Possibly Podcast

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. In this episode, we’re cooling down a bit and talking about refrigeration. The post What’s the impact of our constantly running refrigerators on the climate? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

Last week, I introduced you to Kate Schapira, a writer who’s been listening to people’s climate anxieties since 2014. She sets up a booth in public places that says “climate anxiety counseling, five cents.” In this second part of our conversation, she’s going to help me talk about my own climate fears. The post My climate anxieties appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

Here at Possibly, we try to make climate change feel more manageable and less overwhelming. But there’s no avoiding that this problem is terrifying. It makes a lot of us feel… anxious. So to help us face our fears, I decided to talk with Kate Schapira. She teaches non-fiction writing at Brown University and has spent nearly a decade listening to people’s climate anxieties. The post Do you worry ab...

Today, we’re digging into urban agriculture. Would it be possible to get all of our food from local farms? The post Would it be possible to get all of our food from local farms? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

It’s getting hot out here. And some of us are feeling hotter than others, even if we live in the same city. Why? The post Why do heat waves affect some parts of a city more than others? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

Since the pandemic started, we’ve learned how to move our classes, meetings, and even parties online. It’s definitely convenient, but I’ve been wondering, how is all this extra time on the internet affecting our greenhouse gas emissions? The post What’s the environmental impact of living our lives online? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

Today we’re answering a question from listener Molly Magid. She wants to know- what are the environmental impacts of space travel and how does it compare to say, taking a plane flight? The post How does riding a rocket into space compare to taking a plane ride? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

Today, we have a question from Michael from Charlestown, Rhode Island. He wants to know: does a charger still use some power when it's plugged into an outlet but not connected to a phone or other device? The post Does my charger still use power when it’s not connected to a phone? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

Today, we’re taking a look at how renewable energy, like wind or solar, is stored so it can be used when the sun’s not shining or the wind isn’t blowing. The post How do we store renewable energy? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

You probably already know that plants with flowers need bees to survive. And so do we, if we want to keep eating fruits and vegetables. You may also have heard that bee populations are dwindling, and we need to protect them. But, how? The post How can we protect bees? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

Today’s question comes from a member of our Possibly Team, Juliana Merullo. In past episodes, we’ve looked into how much of our recycling ends up in landfills, but this time Juliana wondered if we can’t rinse our recycling, should it just go in the trash? The post If you can’t rinse your recycling, should it just go in the trash? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

Here at Possibly, we usually focus on doing our part at home. But with all this talk about climate change, one member of our team started thinking about what’s going on around the world. So today, we’re going to talk with Emily Tom about renewable energy in Hawaii. The post What can we learn from Hawaii’s approach to renewable energy? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

Imagine if you didn’t have a recycling bin anymore- You just put everything in the trash, but somehow the reusable stuff still got recycled? Some places offer this service, but does it really work? Is it too good to be true? The post Is it possible to put your recycling and trash in one bin? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

Luci Jones from our Possibly team is studying abroad in Copenhagen and she's been blown away by the number of bikes on the road. She's curious why so many people bike and how this impacts carbon emissions. The post Why do so many people bike to work in Copenhagen? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

Last week, we broke down the basics of how our electric grid works. Today, we're tackling a more specific question. If we all switch over to electric cars, can the grid handle it? The post Can the grid handle charging lots of electric cars? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

With the effects of climate change all around us, there's a push to power more of our lives with renewable electricity, including things that used to burn fossil fuels, like home heating and cars. The post How does our electricity grid work? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

Today we’re taking a look at a fun way to be more aware of the amount of plastic we put into the world. The post Can we build things with our plastic waste? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

With the weather getting warmer, I’ve been thinking about air conditioning. I know that ACs are getting more efficient, but more people are using them too. So, are we using more or less energy on cooling our homes than we used to? The post Do we use more or less energy on air conditioning than we used to? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

We cover a lot of heavy topics on this show, but today we’re bringing you a bright spot- a real success story. Bald eagles almost disappeared about 50 years ago, but now they’re flourishing! We had Charlie Adams and Ashley Junger from our Possibly Team look into how this happened. The post How did bald eagles avoid extinction? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

These days, we can buy almost anything we want online—fancy food, designer clothes, new computers, the works. But is all this online shopping creating more greenhouse gas emissions compared to shopping in-person? The post Should I buy online or in the store? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

Today we’re answering a question about sustainable travel. What’s the best way to take a trip down the east coast? The post What’s the most sustainable way to travel down the East Coast? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

Two years ago, we aired an episode responding to a question from a listener named Monica. She wanted to know if it was possible to convert her gas car into an electric one. We said it’s technically possible, but it's not really worth it. But has that answer changed? The post Is it possible to turn my gas car into an electric vehicle? Take 2 appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

Today, we have a question from listener Todd Penoyer. He does maintenance for retail shopping centers in southeastern Massachusetts and he uses a lot of power tools to do his job. About half of his tools are electric, and the other half are gas-powered. He wonders whether it’s worth replacing the gas ones with electric versions. The post Should I buy electric power tools? appeared first on TPR: Th...

Our oceans are rising and taking over more land every year. Most governments try to fix this by blocking the water out and sealing the humans in. But is that the only way? The post Water is rising all around us. What should we do? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

Today we’re answering a question from Cori Myers-she’s the sister-in-law of our founder Stephen Porder. She wants to know if the laundry detergent sheets that she saw online are better than traditional liquid laundry detergent, which comes in a plastic jug. The post Should I ditch liquid detergent? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .