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. 

It’s getting colder, and a lot of people are turning on their furnaces. Many of those run on “natural” gas, which is basically methane, a potent greenhouse gas. 

So, what do we do about these emissions?  We had Janek Schaller and Juliana Merullo, from our Possibly team, look into this tricky question.

Janek Schaller: Hey, Megan!

Juliana Merullo: Hiya! 

Megan Hall: First off, why are we concerned about using natural gas?

Janek Schaller: Natural gas is used for both heating and electricity generation, and burning it is responsible for about ⅓ of all US emissions.    

Megan Hall: Is Rhode Island doing anything to reduce those emissions?

Juliana Merullo: In fact, we have to! The 2021 Act on Climate requires the state to get to net-zero by the year 2050, so we’ll have to rethink our relationship with natural gas if we want to meet that target.

Megan Hall: So who’s responsible for figuring out what changes need to be made?

Janek Schaller:  This is another job for our friends at the Public Utility Commission…

Megan Hall: Remind me who they are…?

Janek Schaller: The Public Utility Commission, or PUC,  regulates the utility companies in each state and assesses the rates they charge consumers for water, electricity, and gas.

Megan Hall: Gas, as in natural gas?

Juliana Merullo: Exactly – so you can start to see how the utilities tie in to this. To meet the state’s emission goals, utility companies will need to make changes to the way they operate. And THOSE changes may affect the cost of energy. 

Megan Hall: Which is where the PUC comes into play–

Janek Schaller: Right. One of their jobs is deciding whether utility companies are making “prudent investments.” 

Megan Hall: What does that mean?

Juliana Merullo: That’s a really important question. We spoke with Todd Bianco, the Chief Economic and Policy Analyst for Rhode Island’s Public Utilities Commission, to get a better idea:

Todd Bianco: “The issue of prudence often comes to what a reasonable company would have done to serve its customers.”

Janek Schaller: Todd says if a utility can provide compelling evidence that a new investment – like repairs to its natural gas lines – would help them better serve their customers, then the PUC will let them increase their prices. 

Juliana Merullo: In this case, the most piece of evidence is that Act on Climate that Rhode Island passed in 2021. It mandated emissions reductions for Rhode Island’s gas sector. 

Janek Schaller: In other words, our state law has now officially made it “prudent” to reconsider our use of natural gas. 

Megan Hall: Got it. So what does the future of gas look like, according to the Public Utilities Commission?

Juliana Merullo: Right now, they are still gathering information, since this is a pretty contentious issue.  

Janek Schaller: Before making a final call, the PUC has decided to organize a stakeholder group to get more input on how best to decarbonize the gas sector. Todd says this buys everyone a little time. 

Todd Bianco:“It would be too early for folks to begin to settle their differences. No one should feel the pressure that they need to begin to compromise on what they want yet.”

Megan Hall: But how long is this process going to take? I mean, we don’t have a lot of time when it comes to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. 

Janek Schaller: Todd says getting more opinions is a crucial part of the process. And besides, the biggest issue has already been resolved.

Megan Hall: And what would that be?

Juliana Merullo: Whether or not we have to transition to renewable energy at all. As Todd puts it,

Todd Bianco: “The question of is it prudent to eliminate emissions from the gas system has been answered already by the legislature: it is prudent and not only is it prudent, it must be done.”

Megan Hall: So what happens once the stakeholder group has done its thing? 

Juliana Merullo: While they may not reach complete consensus, the group will eventually share their findings with the Public Utilities Commission, who will ultimately decide which course of action to take.  

Janek Schaller: Those recommendations will largely be based on which approaches will create the most benefit for consumers while also minimizing cost for the utility, all while getting us to the emissions targets laid out in state law. We’ll have more on what those options might look like in a later episode. 

Megan Hall: Keep us posted – thanks, Janek and Juliana!

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.

The post What does the Future of Natural Gas Look Like in Rhode Island? Part 1 appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio.

The post What does the Future of Natural Gas Look Like in Rhode Island? Part 1 appeared first on Possibly.

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. 

Imagine a field full of cows. What are they eating? 

You’re probably thinking: grass, hay, or some sort of grain. What you’re probably not imagining, is seaweed. 

But some scientists say cows SHOULD be eating seaweed. And this small change to their diet could have a significant impact on the effects of climate change. What is this all about? We had Elise Ryan and Liyaan Maskati from our Possibly Team investigate. Welcome, Elise and Liyaan! 

Elise Ryan: Hi, Megan! 

Liyann Maskati: Hi! 

Megan Hall: So, what’s the deal with cows, seaweed, and climate change? 

Elise Ryan: Before we talk about seaweed, let’s take a step back and talk about cows and climate change.

Liyann Maskati: Cows contribute to climate change in a few ways. First- a lot of land and energy is used to grow crops to feed cows. And all that farming uses fossil fuels. 

