A librarian told Possibly that she has to bring a hat and gloves to work in the summer because it's so cold inside. Those frigid temperatures seemed inefficient, so she turned to us for answers. But this week we explain the surprising, and energy efficient, reason for frigid summer libraries.

Why is it so cold in libraries?

One librarian told us she has to bring a hat and gloves to work in the summer. The Possibly team breaks down the science behind freezing cold libraries

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The Rhode Island General Assembly considered a law this year to charge fossil fuel emitters for the costs of climate change. The bill did not become law this year, but the Possibly team spoke with a co-sponsor of the bill, @jenniferboylanri.bsky.social about the legislation, and what comes next.

What if polluters had to pay for the effects of climate change?

The Rhode Island General Assembly considered a law this year to charge fossil fuel emitters for the costs of climate change. Possibly spoke with a co-sponsor of the bill about what comes next

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Regenerative cattle grazing gained momentum as a way to make beef production more climate-friendly. But this week on Possibly we explain that when you look at the actual results on the ground, things are a little more complicated than they seem. www.oceanstatemedia.org/news-and-cul...

Can regenerative grazing make meat more sustainable?

Regenerative cattle grazing gained momentum as a way to make beef production more climate-friendly. But on the ground, the actual results get complicated

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This week on Possibly we weigh the different methods of recycling glass: single-stream, multi-stream and bottle bills. Could switching to a different recycling system make more sense for your community? Listen to part 2 of our series on glass recycling to find out:

What’s Holding Back Glass Recycling in the US?

This week on Possibly we weigh the different methods of recycling glass: single-stream, multi-stream and bottle bills. Could switching to a different recycling system make more sense for your communit...

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After a powerful heatwave swept across the northeast last week, Possibly turned to its archive, looking for lessons about how to better prepare for extreme heat. This week we're traveling to Ahmedabad, India in an episode from 2021 to see how health officials rethought extreme heat preparedness.

How can we prepare for heat waves?

After a powerful heatwave swept across the northeast last week, Possibly turned to its archive, looking for lessons about how to better prepare for extreme heat. We travel to Ahmedabad, India to learn...

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With the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence this year, fireworks will soon light up American skies. This week on Possibly we're asking if these tiny explosions impact the environment or our health? www.oceanstatemedia.org/news-and-cul...

How do fireworks affect the environment?

With the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence this year, fireworks will soon light up American skies. Do these tiny explosions have an impact on our environment or our health?

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Rodenticides, used by farmers to keep rodent populations down and protect their crops, can cause all sorts of harm to wildlife, especially birds. This week on Possibly we're talking to some farmers who are turning to a more natural pest control solution: Owls!

Can owls help farms use fewer chemicals?

Let's take a look at the damaging effects of rodenticides, used by farmers to protect their crops, but there may be a solution that rests in nature

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This week on Possibly, in the second installment of our series on the dairy industry, we’re turning our attention to an age-old method used to efficiently store cheese: the earth. Listen to this week's episode to hear how local farmers are looking to the soil to keep their cheese cool.

What’s a more sustainable way to store our cheese?

In part two of Possibly’s series on the dairy industry, we’re turning our attention to an age-old method used to efficiently store cheese

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We talk a lot about the carbon pollution that comes along with eating beef, but this week on Possibly we’re asking: what about dairy? How do they compare? Reporter Samantha Zhang explains in our latest episode: www.oceanstatemedia.org/news-and-cul...

What creates more carbon pollution: beef or dairy?

We talk a lot about the carbon pollution that comes along with eating beef, but this week on Possibly we’re asking: what about eating dairy? How do they compare?

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When you go to the pharmacy you probably walk away with your medication in one hand, and a lengthy receipt in the other. What should you do with that receipt? This week we explain why the paper that receipts are printed on can add a lot of complications for recycling, and for your health.

Can you recycle receipts?

This week on Possibly we explain why the paper that receipts are printed on can add a lot of complications, for recycling, and for your health too

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Truffles are famous for their intense flavor, and their expensive price. This week on Possibly we explain why a warming planet, and increasing droughts, might be driving those prices even higher. Listen at the link below, or wherever you get your podcasts

How is climate change altering the truffle industry?

