Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall. 

Growing, harvesting, and making food creates greenhouse gas emissions. But some foods are responsible for more emissions than others. Red Meat is at the top of the list. 

Lots of people want to reduce their emissions by eating more plants, but changing your eating habits can be hard. 

So today, we’re taking a closer look at one idea of how we can drastically reduce the environmental impact of the meat we eat without actually changing our diets. 

We had Ashley Junger and Fatima Husain from our Possibly Team look into this. 

Ashley Junger: Hi, Megan! 

Fatima Husain: Hello! 

Megan Hall: So, what’s this magical way to keep eating meat AND reduce my greenhouse gas emissions? 

Ashley Junger: It’s called cultivated meat or lab-grown meat. 

Megan Hall: That sounds like something from science fiction. How does it work?

Ashley Junger: Good question. To learn more about cultivated meat and how it’s made, we talked with:

Elliot Swartz: “Elliot Swartz. I’m the Principal Scientist specializing in cultivated meat at the Good Food Institute.” 

Fatima Husain: Elliot says the process of creating cultivated meat starts by taking a small piece from an animal…. 

Elliot Swartz: “Where those cells can be taken back to the lab,  grown in a medium that contains all the nutrients that cells need to survive And they can multiply and create the tissues or cells that we need to form into future cultivated meat products.”

Ashley Junger: The end result is genuine animal meats that have been produced without killing an actual animal.

Megan Hall: Wow. But it sounds like a lot of trouble and expense to get the same thing we could get from a cow. Why bother?

Ashley Junger: According to the USDA, four percent of all US greenhouse gas emissions come from beef production. Cultivated meat could be a way to cut that number while still enjoying our burgers.

Fatima Husain: Depending on how it’s grown, on average, cultivated meat could use about one percent of the land that we need to create the same amount of conventional beef.

Ashley Junger: And scientists predict that cultivated meat could emit just 10% of the greenhouse gasses associated with producing traditional beef. And if labs use renewable energy, that could be as low as 2%.

Megan Hall: Wow, sounds like cultivated meat could solve a lot of problems.

Fatima Husain: Yeah, right now the emphasis is on could. Scientists are only making a small amount of cultivated meat, and these estimates are based on models of industrial-scale production. So we’ll have to wait and see how those numbers hold up.

Megan Hall: Ok, but wouldn’t it be easier to just not eat meat all together?

Ashley Junger: We asked Elliot the same question. He said:

Elliot Swartz: “People have been trying to, you know, tell people not to eat as much meat for many, many years. And so you really struggle to get people to shift their behavior by just telling them what to do, from a moral perspective.” 

Megan Hall: Got it. But, how does it taste? Are meat eaters really going to want to try this stuff? It honestly sounds kind of unappealing. 

Fatima Husain: Some people say it’s a little more uniform than conventional meat and doesn’t have those chewy, fatty bits. But most of the people who’ve reviewed it said it was extremely close to or indistinguishable from the real thing.

Megan Hall: Ok, I’ll give it a try. How can I get some? 

Ashley Junger: Well, It’s still difficult and expensive to make, so right now the supply is only enough for some high-end restaurants.

Fatima Husain: But the industry is growing quickly. Investors have put more than 2 billion dollars into getting cultivated meat products on the market.

Ashley Junger: So only time will tell if cultivated meat companies will be able to compete with conventional meat. 

Megan Hall: Got it! Thanks, Ashley and Fatima!

That’s it for today. For more information, or to ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, go to the thepublicsradio.org/possibly. Or subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. 

You can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook or X at  “askpossibly” 

Possibly is a co-production of The Public’s Radio, Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, and Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative.

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Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall. 

Lead paint and leaded gasoline haven’t been used in American homes or cars for nearly 30 years. But researchers say that these sources of lead are still an environmental hazard. But why? 

We had Nat Hardy and Will Malloy from our Possibly Team look into this question. 

Nat Hardy: Hi, Megan! 

Will Malloy: Hello! 

Megan Hall: So, why are we still worried about lead?

Nat Hardy: Well, lead used to be in a lot of products. It was used to make paint more durable, and in gasoline to help engines run smoother.

Will Malloy: But it’s also really dangerous. If it gets into your body, it can harm brain development, especially in young children.

Nat Hardy: Because of the health effects of lead, the federal government started phasing it out in the 70s. 

Megan Hall: Okay, but that was decades ago. Problem solved, right?

Will Malloy: Not quite! It’s still a problem, We talked to Gabe Filippelli, a professor of earth sciences at Indiana University, to figure out why.  

Gabe Filippelli: Lead is one of these elements– it is an element, meaning, unless alchemy works at some point, we’re stuck with it.”

Nat Hardy: Once it’s been introduced into the environment, lead doesn’t break down or wash away. So even though we’re not adding any new lead into our environments today, it’s not going away either. 