Elise Ryan: But cows contribute to climate change in another major way: when cows burp, they create methane — which is a powerful greenhouse gas.

Megan Hall: Why do cow burps do this? 

Elise Ryan: Cows have an extra compartment in their stomachs called the “rumen.” When food particles are broken down in this compartment, the cow receives nutrients. BUT byproducts, like carbon dioxide and hydrogen, are also released. 

Liyann Maskati: Microbes in the rumen turn this carbon dioxide and hydrogen into methane. 

Megan Hall: And all of this is important because —? 

Breanna Roque: Methane is a particularly potent greenhouse gas.

Elise Ryan: That was Breanna Roque, a PhD candidate at the University of California, Davis. She explained that methane traps more heat per molecule than other gases like carbon dioxide.  

Elise Ryan: To prevent cows from releasing methane, scientists needed to find a way to cut off the chemical process that happens when cows digest their food. That’s when they decided to try feeding them seaweed. 

Megan Hall: Why seaweed? 

Liyann Maskati: Breanna says seaweed contains a type of chemical called bromaform that interrupts the last stage of the process where a cow’s digested food creates methane.

Breanna Roque: There’s a specific enzyme that’s needed in the last step of methane formation. But it appears that this bromaform directly targets that enzyme and inactivates it.

Elise Ryan: Australian scientists were thinking about this process as well — and in 2016, they experimented with a specific type of red seaweed called Asparagopsis. 

Liyann Maskati: After hearing about these experiments, Dr. Ermias Kebreab, Breanna’s advisor, was inspired to try it in his lab as well. 

Ermias Kebreab: The first thing we did was try to see if we could replicate what they did in Australia….

Elise Ryan: And they found similar results. 

Breanna Roque: So then what we did was we actually moved to this experiment into the animal. 

Liyann Maskati: They found that cows that consumed small doses of seaweed along with their feed, released 82 percent less methane. 

Elise Ryan: And their experiment showed that the dairy and beef products were not affected by the seaweed — the taste, texture, all of it stayed the same. 

Ermias Kebreab: And also the active ingredient bromaform was not detected in the meat as well. So that’s all good news.

Liyann Maskati: Looking ahead, Ermias said he’s hopeful that companies will be able to grow lots of seaweed for this purpose, and that farmers will be open to feeding it to their cows. 

Megan Hall: Important follow-up question: do cows…. like seaweed?

Liyann Maskati: Breanna was in charge of feeding the cows participating in the experiment. 

Breanna Roque: Initial introduction of seaweed into their diet, the cows kind of picked around it, then, after a few weeks, we saw the animals eating the seaweed right away.

Elise Ryan: Maybe one day cows will be feasting on seaweed all over the place. But that won’t completely solve the problem- there are lots of greenhouse gas emissions that come from cow manure and growing cattle feed. 

Liyann Maskati: So, even without cow burps, your hamburger would still contribute more to climate change than some chicken or a plate of vegetables.

Elise Ryan: But any step towards reducing emissions from cows is a step in the right direction.

Megan Hall: Great! Thanks, Elise and Liyaan! 

That’s it for today. For more information, or to ask a question about the way you recycle, use energy, or make any other choice that affects the 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 Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative, and the Public’s Radio. 

The post Can seaweed improve cow burps? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio.

The post Can seaweed improve cow burps? appeared first on Possibly.

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. 

For the past few weeks or so, my eyes have been scratchy and I’ve had a runny nose. And I’m not alone. A lot of people are feeling the effects of spring allergies and they seem even more intense this year. That made us wonder, does climate change have anything to do with this? 

We had Harrison Katz and Fatima Husain from our Possibly team look into this question. Welcome, Harrison and Fatima!

Harrison Katz: Hi, Megan! 

Fatima Husain: Hello! 

Megan Hall: So, before we talk about climate change, will you just explain how seasonal allergies work? Why do I feel this way in the spring?

Harrison Katz: To figure that out, we spoke with Dr. Julie Zweig, a physician in Atlanta, Georgia.

Julie Zweig: My specialty is ear, nose and throat, allergy, and sleep medicine.

Fatima Husain: Julie says that seasonal allergies happen when your immune system thinks pollen, or other substances in the air, are a threat. 

Julie Zweig: The body sees something… as a dangerous substance… or something that will cause harm to the body, and attacks it. 

Harrison Katz: The itchy eyes, coughing, and sneezing you feel? That’s actually your immune system reacting to the foreign substance and trying to get rid of it, just like it would with bacteria or viruses.

Fatima Husain: And allergies often flare-up in the springtime because that’s when many trees and plants release pollen.

Megan Hall: Are allergy seasons getting worse? 

Harrison Katz: Julie seems to think so. 

Julie Zweig: In my own practice, I have a lot of people coming in saying things like, wow, I have never been allergic to anything in my life. And now all of a sudden, my allergies are awful.

