Tag Archives: Environment

Scholars’ Circle – Slippery Underworld of Organ Trafficking -/- De-Extinction a new tool – April 9, 2017

April 8, 2017 host

First, the underworld of organ trafficking. [ dur: 10 mins. ]

Nancy Scheper-Hughes, is Professor of anthropology at University of California, Berkeley, editor of Commodifying Bodies and co-author of Violence in War and Peace: An Anthology.
Art Caplan, is Professor and head of the division of Bioethics at New York University Langone Medical Center and award-winning author of books including Applied Ethics in Mental Health Care: An Interdisciplinary Reader, Ethics and Organ Transplants, and Smart Mice, Not so Smart People.

Then, in the face of mass extinction scientists are exploring bringing back species from the dead. Our panel of scientists discuss de-extinction. What criteria should be used to determine which species to bring back? What are some of the ethical considerations? [ dur: 48 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

Michael Archer is Professor in the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of New South Wales. He is the author of Prehistoric Mammals of Australia and New Guinea: One Hundred Million Years of Evolution and From Plesiosaurs to People : 100 Million Years of Australian Environmental History. He’s part of the team that’s working on the de-extinction efforts to bring back Thylacine and Southern Grastric-brooding Frog.
Douglas McCauley is Professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology at the University of California Santa Barbara. He has co-authored numerous research papers including, Megafaunal impacts on structure and function of ocean ecosystems, Marine defaunation: animal loss in the global oceans, Resetting predator baselines in coral reef ecosystems.
Susan Haig is Senior Scientist at U. S. Geologic Survery (USGS) Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center and Courtesy Professor of Wildlife Ecology at Oregon State University. She is the co-author of many research papers including, Ancient DNA reveals substantial genetic diversity in the California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) prior to a population bottleneck, and The Conservation Genetics Juggling Act- Integrating Genetics and Ecology, Science and Policy

Find book authored by our guest scholars on this Book Shelf .

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Survery of government policies to address climate change -/- Justice for Archbishop Oscar Romero – March 26, 2017

March 26, 2017 host

First, a look at changes in environmental policies on local, state, national and international levels. [ dur: 13 mins. ]

Astrid Carrapatoso is assistant professor of political science at University of Feiberg, Germany. She has published many studies on climate change policy implemented by local, state, national and international governments. She is the author of The Greening of Free Trade: Domestic Politics and Environmental Issues in New Zealand’s Free Trade Agreement Negotiations and co-editor of Climate-Resilient Development: Participatory solutions from developing countries. List of her publications can be found here 🔗.

Then, we’ll explore the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the case to bring his killers to justice. We speak with Matt Eisenbrandt author of The Assassination of a Saint. [ dur: 40 mins. ]

Matt Eisenbrandt is a former Legal Director for the Center for Justice & Accountability (CJA) and a member of the trial team that brought Archbishop Óscar Romero’s assassination to court. He is now the Legal Director of the Canadian Centre for International Justice (CCIJ), where he helps survivors of torture, war crimes and other atrocities seek justice. He is the author of The Assassination of a Saint: The Plot to Murder Oscar Romero and the Quest to Bring His Killers to Justice.

Find book authored by our guest scholars on this Book Shelf .

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Insight into race, propaganda and ideology -/- extinction of species – March 12, 2017

March 11, 2017 host

First, an analysis of ideology, propaganda and race.

David Livingstone Smith is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of New England. He is the author of Less Than Human: Why We Demean, Enslave, and Exterminate Others, The Most Dangerous Animal: Human Nature and the Origins of War, How Biology Shapes Philosophy and Why We Lie: Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind.

Then, what are the causes of the rapid rate of species extinction and what can be done.

Anthony Barnosky is Executive Director of Stanford University’s Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, and an Emeritus Professor of Integrative Biology at University of California Berkeley. He is the author of Dodging Extinction—Power, Food, Money and the Future of Life on Earth and co-author of Tipping Point for Planet Earth—How Close Are We To The Edge (with Elizabeth Hadly).
Stuart Pimm is Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology at Duke University. He is the author of A Scientist Audits the Earth, The Balance of Nature? Ecological Issues in the Conservation of Species and Communities, and Patterns in Nature: The Analysis of Species Co-Occurences.
David Wilkie is Director of Conservation Measures for the Wildlife Conservation Society. He is the author of Hunting for consensus: reconciling bushmeat harvest, conservation, and development policy in West and Central Africa, Valuation of consumption and sale of forest goods from a Central American rain forest, and Impacts of protected areas on local livelihoods in Cambodia.