Will Malloy: These leftover sources of lead in the environment are called “legacy sources,” and they’re still a risk for people’s health today. 

Megan Hall: Well that doesn’t sound good! Do we know where to find these legacy sources?

Nat Hardy: We do! The major legacy sources of lead are in soil and dust near where the lead was originally used.

Will Malloy: For example, when the paint on old houses peels or cracks, the soil around the house can be contaminated. Then that soil can get blown into the air as dust. 

Nat Hardy: The exhaust from cars with leaded gas also contaminated the soil. Gabe still sees this when he tests for lead.

Gabe Filippelli: You will see a very definitive peak in soil lead near the roadway and a decline away from the roadway.”

Megan Hall: I didn’t realize lead could be in the soil. When I’ve heard people talking about lead these days, they’re mostly just talking about lead water pipes. 

Nat Hardy: And they’re right about that too!  Almost 10 million water pipes in the U.S. are made of lead. 

Will Malloy: And when water quality is mismanaged, these pipes can corrode, allowing lead to enter drinking water. 

Nat Hardy: But recently, the  EPA announced a plan to replace every lead service line in the country over the next ten years.  

Will Malloy: So we’re making great progress getting lead out of drinking water. But, research has shown that contaminated soil and dust can cause lead exposure just as much as pipes can

Nat Hardy: Especially for toddlers who spend a lot of time playing on the ground, and putting things in their mouths…

Megan Hall: So what can we do about this lead in the soil?

Will Malloy: Nationally, The EPA plans to update the country’s regulations around lead in soil. A change like this could encourage soil cleanup projects. 

Nat Hardy: And at home, there are affordable options to keep your kids safe. 

Megan Hall: Like what? 

Will Malloy: You can get your home or yard tested for lead…

Nat Hardy: And If you find elevated levels, you can put down a thick layer of mulch to cover up contaminated dirt. 

Megan Hall: I’m starting to feel overwhelmed…

Will Malloy: No, it’s okay! It’s not that bad. There’s a ton of reasons to be optimistic about cleaning up lead. 

Nat Hardy: Children born in the last decade already have way lower lead levels than people born in the 70s. 

Will Malloy: And Gabe says that cleaning up lead is something everyone can get behind.

Gabe Filippelli: It’s a little bit different than climate change, where we have so many embedded processes that use fossil fuels to emit carbon dioxide. Lead no longer has any embedded interest. Now we just need to clean it up.”

Megan Hall: Got it. Thanks, Nat and Will!

That’s it for today. For more information, or to ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, go to thepublicsradio.org/possibly. Or subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. 

You can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook or X at  “askpossibly”

Possibly is a co-production of The Public’s Radio, Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, and Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative.

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Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall. 

One of the great parts about living in the Ocean State is getting to eat fresh shellfish. But what happens to the shells after we slurp down those oysters? Possibly reporters and lifelong Rhode Islanders- Will Malloy and Iman Khanbhai looked into the options.  

Will Malloy: Hi Megan! 

Iman Khanbhai: Hi! 

Megan Hall: So, what happens to the shells after we eat oysters? 

Will Malloy: They can just go in the trash, but a number of coastal states have created programs to gather up those oyster shells and return them to the water.

Megan Hall: Cool! Is that to keep them out of the landfill? 

Will Malloy: Yes, but there’s more to it than that. 

Iman Khanbhai: Oyster shells can actually help rebuild wild oyster reefs. 

Will Malloy: To learn more, we talked to Tim Mooney from The Nature Conservancy in Rhode Island. He says wild oysters are in danger. 

Tim Mooney: we have lost about 85% of our wild oyster population compared to say 100 years ago … And so putting more shell in the water is a strategy to recreate self-sustaining wild oyster reefs.

Megan Hall: How do these oyster shells help rebuild those reefs? 

Will Malloy: For one, they provide a good surface for baby oysters to settle and grow on. 

Iman Khanbhai: Those babies need hard surfaces and old shells are perfect candidates. 

Will Malloy: Plus, reefs based on fresh oyster shells make nooks and crannies that small fish can use as hiding spots from predators. Plus, they nurture diverse plant and animal communities. 

Iman Khanbhai: Oysters are also really good at filtering water. 

Tim Mooney:An adult oyster can filter 50 gallons of water in a day. And if you do that at scale, you’re gonna see changes in water quality and clarity.

Megan Hall: Cool! Let’s dump all of our oyster shells into the ocean! 

Iman Khanbhai: It’s a little more complicated than that. These reefs can’t just get built anywhere, Oysters only survive and thrive under very particular conditions. 

Will Malloy: Scientists at The Nature Conservancy in Rhode Island and at the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management are in the process of figuring out exactly where new reefs would be most likely to do well. 

