Lithium-ion batteries are found everywhere, from watches to power tools to e-bikes and electric cars. But perhaps you've heard a thing or two about these batteries that make you unsure. This week, Casey and Sara discuss some of the environmental, social justice, and safety issues associated with lithium-ion batteries and how we can look to improve moving forward.

Resources for this episode:

How Lithium-ion Batteries Work | Department of Energy

A Comprehensive Comparative Analysis: Lithium vs Alkaline Batteries - The Earth Awards

Safety Risks to Emergency Responders from Lithium-Ion Battery Fires in Electric Vehicles

EVs are being set on fire in Ottawa for NRC battery abuse research

Electric Car Fires: What You Should Know | Edmunds

Deadly fires from phone, scooter batteries leave lawmakers playing catch-up on safety

Environmental impact of direct lithium extraction from brines | Nature Reviews Earth & Environment

The Environmental Impacts of Lithium and Cobalt Mining

Potential impacts of proposed lithium extraction on biodiversity and conservation in the contiguous United States - ScienceDirect

How is lithium mined? | MIT Climate Portal

Maine Has the Lithium America Needs, But Won't Allow Mining | TIME

Society Watch: Across the globe, indigenous rights are being trampled in lithium goldrush | Reuters

What Is Thermal Runaway? | UL Research Institutes

Their batteries hurt the environment, but EVs still beat gas cars. Here's why

This electric car battery takes less than 5 minutes to charge | CNN Business

Tribes face an uphill battle to defend their sacred land against lithium mining

A fire at a lithium battery factory in South Korea kills 22 mostly Chinese migrant workers

This week, Sara and Casey chat with conservation biologist and data scientist, Dr. Vaughn Shirey, for a wide-ranging conversation about his work in butterfly conservation and climate change. Learn what got Vaughn interested in the field, how artificial intelligence is being used in his work, and what cold climate butterfly species (yeah, that's a thing) are telling us about climate change.

Resources for this episode:

Find more on Dr. Vaughn Shirey and his work HERE

Find Vaughn Shirey on Twitter

Find Vaugh Shirey on Instagram

Vaughn Shirey - Google Scholar

Mosquitoes are common flying insect that inhabit all continents except Antarctica. There are over 3500 species of mosquitoes worldwide, but only somewhere between 6 and 9.3% bite humans and are disease vectors. That said, mosquitos are the deadliest animal on the planet, thanks to their role as a vector for disease. So, would we be better off getting rid of this pesky insect? Casey and Sara discuss the role of mosquitos in the environment, the pros and cons of eradication, and why mosquito gut bacteria is more important than you might expect!

Resources for this episode:

Mosquitopia - NCBI Bookshelf

MOSQUITOES

Why Are Some People Tastier to Mosquitoes Than Others? | Pfizer

About Mosquitoes - CDC

Robust network stability of mosquitoes and human pathogens of medical importance | Parasites & Vectors

Can Garden Plants Really Repel Mosquitoes? - Consumer Reports.

Invasive Mosquitoes - Birds Not Mosquitoes

Aedes communis: The Pollinating Mosquito.

Millions of Mosquitoes Will Rain Down on Hawaii to Save an Iconic Bird | Scientific American

Genetically Modified Mosquitoes - CDC

What do you think of when you hear the phrase "artificial intelligence?" Does chatGPT or Alexa come to mind? Do you imagine robots taking over the world? What might not immediately come to mind are things like biodiversity preservation, green energy optimization, and water conservation, but AI is in fact being used in all these areas and more. Casey and Sara take a look at some of the ways AI is or has the potential to be used in the conservation realm and also explore some of the challenges with AI as a conservation tool.