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

Harrison Katz: Climate change affects air temperatures and the intensity of our weather. And that affects how early pollen season begins, how intense it is, and how long it will last. 

Megan Hall: So, is climate change making my seasonal allergies more intense??

Fatima Husain: Dr. William Anderegg, at the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Utah, actually conducted a study that examined whether and why pollen seasons are changing.  

William Anderegg: I suffer from fairly severe allergies myself. 

Megan Hall: What did he find out?

Fatima Husain: He says in North America— 

William Anderegg: Since the 1990s, pollen seasons have gotten longer. They’re starting about 20 days earlier, and they’ve gotten about 10 days longer. And there’s actually more pollen in the air during pollen season. 

Harrison Katz: To figure out why, William’s research team gathered data on pollen seasons from around the world, and used computer models to isolate what might be influencing them. He says the culprit was clear. 

William Anderegg: Human caused climate change is really the dominant driver of pollen season length and plays a moderate role in the pollen season severity, the amount of pollen in the air. 

Megan Hall: So, climate change is DEFINITELY affecting our allergy seasons?

Fatima Husain: Exactly. William says it’s a reminder that climate change is affecting us right now.

William Anderegg: Climate change is already impacting our health. It’s really with us in every breath we take.

Megan Hall: Are there specific things we can do to make pollen seasons more manageable?

Fatima Husain: Well, of course, reducing our greenhouse gas emissions will affect all aspects of climate change.  

Harrison Katz: But more specifically, William says we can be more thoughtful about the types of trees and flowers we grow. 

William Anderegg: We can think about urban design in which species we want to plant in order to try to minimize pollen in places where a lot of people live, things like that.

Megan Hall: Is there anything people like me can do for allergy relief right now? 

Fatima Husain: Yes. If you know you’re affected by pollen allergies, you can talk to your doctor. You can also lookup data from your local pollen station or from the National Allergy Bureau and make plans to stay indoors during high-pollen days. 

Megan Hall: Got it. Thanks, Harrison and Fatima!

That’s it for today. For more information, or to ask a question about the way you recycle, use energy, or make any other choice that affects the 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 Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative, and the Public’s Radio.

The post Is climate change affecting our allergies? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio.

The post Is climate change affecting our allergies? appeared first on Possibly.

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. 

2020 was quite a year, and I know pretty much everyone is hoping 2021 will be better. So, our Possibly team got together to think about some New Year’s Resolutions that fit with the themes of our show.  

Here’s what everyone had to say….

Luci Jones:

Hi, I’m Luci Jones. I’m a reporter for possibly, and I was inspired by the episode we did on rental fashion a few months ago, which showed how harmful cleaning transportation and production of new clothes can be. 

So, this year, I want to embrace the idea of making the most of what I already have. Whether that be by sharing my clothes with my friends, repurposing old clothes, or taking care of my closet in a more intentional and sustainable way.

Harrison Katz:

Hi, Harrison Katz here. This year my resolution is to roll down the windows more when I’m driving inside roads because it heavily reduces my carbon footprint when I’m driving and it’s a quick change

Fatima Husain:

Hi, I’m Fatima Husain. And I was inspired by our episodes on paper products and recycling, specifically toilet paper and recycling printer paper. So this year, I want to try to use a lot less paper and think about more renewable strategies I can employ.

Megan Hall:

Hi, I’m Megan Hall. I’m the host of Possibly. And I’ve been inspired by our feminine hygiene episode. So this is the year I’m ditching tampons, and buying period underwear.

Stephen Porder:

Hi, I’m Stephen Porder. I’m the founder of possibly and sometimes our science advisor. As some of you might know, I’m on sabbatical in Paris this year. And so we sold our cars before we left the United States, and we’ve been living car-free here in Paris. 

I don’t think that we’re going to be car-free when we come back to the United States. But my new year’s resolution is to never buy another internal combustion engine. So we’re going to be all-electric from now on.

Isha Chawla:

Hi, I’m Isha Chawla. And this year I’ve decided that I’m going to stop buying us fashion altogether because I thought it was fine to shop less from fast fast fashion outlets but I’ve decided that I’m just gonna stop buying them altogether.

Max Kozlov:

Hi everybody, I’m Max Kozlov and this year I was inspired by our episode on driftnets, So I want to buy more locally sourced and sustainable seafood.

Thanks, everyone! And Happy New Year!

That’s it for today. For more information, or to ask a question about the way you recycle, use energy, or make any other choice that affects the planet, go to the public’s radio dot org slash possibly. 

Possibly is a co-production of the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society and the Public’s Radio. 

The post Our 2021 resolutions appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio.

The post Our 2021 resolutions appeared first on Possibly.

This episode was originally published on December 2, 2019.