Iman Khanbhai: They’ve done some small-scale tests of potential locations to reestablish wild oyster populations locally. Right now, they have a couple dozen experimental reefs in ponds down in South County.  

Will Malloy: While they’re still working out what locations are likely to be successful, they have their sights set on something much bigger.  

Tim Mooney: Putting a little bit of shell here and a little bit of shell there, it’s not going to add up to enough to achieve the kind of water quality and fish habitat benefits that we’re looking for. Once we have the solid science on the best places to to build new reefs will be able to do this at scale.

Iman Khanbhai: In the meantime, the two organizations are working on building up a stockpile of shell so that when these plans are in place, they’re ready to drop. 

Megan Hall: How can I help? 

Will Malloy: Well, your oyster shells could do a lot of good, but Tim says…

Tim Mooney: that doesn’t mean everyone should go and start throwing oyster shells in the water wherever they are.

Will Malloy: Before shell can go in the water, it needs to sit outside and cure for a couple months to get rid of all the food waste or germs. 

Iman Khanbhai: So don’t go chucking your shucked oyster shells off the dock! 

Will Malloy: But if you want to support shell recycling efforts, think about eating at local restaurants or oyster festivals that donate their shell. 

Megan Hall: As if I need an excuse to enjoy an oyster festival! 

Thanks Will and Iman. That’s it for today. For more information, or to ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, go to thepublicsradio.org/possibly. Or subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. 

You can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook or X at  “askpossibly” 

Possibly is a co-production of The Public’s Radio, Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society and Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative.

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Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly. Where we take on huge problems, like the future of our planet, and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall. 

Recently, I’ve had a lot of people knocking on my door trying to sell me solar panels. It happened just last week! 

Salespeople: “We’re part of field marketing outreach, we actually go seek out homeowners and try to see if we can get them qualified for the no cost program that’s going on in this state right now”

Megan Hall: When I meet these door-to-door salespeople,  I always wonder- are these solar panel programs legit? So I asked Juliana Merullo and Cameron Leo to look into this question. 

Juliana Merullo: Hiya Megan! 

Cameron Leo: Hi there! 

Megan Hall: So can I trust these salespeople that keep knocking on my door? 

Juliana Merullo: There’s nothing inherently fishy about these door-to-door salespeople. A lot of companies do this to spread the word about incentives for homeowners.

Cameron Leo: But, there’s the possibility these salespeople might exaggerate some parts of those incentives.. 

Megan Hall: What do you mean? 

Juliana Merullo: Well, the federal government currently offers a tax credit for 30% of the purchase price of a solar panel system. 

Megan Hall: And that’s legit, right?

Cameron Leo: Yes! But, not everyone qualifies for this tax credit. 

Juliana Merullo:  Door to door salespeople might say you’re guaranteed to receive the credit, or even call it a down payment, but that’s not really how it works. 

Cameron Leo: To get the tax credit, there are a few conditions. You have to owe federal income tax for that year, and you have to be buying, not leasing, the solar panels. 

Juliana Merullo:  Plus, if the panels are going on your home, and you use part of your house as an office, that can also reduce the tax credit.  

Cameron Leo: And it doesn’t mean the solar panels are “no cost”. A tax credit just means that you don’t have to pay the full amount of your income tax at the end of the year. 

Megan Hall: Got it! So what are some things I should ask these salespeople if I’m thinking about  buying solar panels for my house?  

Juliana Merullo: It’s really important to get a full breakdown of the cost of the project and the financing they might be offering. You can also ask for references, and talk to your friends and family to see if any of them have experience with that company. 

Cameron Leo: And you shouldn’t feel rushed in the process. Even if you sign a contract with one of these companies, you have up to three days to cancel if you change your mind. 

Juliana Merullo: For more advice, we spoke to someone who is working to help consumers make informed decisions about buying solar panels. 

Peter Neronha: I’m Peter Neronha. I’m the attorney general for the state of Rhode Island.

Cameron Leo: The Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit last summer against Smart Green Solar, a company that they say was deceiving customers through door to door sale tactics. 

Megan Hall: What did Smart Green Solar do? 

Cameron Leo: Well, the case is still working its way through the system, but some customers said the company promised them the 30% tax credit, and didn’t tell them about the option to cancel within three days. 

Megan Hall: That makes me think I shouldn’t talk to those people knocking on my door…

Juliana Merullo: A lot of people have that reaction. And the Attorney General says that’s a problem.

Peter Neronha: When solar companies engage in these kinds of practices, they taint all of the legitimate solar companies that are trying to sell solar to a Rhode Islander. 

Cameron Leo: The truth is, transitioning to running our homes on renewable energy is a key part of how we can lower carbon emissions. And the attorney general says we can’t give up on that effort. 

Peter Neronha: The office is heavily focused on this area because we believe it is something that Rhode Islanders need to consider to be part of our climate crisis solution.