Resources for this episode:

A.I.’s ‘Her’ Era Has Arrived - The New York Times

Platforms - Wild Me

TrailGuard AI and Nightjar

Saving our Planet’s Biodiversity with AI | Ganes Kesari | TEDxAsburyPark

ASC Science Sundays - Tanya Berger-Wolf: AI for Wildlife Conservation

How artificial intelligence is helping tackle environmental challenges

Tackling climate change with machine learning | MIT Sloan

Artificial Intelligence to Help Prevent Extinction? | Wildlife.ai: Conservation Charity

tinyML Talks: Efficient AI for Wildlife Conservation

Seven ways utilities are exploring AI for the grid | Latitude Media

Why AI and energy are the new power couple – Analysis - IEA

AI for the grid has potential, DOE says — but comes with pitfalls | Latitude Media

How AI Is Cropping Up In The Agriculture Industry

US farms are making an urgent push into AI. It could help feed the world

Artificial Intelligence Can Prevent Enormous Amounts Of Damage And Water Loss From Building Leaks

AI and Water: Pioneering Solutions for a Thirsty Planet

AI to stop water pollution before it happens

Hundreds of sewage leaks detected thanks to AI

Jeffrey Rissman is the Senior Director of Industry at Energy Innovation, a nonpartisan energy and environmental policy firm. He is also the author of a new book, Zero-Carbon Industry: Transformative Technologies and Policies to Achieve Sustainable Prosperity. Casey and Sara were thrilled to welcome Jeffrey to the show to discuss his ideas on cleaning up the industrial sector. Jeffrey shares policy ideas, new technologies, and simple changes that can be made to bring global industry to zero carbon within the next 50 years.

To purchase the book and get a 20% off coupon code, visit https://zerocarbonindustry.com/

Resources for this episode:

https://www.jeffreyrissman.com/

We must cut carbon from industry. Here’s how we can do it.

Trees help give us clean air to breathe, keep us cool, and can even benefit our mental health. But not everyone has equal access to trees. In this week's episode, Casey and Sara discuss the benefits (and challenges) of urban trees and take a look at the factors involved in tree disparity across different neighborhoods.

Resources for this episode:

The Inequitable Distribution of Urban Trees

Tree Equity Score National Explorer

Public Health Benefits of Urban Trees

Urban Trees and Human Health: A Scoping Review

Green gentrification in European and North American cities | Nature Communications

Ten-Year Urban Forestry Action Plan: 2016 -2026

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Historic Funding to Expand Access to Trees and Green Spaces in Disadvantaged Urban Communities | USDA.

50 years after being outlawed, redlining still drives neighborhood health inequities.

Urban and Community Forestry Grants - 2023 Grant Awards | US Forest Service

With the total solar eclipse visible over parts of North America in just a few days, Casey and Sara discuss what we know about animal behavior during eclipse events. Listen to find out:

• What are Baily's Beads and why does Sara like them so much?
• How would Casey's pets respond to a total solar eclipse?
• Why should we care about how animals act during an eclipse?

If you are in the path of the eclipse, whether total or partial, you can join North Carolina State University's Solar Eclipse Safari project or take a look at NASA's Eclipse Soundscapes project.

And if you are viewing the eclipse, remember to do so safely! Never look directly at the sun! Total Solar Eclipse Safety - NASA

Resources for this episode:

Researchers to observe how total solar eclipse affects animal behavior | PBS NewsHour

NASA Eclipse Science

2024 Total Solar Eclipse - NASA

Total Eclipse of the Zoo: Animal Behavior during a Total Solar Eclipse - PMC

Unlocking the mysteries of animal behavior during cosmic events: IU News

Surprising Ways Animals React to Solar Eclipses - National Geographic

How Do Animals Respond to a Total Solar Eclipse? | Scientific American

Animals act weirdly during an eclipse. Help NASA find out why | CNN

Join Casey and Sara for a discussion on the North Atlantic right whale. Learn where you can find these amazing animals, why they're called "right" whales, and what we can do to help save this incredibly endangered species.

Resources for this episode:

Reducing Vessel Strikes to North Atlantic Right Whales | NOAA Fisheries

North Atlantic Right Whale | NOAA Fisheries

We know how to save the endangered North Atlantic right whale. Why aren’t we? - Vox

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

Female North Atlantic right whales growing smaller, leading to fewer births

Scientists release annual population estimate for critically endangered North Atlantic right whale amid ongoing threats - New England Aquarium

North Atlantic Right Whale Calving Season 2024 | NOAA Fisheries

Maine fishing rope found in dead North Atlantic right whale | National Fisherman