Summary: This summer, we’re taking the planet’s pulse—and our own. Robert Gifford explains that what he calls “the dragons of inaction” keep us from changing our behaviors, even if we know they’re bad for the environment. Plus: Ed Maibach is starting conversations about climate change in unexpected places: Facebook, the doctor’s office, and the TV weather report. Later in the show: Coastal geologist Christopher Hein says climate changes are causing the shorelines of the east coast to shift, but there may be a way we can help barrier islands preserve vital ecosystems. Also: Synthetic hormones are flooding the waterways, so biologist Sara O’Brien is conducting experiments to pinpoint the source of human-made hormones and to determine the consequences of exposure to them. The canary-in-the-coal-mine for O’Brien’s research is the ubiquitous “mosquito fish”.