Juliana Merullo: If you’re looking to buy solar panels, there are lots of legit companies, including ones that knock on your door, that can help you start the process. 

Megan Hall: But if I want to get solar power for my home, how do I do it without getting scammed? 

Juliana Merullo: The Attorney General says you should treat buying solar panels like you would treat any other big purchase. 

Peter Neronha: I think it’s the rare Rhode Islander who walks into a car dealership without thinking about what kind of car they want, how much they’re prepared to pay…What make or model they’re looking for.

Megan Hall: But how do I get reliable information about solar panels? 

Cameron Leo: To help with that, the Rhode Island attorney general’s office created a whole website for their Solar Panel Initiative with answers to consumers’ questions about who they should trust when they’re buying solar panels. 

Juliana Merullo: The site also has a list of questions you can ask the salesperson to make sure they’re legit. So the next time someone knocks on your door, you’ll be prepared. 

Megan Hall: Got it! Thanks, Juliana and Cameron. 

That’s it for today. For more information, or to ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, go to thepublicsradio.org/possibly. Or subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. 

You can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook or X at  “askpossibly”

Possibly is a co-production of The Public’s Radio and Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, and the Brown Climate Solutions Initiative.

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Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall. 

Last summer, I got a letter in the mail, welcoming me to the Providence Community Electricity Program. 

If you live in Rhode Island, there’s a decent chance you got some version of this letter, too. That’s because last year, seven towns in Rhode Island launched brand new energy programs, called community choice aggregation. 

We had Cameron Leo and Juliana Merullo from our Possibly Team look into the program to figure out how it works and what it means for Rhode Islanders. 

Cameron Leo: Hey, Megan! 

Juliana Merullo: Hiya! 

Megan Hall: So, what is community choice aggregation? And what makes it different from the way I got my energy before?

Cameron Leo: The first thing to know is that Rhode Island has a deregulated energy grid.

Juliana Merullo: That means that even though Rhode Island Energy distributes all of the electricity across the state, residents can choose to get their energy from an outside company.

Megan Hall: So if I wanted to, I could opt out of Rhode Island Energy and get my electricity from somewhere else?

Cameron Leo: You could! But most people don’t choose to find a new provider on their own, because it’s a complicated process. 

Juliana Merullo: This is where community choice aggregation, or CCAs, come in. Under these programs, towns can shop around for an outside energy supplier on behalf of all of their residents.

Cameron Leo: To learn more, we talked to Emily Koo, who was Providence’s Director of Sustainability when the city started developing this program.  She says community aggregation has two main goals: lower prices, and more renewable energy.

Emily Koo: In contrast, an investor-owned utility, also has its own bottom line and fiduciary obligations to consider.

Megan Hall: Let’s start with the lower cost part of this. How does community aggregation cut my utility bill?

Juliana Merullo: Under community aggregation programs, towns purchase electricity for their residents in bulk.

Megan Hall: When you say “purchase in bulk,” my mind immediately goes to big-box stores like Costco.

Cameron Leo: And that’s actually a pretty great comparison! In the same way that you land a better deal when you buy big packages at those stores, towns with community aggregation programs aim to get lower costs by pooling together everyone’s electricity needs.

Megan Hall: Okay, so, bottom line – how much money am I actually saving through this program?

Juliana Merullo: So far, it’s varied by the season. Last summer, the program was 1 cent per kilowatt hour cheaper than Rhode Island Energy. That’s a 10% discount! 

Cameron Leo: But this winter there’s been less of a difference. The CCA’s current rate is only one tenth of a cent cheaper per kilowatt hour than Rhode Island Energy, which isn’t much.

Megan Hall: Ok, so I’m likely to save, but not a lot. So, remind me why this is exciting?

Juliana Merullo: With community aggregation, towns can choose to select energy suppliers that will use more renewable sources, like wind and solar.

Cameron Leo: In Rhode Island, towns with the aggregation program are  set to increase their renewable energy by 22 percent.

Megan Hall: That’s pretty good!

Juliana Merullo: It is! And nearly all of this new renewable energy is from sources in New England, which could help incentivize more renewables to come onto our local grid. 

Megan Hall: So, everyone who got a letter, was automatically signed up for this program, but I saw that I also have the option to “opt up” and increase my renewable mix.

Cameron Leo: That’s right. You can do that by heading to your town’s Community Electricity website and filling out a quick form. It costs a bit more, but you can choose an electricity mix that’s 50 or even 100 percent renewable.

Megan Hall: So—what’s the catch? Are there any downsides to the program?

Juliana Merullo: Not really! But since the program is new, just how effective it is remains to be seen. 

Cameron Leo: Still, it’s probably a step in the right direction to lower customer costs and drive more renewables onto the grid. 

Megan Hall: Thanks, Cameron and Juliana! And thank you to Ella Spungen for helping with research for this episode.