Find book authored by our guest scholars on this Book Shelf .

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Melting glaciers and ice sheets -/- Insight into Addiction and it’s treatment – February 26, 2017

February 24, 2017 host

First, climate change, receding glaciers and melting ice sheets are causing the oceans to rise dramatically. What does that mean for the world’s coastal cities? [ dur: 15mins. ]

Andrea Dutton is a Professor of Geological Sciences at the University of Florida. She is the co-author of Tropical Tales of Polar Ice:Evidence of Last Interglacial Polar Ice Sheet Retreat Recorded by Fossil Reefs of the Granitic Seychelles Island published in Quaternary Science Reviews.
Brian Fagan is Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at the University of California at Santa Barbara. He is the author of The Attacking Ocean: The Past, Present, and Future of Rising Sea Levels, Elixir: A History of Water and Humankind and The Great Warming: Climate Change and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations

Then, on The Scholars’ Circle panel, science contradicts long held societal myths about addiction. What are the most effective means of addressing addiction? [ dur: 43mins. ]

Dr. Lance Dodes is a former Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He is the author of The Heart of Addiction: A New Approach to Understanding and Managing Alcoholism and Other Addictive Behaviors, Breaking Addiction: A 7-Step Handbook for Ending Any Addiction and The Sober Truth: Debunking the Bad Science Behind 12-Step Programs and the Rehab Industry.
Dr. Jeffrey Foote is the Co-founder and Clinical Director of the Center For Motivation and Change. Previously, he was the Deputy Director of the Division of Alcohol Treatment and Research at Mt. Sinai Medical Center and a Senior Research Associate at The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. He is the co-author of Beyond Addiction: How Science and Kindness Help People Change.
Dr. Adi Jaffe is a lecturer at UCLA and the Co-Founder and Executive Director at Alternatives Addiction Treatment.

Find book authored by our guest scholars on this Book Shelf .

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Genes, Culture and Prospect of humanity -/- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. remembered – January 15, 2017

January 13, 2017 host

Is humanity outgrowing planet? We get insight from Bing professor of population studies at Stanford University, Paul R. Ehrlich.[ dur: 28 mins. ]

Paul R. Ehrlich is president of the Center for Conservation Biology and Bing professor of population studies at Stanford University, author of the Population Bomb, Human Natures: Genes, Culture, and the Human Prospect and A World of Wounds: Ecologists and the Human Dilemma.

While much of the country remembers Martin Luther King, Jr. as primarily a leader of civil rights and desegregation and a great orator, our next guests say he stood for so much more. Many aspects of his life, legacy & philosophy remain either unknown or conveniently forgotten. This interview from January, 2014. [ dur: 30 mins.]

David Garrow is Professor of History and Law at University of Pittsburgh, author of FBI and Martin Luther King, Jr: From “Solo” to Memphis.
Joshua Inwood is Professor of Geography and Africana Studies in Geography Department, University of Tennessee. His publications include, Nonkilling Geography, Searching for the Promised Land: Examining Dr. Martin Luther King’s Concept of the Beloved Community,and Street naming and the politics of belonging: spatial injustices in the toponymic commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr.
Thomas Jackson is Professor of History at University of North Carolina, Greensboro. He is the author of, From Civil Rights to Human Rights: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Struggle for Economic Justice.

Find books authored by our guest scholars on this Book Shelf .

