captured? | Ep 158
Should I Buy Batteries for my Home? | Ep 157
What are Electric Bikes? | Ep 156
What kind of batteries are used in drones? | Ep 155
Why do batteries catch fire? | Ep 154
How many miles can an electric vehicle go before running out of energy? | Ep 153
How do coal-fired power plants use water? | Ep 152
Are there any problems with using water desalination to increase our water supply? | Ep 151
Can hydraulic fracturing cause earthquakes & if so, what can we do about it? | Ep 150
What practices are available to better manage the wastewater from hydraulic fracturing? | Ep 149
Is it true that hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, uses a lot of water? | Ep 148
Which is better, a revenue-neutral carbon tax or a cap-and-trade program? | Ep 147
Why do environmental regulations tend to adversely affect firms that extract or use coal? | Ep 146
Episode 145: How does environmental policy affect measures like GDP? | Ep 145
I am considering buying an electric vehicle, should I? | Ep 144
Do markets tend to solve environmental problems without government regulation? | Ep 143
Is there one single technology or strategy that could solve the climate problem? | Ep 142
Is the environmental effect of renewables the same everywhere? | Ep 141
Do rebates for energy efficient appliances work? | Ep 140
Are natural gas vehicles a good idea? | Ep 139
What is energy storage? | Ep 138
Is it cost-effective to put solar panels on my roof? | Ep 137
What is energy storage? | Ep 137
Should I get new windows to improve the energy efficiency of my home? | Ep 135
What is the most cost-effective way to improve the energy efficiency of my home? | Ep 134
Do you think that homes use more energy today than in the 1980’s? | Ep 133
How can cities prepare for blackouts? | Ep 132
Can we prevent electrical blackouts? | Ep 131
Why are some power companies charging a fee to customers who install solar panels? | ep 130
What would it take to go off the grid entirely? | Ep 129
Where should wind and solar plants be located to best lower pollution? | Ep 128
How much of our electric power could be generated by renewables like wind and solar? | EP 126
Are wind and solar the only low-pollution sources of electricity generation? | EP 127
How have some new energy technologies influenced the global price of energy? | Ep 125
What can happen when businesses implement new technologies to increase energy efficiency? | Ep 124
Can the current price of energy influence our use of new energy technologies? | Ep 123
How can tax policy influence which energy technologies we use? | Ep 122
What are the impacts of energy on water? | Ep 121
What are the hidden costs of energy? | Ep 120
How can maximizing our energy and water efficiency bolster national security? | Ep 119
How is nuclear waste shipped and stored? | Ep 118
What are national energy labs and what do they do? | Ep 117
Will automated vehicles help save energy? | Ep 116
If I buy a plug-in electric vehicle, when is the most efficient time to charge it? | Ep 115
Will everyone be driving a plug-in electric vehicle in the future? | Ep 114
If I buy a plug-in electric vehicle, how much will it help the environment? | Ep 113
Are Electric Vehicles the Right Choice for You? | Ep 112
How can social networks affect energy investment decisions? | Ep 111
Default settings make things easy but do they save us the most energy? | Ep 110
Would a display in your home with info on your energy use influence your behavior? | Ep 109
Can knowing how much energy my neighbor uses affect my energy use? | Ep 108
Can the knowledge that we're being watched change how we use energy? | Ep 107
Is anybody still building nuclear power plants? | Ep 105
We’re hearing a lot about “smart meters.” Just how smart are they? | Ep 104
My friend heats her house with a renewable fuel - wood. Should we all be doing that? | Ep 102
Are we doing better today than on the first Earth Day 45 years ago? | Ep 101
How do we avoid losing power to traffic lights during an outage? | Ep 103