These rare mushrooms are famous for their intense flavor, and their expensive price. But climate change may be driving those prices even higher

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Want sustainability science sent directly to your inbox? Possibly has recently expanded to Substack! Subscribe to read or listen to our latest episodes when they release, every Tuesday morning. Sign up here: askpossibly.substack.com

Possibly Podcast | Substack

Answering questions about the future of our 🌎 in four minutes or fewer. 🎙️Tuesdays on Ocean State Media - Supported by IBES and WBRU - Learn more at askpossibly.org. Click to read Possibly Podcast, a ...

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“Reducing your footprint” has become one of the most familiar ways to talk about climate change, but why did that framing catch on? And what does it leave out? This week on Possibly, we talk to @kimcobb.bsky.social, the director of @brown-ibes.bsky.social, to explain.

Where did the idea of a carbon footprint come from?

“Reducing your footprint” became one of the most familiar ways to talk about climate change, but why did that framing catch on? And what does it leave out?

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With colorful windsocks and a gazebo, Providence artist Eli Nixon developed an art installation to bring attention to the air quality around the Port of Providence. This week on Possibly we take a closer look. Listen to our latest episode now: www.oceanstatemedia.org/news-and-cul...

How is art bringing attention to air quality?

With colorful windsocks and a gazebo, Providence artist Eli Nixon developed an art installation to bring attention to the air quality around the Port of Providence

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This week on Possibly we’re taking a look at the ships that carry our goods around the world. What would it look like to take fossil fuels out of the equation? Can you run a cargo ship on batteries? Listen to our latest episode wherever you get your podcasts thepublicsradio.org/possibly-pod...

Can you run a cargo ship on batteries? - TPR: The Public's Radio

This week on Possibly we’re taking a look at the ships that carry our goods around the world. What would it look like to take fossil fuels out of the equation?

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A research team at Brown called Breathe Providence is asking people to track what they smell, in an effort to better understand air pollution in Rhode Island. This week on Possibly we're asking how tracking unpleasant smells can improve our air quality. www.oceanstatemedia.org/news-and-cul...

How can smell improve Rhode Island’s Air Quality?

A research team at Brown called Breathe Providence is asking people to track what they smell, in an effort to better understand air pollution in Rhode Island

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This week on Possibly: Activists are migrating a tree north from Florida. Is that a good idea? With assisted migration, humans help move plant species into areas more suitable for their growth. But are there potential downsides to this human-led movement?

Activists are migrating a tree north from Florida. Is that a good idea?

With assisted migration, humans help move plant species into areas more suitable for their growth. But are there potential downsides to this human-led movement?

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Possibly co-founder Stephen Porder has been on a home energy efficiency journey. On this week's episode of Possibly, we check in to see how his latest addition, new windows, are impacting the energy efficiency and comfort of the home.

Should you replace your windows for energy efficiency?

Possibly co-founder Stephen Porder has been on a home energy efficiency journey. We check in to see how his latest addition, new windows, are impacting the energy efficiency and comfort of the home

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In Los Angeles, a new crop of curbside libraries are helping communities recover after last year’s wildfires. But instead of books, these libraries are full of seeds. This week on Possibly, reporter Janek Schaller talks to the organizer of these new libraries popping up around LA.

What are seed libraries?

In Los Angeles, a new crop of curbside libraries are helping communities recover after last year’s wildfires. But instead of books, these libraries are full of seeds

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How are the plastic and fossil fuel industries connected? This week on Possibly, we’re taking a closer look at how plastics have given the fossil fuel industry a new business platform — with hardly anyone noticing they’re even in the market.

How are the plastic and fossil fuel industries connected?

This week on Possibly, we’re taking a closer look at how plastics have given the fossil fuel industry a new business platform — with hardly anyone noticing they’re even in the market

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Plastic products cost us, even after we’re done with them —That’s because municipal recycling is paid with taxpayer money. This week on Possibly we take a look at a new approach where the companies that made these products are responsible for paying for their disposal.