For the same amount of heat, wood produces more emissions than oil. Plus if everyone in Rhode Island uses wood stoves to heat their home, we would deplete our forests in just a few years. However, if the wood you burn is already dead or dying, then it would decompose and release those same emissions.

Our recommendation is to heat your house using an oil furnace and only use a wood stove if you burn salvaged wood.

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 listener Lisa Wright. She asks: “Our house has an oil furnace and a wood stove. Which one is best to heat our home in the winter?” 

We had Alina Kulman and Molly Magid from our Possibly team look into this. Welcome Alina and Molly!

Alina Kulman: Hi Megan!

Molly Magid: Hello!

Megan Hall: So should Lisa heat her house using an oil furnace or wood stove?

Alina Kulman: Well first we talked with Lisa to learn more about how she heats her house

Lisa Wright: We keep the furnace around 64 during the day and when the stove is going nicely it keeps the house cozy

Molly Magid: So during the day, Lisa sets the temperature for her furnace low and uses the wood stove to boost it up to 70. 

Megan Hall: Ok Lisa uses both her furnace and stove, but she wants to know the impact of each heating source on its own?

Alina Kulman: Exactly. And this question might apply to many Rhode Islanders. The state has seen a spike in people who rely on firewood to heat their homes. 

Megan Hall: Alright, so where did you start?

Molly Magid: First, we looked at her oil use from last year, which was about average for household heat in Rhode Island, and calculated that it releases about 10 tons of CO2 per year. 

Megan Hall: And what would the emissions be if Lisa just heated her home using the wood stove?

Alina Kulman: Well we estimated that, to heat her house for a year, Lisa would need to use the wood from about 50 trees. The number depends on what kind of wood, but 50 is a good ballpark.

Molly Magid: And burning all of that wood releases about 14 tons of CO2 per year.

Megan Hall: So burning wood creates more emissions than heating with oil?

Molly Magid: Yes, for the same amount of heat, wood creates more CO2 emissions.

Megan Hall: So, it’s always better to burn oil instead of wood?

Alina Kulman: Well, that depends on where Lisa gets her wood 

Molly Magid: She says that sometimes she buys firewood but also…

Lisa Wright: We had a couple of trees removed in our backyard, so we used that wood.

Megan Hall: Is that better?

Alina Kulman: Well, trees also release CO2 emissions when they die and decompose. In fact, those emissions are equal to what happens when you burn that wood in a stove. 

Megan Hall: So if Lisa only used salvaged wood for her stove, those CO2 emissions would be released whether she burned the wood or not? 

Alina Kulman: Right. 

Molly Magid: But cutting wood specifically to burn it is a different story.

Alina Kulman: Cutting trees to heat all our homes just isn’t feasible.   

Molly Magid: Remember, it would take 50 trees just to heat her house. If everyone in RI used wood to heat their homes, we’d clear all the trees in the state in just a few years.

Megan Hall: So, what’s the answer to Lisa’s question? 

Alina Kulman: Our recommendation is that Lisa should heat her home using her oil furnace, and should use the wood stove to supplement only if she burns salvaged wood.

Megan Hall: Great! Thanks Alina and Molly 

That’s it for today. For more information or to ask a question about the way you recycle, use energy, or make any other choice that affects the planet, check out our question page.

Possibly is a co-production of the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society and the Public’s Radio. 

References

1. https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=15431

The post Oil-Burning Furnace Or Wood-Burning Stove? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio.

The post Oil-Burning Furnace Or Wood-Burning Stove? appeared first on Possibly.

This article was originally published on November 18, 2019

The short answer is you should use a space heater and keep the house at a lower temperature, since it’s more efficient than heating the entire area of the house. However, if you’re concerned about your emissions, you can replace an oil or gas furnace with a heat pump which runs on electricity. You can also sign up to get your electricity from sources that are 100% renewable.

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 a listener Barbara. She says, “I only need one room heated during the day. Should I use a space heater or heat the whole house?”

Molly Magid and Alina Kulman from our Possibly team looked into this question.. Welcome Molly and Alina!

Molly Magid: Hi Megan

Alina Kulman: Hello!

Megan Hall: So, should Barbara heat one room with a space heater or warm up her entire house?

Molly Magid: Well we visited Barbara at home to learn more.

Alina Kulman: First, she showed us her thermostat

Barbara: This is where the thermostat is. It’s like all the way down to 55.

Molly Magid: After she sets the temperature at 55, she turns her space heater on.

Barbara: That’s my antiquated space heater. I have it plugged into a lamp timer so that it only goes on at certain times of the day

Alina Kulman: Barbara says she keeps the heater on for nine hours and then turns her thermostat up to 68 degrees after turning it off.

Megan Hall: And how many emissions does using the space heater create?

Molly Magid: Based on the type of space heater she uses and the amount of time it runs, we were able to calculate that it produces about 11 pounds of CO2 emissions.