That’s it for today. For more information, or to ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, go to thepublicsradio.org/possibly. Or subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. 

You can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook or X at  “askpossibly” 

Possibly is a co-production of The Public’s Radio,  Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, and Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative.

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Megan Hall:  Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall.

Today, we have a question from one of our reporters, Kolya Shields. What do you have for us, Kolya?  

Kolya Shields: I’ve learned so many great tips about saving energy and addressing climate change during my time at Possibly! But it’s hard to convince my friends to try something new,  and sometimes even I forget to unplug my electronics or bring my reusable bags to the store. 

So I was wondering, are there research-based ways to change our behaviors?

Megan Hall: We had CharlieAdams from our Possibly team help Kolya look into it. Welcome, Charlie and Kolya!

Charlie Adams: Hi, Megan!

Kolya Shields: Hello!

Megan Hall: So, how do we convince people to make climate-conscious decisions? 

Kolya Shields: Well, it’s complicated! There’s a whole field of science dedicated to how people make decisions, behavioral science. To learn more, I spoke to Caroly Shumway:

Caroly Shumway: “I’m the director of the Center for Behavior and Climate”

Charlie Adams: She says behavioral science is 

Caroly Shumway: “the collective term for those scientific disciplines seeking to understand the causes of individual group and organizational behavior”

Megan Hall: So what does this have to do with climate change? 

Charlie Adams: Caroly says that climate change is not just a ‘science’ problem, but a people problem too. The science about our greenhouse gasses warming the planet has been clear for decades, but our behaviors and policies haven’t caught up.

Megan Hall: What can we do about that?

Kolya Shields: Caroly says much of our individual behavior is heavily influenced by habits. And…

Caroly Shumway: “It’s a challenge to change habits. All of us know how many new year’s resolutions fail… you have to do that habit, try that new thing, probably for… two weeks, maybe a month before it… solidifies”

Megan Hall: Ok, so once I get into a groove it gets much easier to remember to do things like take the bus and turn off the lights when I leave a room. But how do I make sure I don’t forget or quit?

Charlie Adams: Well, of course, there’s no perfect fix, but one helpful way to think about decision-making is through ‘social norms.’

Kolya Shields: For example, Caroly says framing sustainable habits as a popular choice, a trend, makes it easier for people to change their behavior.

Charlie Adams: This approach can have a big impact. For example, researchers at Stanford looked at how student eating habits changed after they read different anti-meat arguments.

Megan Hall: What did they learn? 

Kolya Shields: Messages that said people have turned away from meat in the last 5 years were much more successful than vague statements about people eating less meat.

Megan Hall: How do I put that lesson into practice?

Kolya Shields:  See if you can decide on a choice that your friend group can try together. When you have other people to hold you accountable and remind you why this change is important, it’s much easier to build new habits! 

Megan Hall: Can we use these strategies on a larger scale?

Kolya Shields: Caroly says if you want to influence behaviors, incentives are much more effective than punishments.

Caroly: “if you can enable choice, and you make the better choice more available or more accessible, you’re more likely to increase change for the better than if you take a hard line.”

Charlie Adams: The way we talk about the climate is important too! Research shows messages that emphasize the economic and social benefits of addressing climate change, like new jobs in the green economy, increased the likelihood that people made more sustainable choices.

Caroly: “People already believe climate change is real… So we have to, rather than make people feel a sense of apathy and despair, give people a sense that things are getting better”

Charlie Adams: It’s also important to remember that no amount of personal behavior change can solve this problem by itself – climate change will require fundamental policy changes, and there is only so much we can do as individuals. 

Kolya Shields: But on the flip side, policies don’t come from nowhere, they come from people. So talk to the people in your life about changes you can both try, the positive impact those actions make, and remember that people across the world are making similar changes every day! It’s not just a fun thing to do — it’s Behavioral Science! 

Megan Hall: Thanks, Kolya and Charlie!

That’s it for today. For more information, or to ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, go to the public’s radio dot org slash possibly. Or subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. 

You can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram– at “ask possibly” 

Possibly is a co-production of The Public’s Radio,  Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society and Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative. 

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Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall. As we head into a new year, our Possibly team decided to think about all of our episodes, and how they might inspire our resolutions for 2024. Here’s what some of us had to say.

Will Malloy: My name is Wil Malloy, I’m a reporter for Possibly, I was inspired by the episode about offsetting flights by giving up red meat. And my resolution for the new year is to give up red meat.

Juliana Merullo: My name is Juliana Merullo, and I’m a senior reporter with Possibly. I love to bird and I was inspired by our episode on bird migration and light pollution. So this spring, I’m going to make sure to close my curtains and turn off my lights at night during spring migration. 

Stephen Porder: Hi, this is Steven Porder, co-founder of Possibly. It’s finally time to tackle dairy. I’ve cut out all meat. But we know the dairy has a big carbon footprint. I’m not quite ready to give up cheese. So my New Year’s resolution is to give up on all animal based milk, yogurt, and butter. Maybe next year for cheese, but that’s going to be a tough one.

Meg Talikoff: Hi, I’m Meg Talikoff. I’m a reporter at Possibly and this year my resolution is to look into how to become an intervener at my public utilities commission. It means that I would be able to give feedback officially to the Public Utilities Commission and give a perspective other than utility companies’ perspective. 

Charlie Adams: Hello, My name is Charlie Adams. I’m a reporter for Possibly 

Iman Khanbhai: Hi, my name is Iman Khanbhai. I’m a reporter for Possibly.

Charlie Adams and Iman Khanbhai: We’re gonna use less water when we shave.

Nat Hardy: Hi, my name is Nat Hardy, and I’m the managing producer at Possibly. We had an episode earlier this year about how to more sustainably make a cup of coffee. I don’t drink coffee, but I’m a really big tea drinker. This year, I want to research how to make a more sustainable cup of tea. 

Megan Hall: Hi, my name is Megan Hall and I’m the host of Possibly. Two years ago I made a resolution that I was going to save money so I could buy an electric car. And I did it this year. So mission accomplished.  For 2024, my resolution is to also try to limit the kinds of things I buy that I don’t need so I can save up money for heat pumps, which is another thing we talked about a lot on the show- it’s a more sustainable way to heat and cool your house.

Janek Schaller: Hi, my name is Janek Schaller. I’m a senior reporter here at Possibly and my resolution for the new year is to become more aware of the ways in which I can leverage my position as a student, and as somebody who cares with the climate, to affect change. Kind of along the lines of what we saw in our reporting on the Youth Climate suit in Montana.  

Megan Hall: Anything else you want to say? 

Nat Hardy: Happy New Year!

Stephen Porder: Happy New Year!

Megan Hall: Happy New Year! 

That’s it for today. For more information or to ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet. Go to the public’s radio.org/Possibly.

You can also follow us on social media at Ask Possibly.

Possibly is a co-production of The Public’s Radio, Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, and Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative.

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Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall. 

At the beach, we’re supposed to watch out for strong tides. Our oceans are powerful places. Could they also be power sources?

Here to tell us more are Charlie Adams and Kolya Shields from our Possibly Team. 

Charlie Adams: Hi, Megan!

Kolya Shields: Hello! 

Megan Hall: So how exactly could we use tides as a power source?

Charlie Adams: One method gaining some momentum is tidal turbines. 

Rob Cavagnaro “From a physics perspective, it’s the same as a wind turbine. It’s fluid flowing past the blade that generates torque, that spins the rotor that turns the generator”

Kolya Shields: That’s Rob Cavagnaro, a mechanical engineer studying marine energy at the Pacific Northwest National Labs.

Megan Hall: How do they install these turbines?

Charlie Adams: They either float on the surface of the ocean or get anchored to the sea floor. And they generate power when water flows through them as the tide goes in and out. 

Megan Hall: How much electricity are we talking here?

Kolya Shields: The Department of Energy estimates that all forms of tidal power could power more than 20 million homes in the US 

Megan Hall: That sounds pretty good!

Charlie Adams: It’s something, but that’s still only about 5.4% of the electricity we currently use. And that’s before we all electrify our cars and home heating.

Megan Hall: So, don’t count on tidal power to be our main source of renewable energy’? 

Kolya Shields: No, but there’s something tidal power offers that could make it a useful part of our energy grid- it’s extremely predictable. 

Charlie Adams: To learn more, we spoke with Dr. Andrea Copping, a Senior Manager at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Dr. Andrea Copping: We know the tides come and go most places twice a day…we can predict what a tide will look like two and 300 years in the future.”

Kolya Shields: In other words, tidal energy is reliable. 

Megan Hall: So, why don’t we have more of these tidal turbines?

Charlie Adams: First, there are a lot of places with small tides, and of course, in the middle of the country there are no tides at all.

Kolya Shields: And right now, these projects are pretty expensive to install and maintain. 

Charlie Adams: There have been some successful demonstrations in New York, New Hampshire, and Maine, but no commercial-scale ones in the US, yet. 

Kolya Shields: But Andrea says it doesn’t have to stay that way.  

Dr. Andrea Copping: ​​the US has several large sites of really big tidal power: Cook Inlet in Alaska, Puget Sound in Washington, coastal Maine, those are the big ones. But there’s a lot of smaller areas…They’re not megawatts and gigawatts but they could very well serve many of those communities.”

Megan Hall: Ok. But, the idea of these tidal turbines makes me a little nervous. Won’t marine life get chopped up in those big blades? 

Dr. Andrea Copping:  Whale sushi, I hear it all the time, and it’s absolutely not correct.