What is extended producer responsibility? - TPR: The Public's Radio

Plastic products cost us, even after we’re done with them — That’s because municipal recycling is paid with taxpayer money. But could the companies that made these products be responsible for paying f...

thepublicsradio.org

Extreme heat can have serious health consequences, but until recently, researchers only had imprecise tools to study it. This week on Possibly, in a crossover episode with @brownpublichealth.bsky.social's Humans in Public Health, we talk to Professor Allan Just, who's working to change this.

How do researchers know that heat waves affect our health? - TPR: The Public's Radio

Extreme heat can have serious health consequences, but until recently, public health researchers only had imprecise tools to study it. Brown University Professor Allan Just is working to change that.

thepublicsradio.org

Our planet is getting hotter, but at the same time, snow storms seem to be getting bigger. This week on Possibly, in the wake of Rhode Island’s record setting blizzard, we’re looking back at a 2022 episode of our show that explains what’s going on. thepublicsradio.org/possibly-pod...

How has climate change affected our snow storms? - TPR: The Public's Radio

Our planet is getting hotter, but at the same time, snow storms seem to be getting bigger. In the wake of Rhode Island’s record setting blizzard, we’re looking back at a 2022 episode of Possibly that ...

thepublicsradio.org

It seems like microplastics are everywhere these days — but their impacts on human health remain unclear. This week on Possibly we talked to professor @smbrander.bsky.social to understand why that is and how scientists are trying to get a clearer picture.

How do we know if microplastics affect our health? - TPR: The Public's Radio

It seems like microplastics are everywhere these days — but their impacts on human health remain unclear. Today we take a closer look at why that is and how scientists are trying to get a clearer pict...

thepublicsradio.org

Microplastics are all around us, even if we can’t see them. This week on Possibly, we investigate where they come from and why sometimes, they’re even made on purpose. Listen to our latest episode here: www.oceanstatemedia.org/news-and-cul...

Where do microplastics come from?

Microplastics are all around us, even if we can’t see them. This week, the Possibly team investigates where they come from and why sometimes, they’re even made on purpose

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More than 9 million students had school disrupted by climate change last year. Researchers at Brown University's @annenberginstitute.bsky.social have launched the SustainableED initiative to study what rising temperatures will mean for our education system. www.oceanstatemedia.org/news-and-cul...

How should schools respond to climate change?

More than 9 million students had school disrupted by climate change last year. Researchers at Brown University have launched the SustainableED initiative to study what rising temperatures will mean fo...

oceanstatemedia.org

When reporter Juliana Merullo moved to Uruguay last year, she thought it would be "a green paradise" with EVs, rooftop solar and wind turbines everywhere you look. But it wasn't like that at all. This week on Possibly she explains what it's like living in a country powered by renewable energy.

What is it like to live in a country with a fully renewable electric grid?

'I think I thought it would be like a green paradise, that everyone would be driving around in their electric cars, that all of the houses would have solar panels on them, that there would be those tr...

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This week on Possibly reporter Juliana Merullo talks to Ramón Mendez Galain, a physicist who helped Uruguay transition its electric grid to renewable energy almost overnight. Listen here: www.oceanstatemedia.org/news-and-cul...

How did Uruguay transition to a fully renewable electric grid?

This week on Possibly we’re talking to Ramón Mendez Galain, a physicist who helped the small South American country transition its electric grid to renewable energy almost overnight

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Climate change makes a lot of us feel anxious, overwhelmed, or helpless. This week on Possibly we travel north, to a place designed for people to unpack all of these feelings: a climate cafe. Listen to the episode here: www.oceanstatemedia.org/news-and-cul...

What is a Climate Cafe?

Climate change makes a lot of us feel anxious, overwhelmed, or helpless. This week on Possibly we travel north, to a place where people can unpack all of these feelings

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The Possibly team is heartbroken by the terrible tragedy last Saturday night on Brown’s campus. Our Possibly reporters are Brown students, and so this has been a difficult week for our team and our community. 🧵 1/3