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Ecosystem Tipping Point, how it happens, effects and our response – January 8, 2017

January 8, 2017 host

We spent the hour looking at the science of tippings and what they mean for our climate and our ecosystems on land and in water today. What causes these types of sudden changes? And how can society be better prepared for such events? We spoke with three scientists whose studies involve tipping points, how they happen and their effects.[ dur: 58mins. ]

Peter Ward is a Professor of Paleontology and Biology at the Earth and Space Sciences Department of the University of Washington, Seattle.He is the co-author of the best-selling Rare Earth: Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe, the author of many books including, Out of Thin Air: Dinosaurs, Birds, and Earth’s Ancient Atmosphere, Under a Green Sky: Global Warming, the Mass Extinctions of the Past, and What They Can Tell Us About Our Future, and The Medea Hypothesis: Is Life on Earth Ultimately Self-Destructive? which was listed by the New York Times as one of the “100 most important ideas of 2009.”
Simon Thrush is Professor of Marine Science and Head of the Institute of Marine Science at the University of Auckalnd in New Zealand, He is the co-author of many publications including, Real world biodiversity-ecosystem functioning: A seafloor perspective, The up-scaling of ecosystem functions in a heterogeneous world, and Altered Sea Ice Thickness and Permanence Affects Benthic Ecosystem Functioning in Coastal Antarctica.
George Perry is a Professor at the School of Environment at the University of Auckland. He studies the effects of humans on forest ecosystems. He is the co-author of many publications including, Positive Feedbacks to Fire-Driven Deforestation Following Human Colonization of the South Island of New Zealand, Feedbacks and landscape-level vegetation dynamics, and Pyrodiversity is the coupling of biodiversity and fire regimes in food webs.

Find books authored by our guest scholars on this Book Shelf .

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Cuba, now where! -/- Sociology insights into Disaster Recovery – December 4, 2016

December 3, 2016 host

First, with the death of Fidel Castro and with Donald Trump as the incoming president, what will happen with Cuba and it’s relations with the United States? Peter Kornbluh of Cuba Documentation Project at the National Security Archives with insights.[ dur; 26mins. ]

Peter Kornbluh directs the Cuba Documentation Project and the Chile Documentation Project at the National Security Archives. He is the author of Back Channel to Cuba: The Hidden History of Negotiations between Washington and Havana, The Pinochet File: A Declassified Dossier on Atrocity and Accountability and co-author of The Iran-Contra Scandal: The Declassified History.

Then, storms and fires are on the rise in quantity and severity bringing disastrous consequences to lives and livelihood. How will we deal with the storms, particularly with the loss of power? [ dur: 32mins. ]

Dr Steve Matthewman, teaches at University of Auckland, NZ. His research and expertise is in Social theory, technology studies, the underbelly of modernity, the sociology of accidents and disasters. He is the author of Disasters, Risks and Revelation: Making Sense of Our Times
Dr Julie Leigh MacArthur , teaches at University of Auckland, NZ. Her research and expertise is in Environmental politics and policy, participatory governance, renewable energy policies, social and solidarity economies. She is the author of Empowering Electricity: Co-operatives, Sustainability, and Power Sector Reform in Canada.

Find books authored by our guest scholars on this Book Shelf .

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle -Overuse of Antibiotics -/- Addressing Climate Change – September 25, 2016

September 24, 2016 host

First, sanitation and antibiotics have saved the lives of many, but are they also the culprits behind some of modern diseases? We might have gone overboard in killing our microbes. And that may be causing some of today’s epidemics. Martin I. Blaser is Professor of Translational Medicine and Director of Human Microbiome Program at New York University. He is the author of Missing Microbes : How the Overuse of Antibiotics Is Fueling Our Modern Plagues. [ dur: 21 mins. ]

Martin I. Blaser is Professor of Translational Medicine and Director of Human Microbiome Program at New York University. He is the author of Missing Microbes : How the Overuse of Antibiotics Is Fueling Our Modern Plagues.

Then, scientists say we still have time to address climate change and we’ve made headway, but we still have a long way to go. We speak with renowned climate scientist Michael Mann. [ dur: 37mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

Professor Michael Mann is a climatologist and a geophysicist. He’s the director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University. He was one of the lead authors of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC. He is the author of The Madhouse Effect: How Climate Change Denial Is Threatening Our Planet, Destroying Our Politics, and Driving Us Crazy.

Find books authored by our guest scholars on this Book Shelf .