Megan Hall: How does that compare to the emissions from heating the whole house at 68 degrees during the day?

Alina Kulman: Well, Barbara has an oil furnace. So, based on our rough calculations, if she heated the entire house, she’d produce about ten times the emissions of using the space heater.

Megan Hall: Wow! So, does that mean the space heater is more efficient than her oil furnace?

Molly Magid: Not really. That’s just because her house is about 10 times the size of the room she heats during the day.

Alina Kulman: Space heaters in general are less efficient than oil furnaces. If she heated her whole house with space heaters, that would actually produce more CO2 than heating the house with oil.

Megan Hall: So, are you saying an oil furnace is better than an electric heater?

Molly Magid: That’s a tricky question to answer. On the one hand, her electric space heater has to work a lot harder than the oil furnace to create the same amount of heat. So, it uses more energy.

Alina Kulman: Right now, this creates more emissions, because in Rhode Island her electricity comes from power plants that burn mostly natural gas.

Molly Magid: But if Barbara got her electricity from a renewable source like wind or solar power, the space heater would produce almost zero emissions.

Megan Hall: And that’s because sources of renewable electricity create almost no emissions?

Molly Magid: Exactly!

Megan Hall: So, what’s the answer to Barbara’s question? Should she use a space heater to heat one room during the day?

Alina Kulman: Yes. It’s definitely more efficient to heat one room instead of the whole house, even if you’re using an antique space heater.

Molly Magid: But, if Barbara is concerned about her emissions she could take a few more steps.

Alina Kulman: First, she could sign-up to get her electricity from sources that are 100% renewable. In Rhode Island, this option is available from a handful of companies that work directly with National Grid.

Molly Magid: Second, she could replace her oil furnace with something called an air source heat pump. Heat pumps run on electricity and are much more efficient than her old space heater or her oil furnace.

Alina Kulman: There are even rebates to help her make the switch.

Megan Hall: Great! Thanks Molly and Alina

That’s it for today. For more information or to ask a question about the way you recycle, use energy, or make any other choice that affects the planet, go to “the public’s radio dot org slash possibly”

Possibly is a co-production of the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society and the Public’s Radio.

Resources

1. National Grid GreenUp Energy Providers

The post Space Heater For One Room Or Furnace For The House? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio.

The post Space Heater For One Room Or Furnace For The House? appeared first on Possibly.

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. 

Whether you’re shopping for a t-shirt, bedsheets, or q-tips, you might have noticed that cotton products are more expensive if they’re organic. We wondered, is it worth it to pay the extra price? 

We had Isha Chawla and Fatima Husain from our Possibly team look into this. Welcome, Isha and Fatima!

Isha Chawla: Hi Megan!

Fatima Husain: Hello.

Megan Hall: So, Isha, you live in the center of the organic cotton industry, right?

Isha Chawla: Yes, I live in India, which grows more than half of the world’s organic cotton. 

Megan Hall: So, what makes cotton count as organic?

Isha Chawla: Like any crop, cotton can only be certified organic if it doesn’t use artificial fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or genetically modified seeds

Megan Hall: What’s the argument for NOT growing organic cotton?

Fatima Husain: Well, a lot of organic crops are less productive, or more labor-intensive, than non-organic.

Isha Chawla: Murli Dhar, who heads sustainable agriculture at the World Wildlife Fund, says organic cotton farmers in India can see a drop in production by as much as 30%.

Murli Dhar: When the farmers change the way of farming from conventional to organic then there will be yield drop for at least two to three years.

Isha Chawla: But after the first few years, the amount of crop they can grow per acre begins to rise until the difference between conventional and organic yields is only about 5%. 

Megan Hall: So, it sounds like it’s hard to start growing organic cotton, but if farmers hang in there, they can eventually grow just about as much. 

Isha Chawla: Exactly — and when they do, they can sell organic cotton for a lot more money. 

Megan Hall: Got it. So, what are the environmental benefits of organic cotton? 

Isha Chawla: To answer that, let’s focus on a defining feature of organic farming: fertiliser.

Fatima Husain: Conventional cotton uses artificial fertilizers, which give plants the exact balance of nutrients that they need. 

Isha Chawla: But, these fertilizers aren’t perfect- if farmers use too much, which they often tend to, they can drain out of the soil and enter nearby rivers and streams. 

Fatima Husain: These nutrients can lead to a chain reaction that removes oxygen from the water, which suffocates fish and other marine life.  

Isha Chawla: Plus, these fertilizers are made from fossil fuels — so making and using them creates greenhouse gas emissions.

Megan Hall: How are organic fertilizers different? 

Fatima Husain: Organic fertilizers, like compost or manure, take longer to decompose and release nutrients into the environment. So they are less likely to pollute any water nearby.

Isha Chawla: Also, they’re not made with fossil fuels.

