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Energy experts are thinking about ways to replace coal that’s burned in American power stations. One alternative is to burn plants because they can produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions. This is called biomass power. This public radio story looks at a movement in the Midwest that uses millions of acres of grass for biomass power.
Story Length: 3:33
Michigan Radio
Students in Bellingham, Washington, pushed to introduce composting programs at their high schools and these programs proved successful. This public radio story also gives an insider's view of industrial scale composting from multiple perspectives. It follows food from the school cafeteria to the compost site where it is transformed by microorganisms and eventually to home gardens and nurseries where compost is applied as fertilizer and mulch.
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In this story we hear from the head of Ecovative, a company that uses mycelium fibers from fungi to create useful and environmentally-friendly products. The audio story discusses the advantages of using mycelium fibers in place of plastics and foams, as well as the challenges faced by the inventors in trying to create useful products. The Engineering design process is described, as well as how scientists used this process to get to where they are today. Students will get to explore the properties of Ecovative’s products, and evaluate their usefulness. Listen to this story and think about the idea of technological trade-offs.
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Animals adapt to their environment in ways that protect them from predation and allow them to find prey. Electric eels look like water snakes but use electricity to hunt. New scientific studies have gained insight into how electric eels use different electric volts to find and kill their prey. Listen to learn how the eel’s hunting method is adapted to their environment.
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