Possibly Podcast

When I was growing up, I remember hearing about a hole in the ozone layer. It was a big deal. But I don’t really hear about that issue anymore. Is the ozone layer still in danger, and what happened to the hole? The post What happened to the hole in the ozone layer? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

I have two huge trees in my yard and they dump a lot of leaves. Sometimes I wonder, what would happen if I just let those piles of leaves stay on the ground? The post Do I need to rake my lawn? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

The Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of Australia, is large enough that you can see it from space. It’s home to thousands of types of sea creatures and protects the coastline from erosion. It's taken a beating over the years, but recently, I heard that the Great Barrier Reef is experiencing a comeback. So, what’s really going on? The post What’s happening with the Great Barrier Reef? appear...

The weather is cooling, the leaves are changing, and all of my neighbors are putting pumpkins on their porches. It got me thinking, what is the environmental impact of all of these Jack O Lanterns? The post What should I do with my pumpkin after Halloween? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

When a loved one passes away, we often just have two choices: burial or cremation. But there’s a new option in some states that claims to use less energy and resources. The post Should I compost my body when I die? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

These days, I can log on to my phone and pull up a file that’s stored thousands of miles away. It’s pretty awesome. But does access to all of this remote data use a lot of energy? The post Does cloud computing use a lot of energy? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

We hear a lot in the news about wildfires these days - and it seems like there are more and more of them. Are there? And why? The post Why are we seeing so many wildfires? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

Nowadays, many athletic fields have been converted from natural grass to artificial turf. Which made us wonder- which option is better for the environment? The post Is natural grass or artificial turf better for the environment? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

I’ve been eating a lot of raw oysters lately. They taste so fresh and clean, and I can get them from local farms here in Rhode Island. But I’ve been wondering - what’s the environmental impact of growing all these shelled delicacies? The post What’s the environmental impact of oyster farms? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

Today, we have a question from a listener named Alissa. She wants to know what happens to the batteries for electric cars once they die-- "Can all of those be recyclable? What's their life expectancy? The post What happens to electric car batteries when they die? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio .

Do you ever go to recycle your takeout container or water bottle, see all those different categories, and get so confused you just end up throwing everything in the regular trash bin? Knowing how to get rid of waste is trickier than it may seem. But one small town in Japan may have figured out the key to eliminating waste altogether. The post Meet the town in Japan that’s committed to zero w...

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 .