Megan Hall: So, let’s say I’m shopping for a t-shirt- is it worth it to spend more money on one that’s made of organic cotton?

Fatima: Maybe. But here’s something else to consider: 

Isha Chawla: A lot of the emissions associated with cotton are connected not to how it’s grown, but how far it has to travel to get turned into fabric, sewn into something, and then delivered to you. 

Fatima Husain: So that cotton t-shirt, whether organic or conventional, has probably circled the globe before it hits your closet.  

Isha Chawla: That means if you want to buy cotton that has the least amount of impact on the planet, just buy less of it, or get second-hand fabrics. 

Fatima Husain: but if you can afford organic cotton, there is another reason to spend a little extra money. – Buying organic cotton can improve the livelihoods of farmers that take the risk to start growing it.   

Megan Hall: Great! Thanks, Isha and Fatima! 

Possibly is a co-production of the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society and the Public’s Radio. 

The post Possibly: Should you buy organic cotton? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio.

The post Possibly: Should you buy organic cotton? appeared first on Possibly.

Straws, like most plastics, are made using fossil fuels and cannot be recycled. However, they are not the biggest problem when it comes to plastic waste that ends up in landfills or the ocean. If you use straws every day, they might be a significant part of your impact. A good way to reduce waste is to find which disposable, single-use items you use the most and try to cut back on them.

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 plastic straws.

Megan Hall: You might have noticed that a lot of cafes are replacing plastic straws with paper straws or offering metal or glass straws instead. They’re sort of having a moment right now. But not everybody is excited about this idea.

Isabelle Doyle: They don’t work. You can’t drink liquid through a paper straw.

Megan Hall: That’s Isabelle Doyle, a Brown student, and she was not happy when the university replaced plastic straws with paper straws. So here’s the question: why are so many people talking about banning straws right now and how much of a difference does skipping the straw actually make?

Megan Hall: I have Lauren Black and Molly Magid in the studio today. They’re part of the Possibly team and they looked into the answer.

Megan Hall: Welcome Lauren and Molly.

Molly Magid: Hi Megan.

Lauren Black: Thanks for having us.

Megan Hall: So what did you find out?

Lauren Black: So one problem with plastic straws is that, like most plastics they’re made from fossil fuels and they take a long time to break down. So they can stay in landfills or the ocean for hundreds of years. And this issue of straws ending up in the ocean is what’s really gotten the anti-straw movement going.

Molly Magid: But the thing is that straws are only a small percentage of the trash. Only about four percent of the plastic in the ocean, and ahead of those are plastic bottles and bottle caps, plastic bags and many other items.

Megan Hall: So if plastic straws don’t make up a big percentage of the trash in the ocean, then why is everyone making such a big deal about them?

Lauren Black: So to figure that out we talked to Dave McLoughlin, who’s on the task force to tackle plastics created by Gina Raimondo this past summer. And here’s what he said.

Dave McLoughlin: I would say two things about straws. The first one is the topic of recycling, right?

Lauren Black: So unlike other disposable plastic items, plastic straws can’t be recycled and because of that, if you put them in the recycling by accident, they can actually mess up the whole thing and make it so that the load is too contaminated and everything has to go to the landfill.

Megan Hall: So if you think you’re doing the right thing by recycling a straw, you’re actually making the problem worse?

Lauren Black: Yes.

Megan Hall: Dave said that there were two problems. What was the other one?

Molly Magid: Well, straws are one of the easiest kinds of plastics to get rid of. Some people with disabilities do need straws but for most people it’s totally optional. So if you think about when you’re getting an iced coffee you do need that plastic cup to hold the coffee. But, you don’t need to drink it with a straw.

Lauren Black: And if you just really love straws, or you’re like Isabelle and you hate the paper ones, you can get a reusable one and bring it with you.

Megan Hall: So it sounds like you’re saying that plastic straws aren’t like the biggest problem for trash in the ocean, but it’s not that hard to get rid of them, so why not?

Molly Magid: Yeah, and if you stop using straws that’s great. But as we said there are a lot of other kinds of plastic trash out there, so you should look at your grocery bags and forks and random packaging that you use and try to figure out what you can cut down on.

Lauren Black: Yeah. Everyone has something that they could use less of. Even Dave.

Dave McLoughlin: I will share with you that I use too many paper towels a week, it’s just something I do. Maybe I could say it’s a clean habit to have, but I got to break it.

Lauren Black: So basically you need to look at your own habits and see what you can use less of and if you use plastic straws every day that actually might be one of your biggest things to cut down on. But if you only use like one straw a month but you never bring your own bags to the grocery store, probably focus on getting a reusable bag first.

Megan Hall: Great. Well thank you, Molly and Lauren for looking into this question.

Megan Hall That’s it for today. To ask a question about the way you recycle, use energy or make any other choice that affects the planet, ask on our question page.

