The rightful place of science (starts at 6:22): In 2014, the world certainly saw more than a few costly weather disasters. Flooding in India and Pakistan in September killed more than 600 people and resulted in economic losses of more than $18 billion. Super Typhoon Rammasum, which hit the Philippines, China and Vietnam in July caused more than 200 deaths and losses of $6.5 billion. And, closer to home, in August, rainfall and flooding in Detroit, Baltimore and Long Island damaged homes and cities leading to economic losses of about $2 billion.
At the same time, the United Nations Weather Agency states that 2014 was the warmest year on record. So, the question is: Are these natural disasters related to the warming climate? And are natural disasters becoming more costly because of climate change?
These are questions that Roger Pielke Jr., an environmental sciences professor at the University of Colorado, addresses in his new book “The Rightful Place of Science: Disasters and Climate Change.” He talks with HOE’s Jane Palmer about his book and why he believes it is important to maintain scientific integrity while engaging in the climate debate.
Hosts: Kendra Krueger, Jane Palmer
Producer, Engineer: Kendra Krueger
Executive Producer: Kendra Krueger
Additional Contributions: Beth Bennett, Jane Palmer, Joel Parker
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 25:04 — 22.9MB)
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Himalayan Glacial Lakes (starts at 5:20) Some scientists conduct their experiments in a laboratory — think clean white walls, artificial lighting, A.C. and a convenient coffee pot not far away. Not so for Ulyana Horodyskyj, a graduate student at the University of Colorado. For the last few years she’s been looking at glaciers and the lakes on top of them in Nepal. Last year she spent a year looking at how pollution affects glaciers high in the Himalayan Mountains. She hoped to set up the ultimate high-altitude laboratory on the oxygen-thin slopes of Mount Everest, but a fatal accident intervened. On this edition of How on Earth, she talks about her latest research, Himalayan glaciers and what it is like to do science at the top of the world.
Proof: The Science of Booze (starts at 8:09): Science journalist 
(4:33) Think computer coding and art are worlds apart? Vikram Chandra, author of the novel Sacred Games would have you think again. In his most recent book Geek Sublime: The Beauty of Code, The Code of Beauty, Chandra looks deeply into the connections between technology and art, illustrating his arguments with a history of coding and a meditation on the writer’s craft. Under his musings is Chandra’s own story, where he finds his way to the West from India and dabbles in literature, then coding, then back to writing.