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Humans Disrupting Evolution -/- Ethics in Health Care – August 21, 2016

August 20, 2016 host

First, is humanity the most damaging predator on earth? Our guests say yes, and that its predatory practices may be disrupting evolution.[ dur: 23 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

Chris Darimont, is a Professor at the Department of Geography at University of Victoria, Victoria, BC. He has a PhD in Evolution and Ecology from the Biology Department at the University of Victoria.
Dr. Tom Reimchen, is a Professor at the Department of Geography at University of Victoria, Victoria, BC. Canada. Please visit the Evolutionary Studies Lab at University of Victoria, Victoria BC, Canada where you will find additional studies on this subject.
Heather Bryan, is a postdoctoral fellow in the Applied Conservation Science lab exploring the physiological mechanisms by which wildlife responds to environmental change at University of Victoria BC, Canada.

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, many observers argue, that the economic forces are corrupting medical care and eroding the trust between patients and their doctors. The problems in health care delivery have wide implications related to how health care should function particularly when there are limited resources. We examine the ethics of medicine and healthcare, and the modern day issues that complicate them. [ dur: 37 mins. ]

Thomas Pogge is the Director of the Global Justice Program and Professor of Philosophy and International Affairs at Yale University and King’s College. His books include World Poverty and Human Rights, Freedom from Poverty: Who Owes What to the Very Poor? and World Poverty and Human Rights: Cosmopolitan Responsibilities and Reforms.
Martin Wilkinson is Professor of Political Studies and Deputy Head of Department of Politics & International Relns at the University of Auckland. His books include Freedom, Efficiency and Equality and Ethics and the Acquisition of Organs.
Richard Cookson is a Reader and Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Health Economics at the University of York. His books include The Humble Economist: Tony Culyer on Health, Health Care and Social Decision Making and Jonathan Bradshaw on Social Policy: Selected Writings 1972-2011.

Find books authored by our guest scholars on this Book Shelf .

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle- Renewable Revolution in South Korea -/- American Congress influenced by Wealthy – June 12, 2016

June 11, 2016 host

What technological changes are needed to power the renewable revolution? [ dur: 26 mins. ]

Sung-Young Kim is a Lecturer at the University of Auckland with a specialty in political economy. His publications include “Developmental Environmentalism: Explaining South Korea’s Ambitious Pursuit of Green Growth” and “South Korea Doubles Down on Green Growth.“

Then, we know that the wealthy have more influence than other Americans. But just how unrepresentative is the american congress and the state legislature? [ dur: 32 mins. ]

Thomas Hayes is Professor of Political Science at the University of Connecticut. He is the author of the publications, “Do Citizens Link Attitudes with Preferences? Economic Inequality and Government Spending in the New Gilded Age” and “Responsiveness in an Era of Inequality: The Case of the U.S. Senate.”
Martin Gilens is Professor of Politics at Princeton University. He is the author of Affluence and Influence: Economic Inequality and Political Power in America.
Patrick Flavin is Professor of Political Science at Baylor University. He is the author of the publications, “Campaign Finance Laws, Policy Outcome, and Political Equality in the American States,” and “State Party Competition and Citizen’s Political Engagement.”

Find book authored by our guest scholars on this Book Shelf .

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

The Scholars' Circle Interviews

Tag Archives: Environment

Scholars’ Circle – Slippery Underworld of Organ Trafficking -/- De-Extinction a new tool – April 9, 2017

Scholars’ Circle – Survery of government policies to address climate change -/- Justice for Archbishop Oscar Romero – March 26, 2017

Scholars’ Circle – Insight into race, propaganda and ideology -/- extinction of species – March 12, 2017

Scholars’ Circle – Genes, Culture and Prospect of humanity -/- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. remembered – January 15, 2017

Scholars’ Circle – Ecosystem Tipping Point, how it happens, effects and our response – January 8, 2017

Scholars’ Circle – Cuba, now where! -/- Sociology insights into Disaster Recovery – December 4, 2016

Scholars’ Circle -Overuse of Antibiotics -/- Addressing Climate Change – September 25, 2016

Scholars’ Circle – Humans Disrupting Evolution -/- Ethics in Health Care – August 21, 2016

Scholars’ Circle- Renewable Revolution in South Korea -/- American Congress influenced by Wealthy – June 12, 2016

By Maria Armoudian