The post Possibly: What difference do straws make? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio.

The post Possibly: What difference do straws make? appeared first on Possibly.

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. 

Summer is the perfect season to kick back and crack open a cold one. But, when you’re trying to pick the perfect beer, do you ever wonder whether it’s better to drink it from a bottle or a can?

We had Isha Chawla and Fatima Husain from our Possibly Team look into this. Welcome, Isha and Fatima! 

Isha Chawla: Hi, Megan! 

Fatima Husain: Hello! 

Megan Hall: So, what does the science say about the difference between bottles and cans?  

Isha Chawla: To find out, we started by talking to Jennifer Brinton of Grey Sail Brewing, in Westerly, Rhode Island. She says Grey Sail doesn’t just brew their beer, they package it too.  

Jennifer Brinton: We were always the packaging brewery. We started with that model.

Isha Chawla: Jennifer says they split their brew about equally between kegs and aluminum cans.

Fatima Husain: In fact, nearly all of the craft breweries in RI sell their beer in cans.

Megan Hall: Why is that?

Isha Chawla: Well, Jennifer says if someone’s taking their beer on a hike or to an outdoor cookout, it’s safer to carry it in a can. 

Jennifer Brinton: It’s a lot easier for us to pick up a can that’s left behind crushed or stepped on or whatever, than it is to pick a broken glass.

Megan Hall: Okay, so that helps with trash and littering, but what about greenhouse gas emissions? Does it take more energy to make an aluminum can or a glass bottle?

Isha Chawla: Some researchers in the UK had that exact same question. They found that the emissions associated with making enough glass to hold a liter of beer were about 1.5 times the emissions used to make an aluminum can for the same amount of liquid.  

Megan: So, cans win again. What about recycling? 

Fatima Husain: Well, in a side-by-side comparison, it takes more energy to recycle glass than it does to recycle aluminum.

Isha Chawla: And, in the US, glass doesn’t get recycled as much as aluminum does. 

Megan: So, when I drink out of an aluminum can, how much of that aluminum is new, and how much of it is recycled? 

Fatima Husain: To find out, we reached out to Ball Manufacturing — the company that makes cans for many different beer companies, and they told us that their cans are made of around 70% recycled aluminum.

Megan Hall: Another win for cans! What about the emissions that come from delivering them from breweries to stores? 

Fatima Husain: Jennifer from Grey Sail Brewing says it’s definitely cheaper to transport cans

Jennifer Brinton: because it’s so much more lightweight on the shipping end cans are always more cost-effective than bottles

Isha Chawla: And that translates to fewer emissions too. Because aluminum cans are so much lighter than glass bottles, and they take up less space, trucks can carry more of them per trip. 

Fatima Husain: And that means it takes more gas to distribute the same amount of beer if it’s in glass bottles. The emissions associated with transporting glass bottles get worse the further the beer has to travel.   

Isha Chawla: Glass bottles also need more packaging, because they’re so fragile. 

Megan Hall: Ok, but what about those plastic rings that connect the cans? Don’t they harm marine life?

Isha Chawla: Yeah, they can, but there is an easy answer. Take a pair of scissors and cut the six-pack pack holders so they don’t have any rings. It’s those circles of plastic that catch and suffocate marine life.  

Fatima Husain: And there are also some innovative solutions out there. Grey Sail Brewing already uses hard plastic tops to keep cans together.  

Isha Chawla: Some companies are even making biodegradable rings.

Megan Hall: So, it sounds like I should drink my beer out of a can? 

Fatima Husain: Yes, but, actually, the best option is to skip the packaging altogether and drink from the tap — but that only works if you have access to a keg. 

Isha Chawla: So, if that’s not an option, you can opt for cans. 

Fatima Husain: But most importantly: buy local! Especially if you’re drinking from bottles, because it takes significantly more emissions to truck them around. 

Megan Hall: Great! Thanks, Isha and Fatima! 

That’s it for today. For more information, or to ask a question about the way you recycle, use energy, or make any other choice that affects the planet, go to the public’s radio dot org slash possibly. 

Possibly is a co-production of the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society and the Public’s Radio.

RI breweries that package in cans:

Newport Craft

Ravenous Brewing

Gray Sail Brewing

Isle Brewers

Proclamation Ale Company

Fool Proof Brewing

Tilted Barn Brewery

Revival Brewing

The post Is it better to drink from a can or a bottle? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio.

The post Is it better to drink from a can or a bottle? appeared first on Possibly.

In the US, we refrigerate our eggs to prevent the spread of salmonella. Other countries take a different approach. They keep eggs safe by not disturbing what’s known as the egg’s cuticle- a natural layer that protects the egg from bacteria. That’s why it’s mostly illegal to wash eggs in Europe. 