Charlie Adams: Andrea says that’s a common fear- that these really fast blades will hurt fish and other sea creatures.

Kolya Shields: In reality, the turbines spin very slowly. Andrea says she hasn’t seen a single case of lethal collision with marine mammals.

Charlie Adams: Researchers have also monitored how tidal turbines contribute to underwater noise and electromagnetic radiation and have found, so far, they fall within appropriate levels. 

Megan Hall: Ok, but back to the cost of these projects- are they worth the investment? 

Kolya Shields: They’re not going to meet all of our needs for renewable energy, but they do have a role to play. 

Charlie Adams: For example, when one village in Alaska installed a tidal turbine, they reduced their use of diesel fuel by 90%. Other remote coastal communities and island nations could do something similar. 

Kolya Shields: Also, out at sea, Andrea says tidal power could be used for remote data collection, weather buoys, and even offshore aquaculture. 

Megan Hall: So what does the future look like for tidal turbines?

Charlie Adams: In short, it’s likely to be a small, local solution that can be very effective in some places. And, with more research and development, it could play a bigger role in the future of renewable energy.  

Megan Hall: Great. Thanks, Charlie and Kolya.

That’s it for today. For more information, or to ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, go to the public’s radio dot org slash possibly. Or subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. 

You can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram– at  “ask possibly” 

Possibly is a co-production of The Public’s Radio, Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, and Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative.

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Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall. 

Today, we’re talking about the world’s largest annual climate conference. It’s coming up soon, so Meg Talikoff and Juliana Merullo are here to give us a preview. Hi guys!

Meg Talikoff: Hi!

Juliana Merullo: Hey, Megan. 

Megan Hall: Let’s start with the basics. What’s this conference called, and when’s it happening? 

Juliana Merullo: It’s called the Conference of the Parties, abbreviated as “COP.” It’s organized by the UN and it’ll be held in Dubai in early December. 

Megan Hall: Why is it called a conference of “parties’?

Meg Talikoff: The “parties” are just delegations from a big group of countries who get together every year to try and do something about climate change. 

Juliana Merullo: The conference started in 1995, and they’re still at it 28 years later. 

Megan Hall: So COP has happened 27 times already! What has it accomplished so far?

Meg Talikoff: Well, all the international agreements about reducing emissions have come out of the conference.  

Juliana Merullo: If you’ve heard of the Paris Agreement, that was the result of the 2015 meeting.

Meg Talikoff: In the Paris Agreement, the parties made non-binding commitments to keep global warming under one and a half degrees celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.

Juliana Merullo: It’s an important goal because if we heat the planet more than that, there will be major consequences.

Megan Hall: How are we doing on that goal?

Juliana Merullo: Not well. So far, no country has agreed to make all the changes that would keep warming to 1.5 degrees. 

Meg Talikoff: But taking stock of how much progress has been made is going to be a big focus of COP this year. 

Megan Hall: So this conference is going be different in terms of how we’re monitoring our progress? 

Meg Talikoff: Yeah! Basically, scientists have written a detailed report on how much progress we’ve made towards the 1.5 degree goal over the past 8 years. 

Juliana Merullo: It’s the first time they’ve done that type of evaluation, so the delegations will have lots to discuss.  

Megan Hall: Do we have any sense of what the results are yet? 

Meg Talikoff: Yeah, we do! Unfortunately, they’re not great. 

Juliana Merullo: According the UN, even if every country in the world does their current plan to curb emissions, greenhouse gasses would still increase 16% by 2030.

Meg Talikoff: Those emissions levels correspond to temperatures rising a whole 2.7 degrees celsius by the end of the century.

Megan Hall: So, why aren’t we meeting our goals?

Meg Talikoff: On some level, it just takes time to wean ourselves off fossil fuels. For example, it’ll be a little while before we have electric car infrastructure that most people trust. 

Juliana Merullo: Also, experts say it’s easy for countries to say they’re cutting lots of emissions even if they aren’t. 

Megan Hall: Why’s that?

Juliana Merullo: Dr. Amanda Lynch, Chair of the Research Board at the UN World Meteorological Organization, says whether countries meet their commitments or not, it won’t be traced back to them. 

Dr. Amanda Lynch: It’s very hard to ascribe cause and effect of the macro trends, let alone did Argentina make their commitment. 

Meg Talikoff: Countries also get bogged down over who should pay for the transition away from fossil fuels. 

Megan Hall: What do you mean by that? 

Juliana Merullo: For example, China is the world’s biggest emitter, so the U.S. doesn’t want to have to pay for lowering emissions if China doesn’t.

Meg Talikoff: But the U.S. emitted the most for a long time, and China doesn’t think it’s fair to have to clean up after us.

Megan Hall: Okay, so those are the challenges. Do these big conferences ever really accomplish anything or do they just talk a lot? 