The idea is, you don’t need to refrigerate eggs if the cuticle is still intact. But, that’s not exactly true. First, eggs can have bacteria on the inside too. Second, the cuticle isn’t as strong as it seems. It actually loses its protective powers over time. Third, in general, egg washing techniques in the US might not even totally remove the cuticle!  

So, what’s really going on? We learned that whether to refrigerate or not is mostly cultural. In the US, eggs travel long distances before they make it to the grocery store. We also are more likely to eat our eggs over easy or sunny-side up. Which means we have to refrigerate our eggs to make sure they’re bacteria-free for longer periods of time. 

Transcript:

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 investigating eggs. Here in the US, most of us put our eggs in the refrigerator. But in many other countries, eggs can stay on the counter. So, we wondered, could we save energy here in America and just stop refrigerating our eggs? 

We had Luci Jones: and Fatima Husain from our Possibly Team look into this. Welcome, Luci and Fatima! 

Luci Jones: Hi Megan, thanks so much for having us! 

Fatima Husain: Hello!

Megan Hall: So, do we need to refrigerate our eggs or not?

Luci Jones: To figure that out, we called Yewande Fasina, a professor at North Carolina A&T University, who specializes in poultry. 

Fatima Husain: She says she’s been interested in chickens since her childhood, when her family kept a flock of hens in the backyard. 

Yewande Fasina: I just fell in love with any creature that has two feet and two wings to fly. That’s how it started. 

Fatima Husain: Ywande says chickens and their eggs can spread harmful bacteria, especially salmonella, which can make you pretty sick. 

Luci Jones: Luckily, salmonella can’t grow quickly in cold temperatures. 

Yewande Fasina: if you keep the egg in a refrigerated condition, it won’t support rapid bacterial growth.

Fatima Husain: So, refrigerating eggs makes the spread of salmonella less likely. 

Megan Hall: Ok, but if that’s true, why don’t many other countries use refrigeration? 

Luci Jones: Other countries use a different method to prevent the spread of bacteria. It involves protecting what’s known as the egg’s “cuticle.”

Megan Hall: What’s the cuticle?

Luci Jones: This is how Deana Jones with the USDA explains it:

Deana Jones: You know, when you take your car to the carwash and you get that last little spray. the intent of it is to prevent external contamination from entering into the egg.

Fatima Husain: The idea is the cuticle protects the egg from bacteria. That’s why it’s mostly illegal to wash eggs in Europe, unlike in the U.S., where farmers are required to wash them.

Megan Hall: So, if an egg still has its cuticle, you don’t have to refrigerate it?

Luci Jones: That’s what a lot of sources online seem to say.

Fatima Husain: But, that’s not exactly true. 

Megan Hall: What did you find out?

Fatima Husain: First, Yewande Fasina says eggs can have bacteria on the inside too.

Yewande Fasina: So if you don’t refrigerate such an egg and you keep it at room temperature in a matter of weeks, it’s gonna get spoiled.

Luci Jones: Second, the cuticle isn’t as strong as it seems. Deana Jones says it loses its protective powers over time.

Deanne Jones: So it’s not a continuous coating forever on the egg. It’s going to break down and degrade over time and just kind of go away.

Fatima Husain: Third, and this is what really surprised us — Deana told us that in general, egg washing techniques in the US might not even totally remove the cuticle!  

Megan Hall: What? So, what’s really going on? 

Luci Jones: Well, Ywande says science isn’t enough to answer this question. 

Yewande Fasina: To be honest, I think 30% is probably cultural.

Luci Jones: In Nigeria, where Yewande is from, they don’t wash or refrigerate eggs. 

Yewande Fasina: if I go back today, I’m gonna feel comfortable. And I will eat the eggs there. 

Fatima Husain: That’s because people buy their eggs in the market or take them from backyard chickens and then eat them right away. They also cook their eggs thoroughly. 

Luci Jones: But here in the US, eggs can travel across the country before they make it to the grocery store. Americans tend to shop less often, so they don’t eat their eggs immediately. We’re also more likely to eat our eggs sunny side up or over easy,

Fatima Husain: Which means we have to refrigerate our eggs to make sure they’re bacteria-free for longer periods of time.  

Megan Hall: So, there’s no simple solution to this? We can’t just save a bunch of energy by not refrigerating our eggs?

Luci Jones: Unfortunately, no. As long as Americans continue to buy and eat eggs the way we do, we’ll probably have to keep refrigerating them.  

Megan Hall: Great! Thanks for looking into this Luci and Fatima! 

That’s it for today. For more information, or to ask a question about the way you recycle, use energy, or make any other choice that affects the planet, go to the public’s radio dot org slash possibly. 

Possibly is a co-production of the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society and the Public’s Radio. 

The post Do we need to refrigerate our eggs? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio.

The post Do we need to refrigerate our eggs? appeared first on Possibly.