Juliana Merullo: Well, the progress is slow. But there are still concrete things happening this year. 

Meg Talikoff: Probably the biggest highlight is that the parties are going to finalize the details of a “loss and damage” fund to help countries who are already suffering from climate change. 

Juliana Merullo: And just a few days ago, President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping publicly agreed to work together to “triple renewable energy capacity by 2030.” 

Meg Talikoff: Experts say that deal will give this Conference of the Parties some momentum. 

Juliana Merullo: Also, everything is a lot better than before the Paris Agreement. It used to be that we were going to heat the planet 4.5 degrees Celsius  by the end of the century.  

Meg Talikoff: So even though we’re haven’t met our goals, we’ve already made a big difference.  

Megan Hall: That’s great to hear! Thanks for giving us a preview, guys. 

That’s it for today. For more information, or to ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, go to the public’s radio dot org slash possibly. Or subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. 

You can also follow us on facebook and instagram  at “ask possibly.”

Possibly is a co-production of The Public’s Radio, Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, and Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative.

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Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall.

Megan Hall: If you’ve ever been to a car race, you know they are LOUD…. 

Megan Hall: But this summer, I went to a new kind of car race. And it sounded like…                                        

Ryan Conaty: It’s quite peaceful. It’s kind of… it’s funny. 

Megan Hall: That’s my husband Ryan. He goes to Daytona every year, he’s photographed a Formula 1 race….we even flew to France for the 24 hours of La-Mans…But he’s never been to something like this….

Ryan Conaty: I feel like we’re living in the future. Right now.

Megan Hall: We’re standing near a fence at the Portland International Raceway, watching cars zoom by on their qualifying laps. But, we can barely hear them. That’s because they’re electric. 

Allen Brown: Oh, I miss the motor noise.

Megan Hall: That’s Allen Brown. He drove about 2 hours from Corvallis, Oregon to get to the race today. 

Allen Brown: I’m a Formula One fan. And this is the first time Formula E’s been in this area of the country. So I figured hey, why not?

Megan Hall: This Formula E race borrows a lot from Allen’s favorite motorsport. Like Formula 1, these cars travel all over the world and race on different tracks and street circuits, competing for a championship at the end of the season. 

Megan Hall: But, because the cars are electric, the drivers have an extra challenge-

Julia Palle: When they start racing, they have they’re missing 40% of the energy that they would need to finish the race.

Megan Hall: That’s Julia Palle, the sustainability director for Formula E. She says starting the race this way means the drivers can’t JUST focus on driving fast.

Julia Palle: Within Formula E it’s all about the energy management and how they can get their battery to last longer.

Megan Hall: The drivers mostly do this with their brakes, which are designed to recharge their batteries.

The extra challenge makes the race more interesting, but there’s also a practical purpose. Formula E is basically a laboratory for improving the electric cars we drive on the road.

Julia Palle: We are always trying to be ahead of the game of what will be the next need from a passenger vehicle perspective.

Megan Hall: Julia says that since the races started 9 years ago, they’ve managed to almost double the capacity of their car batteries. Now, they’re working on faster charging stations.

Julia Palle: because people don’t want to be spending hours even not any more 20 minutes, you know, like to recharge their cars. 

Megan Hall: How close are you to something like that, that maybe consumers could use? 

Julia Palle: I would say very close. But for the rest, I cannot comment any further.

Megan Hall: But Julia says these Formula E races aren’t just about improving technology, they’re about getting people excited about a future without fossil fuels.

Megan Hall: This approach is attracting a new audience to motorsports- like 18-year-old Rebecca Richey, who came here with her friends from Albany, Oregon. 

Rebecca Richey: Yeah, I think eventually, they’re gonna outlaw gas. And then we’ll just all have electric cars, or we’ll all have, like public transportation…

Friends: That would be so much better. (yeah…)

Megan Hall: But what about the die-hard race car fans? The ones like Allen Brown from Corvallis, or my husband Ryan, who miss the roar and smell of the track? 

Julia Palle: Well, I mean, first of all, some people will never be you know, convinced, but I think what is super interesting when you get to actually come and experience the race is that the cars do have a sound. It’s not as let’s say, overtaking which makes that you actually can have a conversation, you can bring young children with you because it’s bearable, literally in terms of decibels.

Megan Hall: When the actual race gets started, the loudspeakers and helicopters circling the track make up for the quiet electric motors. As we walk back to our car, I check in with Ryan. What did he think?

Ryan Conaty: More women and children than I’m accustomed to and a lot less tobacco use. But I’d say it’s a good event. I like it.

Megan Hall: That’s it for today. For more information, or to ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, go to the public’s radio dot org slash possibly. Or subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. 

Possibly is a co-production of The Public’s Radio,  Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, and Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative.

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