Patt Morrison for Monday, May 9, 2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Monday, May 9, 2011

1-3 p.m.

 

CALL-IN @ 866-893-5722, 866-893-KPCC; OR JOIN THE CONVERSATION ONLINE ON THE PATT MORRISON BLOG AT KPCC-DOT-ORG

 

 

1:06 – 1:39

OPEN

 

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30

Climate change accelerated: higher temps, rising sea levels on tap for a warming Earth

We’ve heard the warnings about melting glaciers, disappearing ice flows and rising sea levels, as the impact of climate change is felt over the next 100 years.  According to new surveys by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change the planet is warming at rates faster than previously realized and all of that melting ice might be creating more climate chaos.  The IPCC found a phenomenon that had long concerned climate scientists called “feedback loops” is already in practice, demonstrating the self sustaining nature of global warming.  As temperatures rise and ice melts the ocean absorbs more of the sun’s energy and that energy is releases as heat, further warming the Arctic.  As a result sea levels are expected to rise far faster, and those rising seas might alter ocean currents which will further mess with the climate cycle.  Is there any hope to reverse these predictions?

 

Guests:

Gavin Schmidt, climatologist & climate modeler at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies

CALL HIM:

 

 

2:06 – 2:39

Can the world sustain 10 billion people?

The United Nations recently issued a report which projects that the world's population could reach 10.1 billion by the year 2100. Africa's population could triple in this century, Yemen's population seems to be growing exponentially, and the United States is expanding faster than many other developed countries--our population is expected to rise from 311 million to 478 million by 2100.  Many call over population the single biggest environmental issue plaguing our world.  Too many people can put a strain on the planet’s natural resources. Will there be enough land to sustain a Western, mostly meat based, diet and will our water supply be adequate enough to support 10 billion people?  And if not, what can we do about it?  Will technology and innovation help us discover new ways to produce food and limit our 10 billion sized carbon footprint?  Some nations around the world have de-emphasized family planning programs because of controversial issues like birth control and abortion, sex education and women's roles in society. The problems of our ever growing planet on the next Patt Morrison.   

 

Guests:

Hania Zlotnik, Director of the Population Division of the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs

CALL HER @

 

Jamais Cascio, research fellow at the Institute for the Future

CALL HIM @

 

HE WILL DISCUSS FOOD PRODUCTION

Jason Clay, Senior Vice President of Market Transformation at World Wildlife Fund

CALL HIM @

 

David Bloom, professor of economics and demography and chairman of the department of global health and population at Harvard University

• He spoke about population growth at the World Economic Forum meeting this week in Cape Town, South Africa

 

 

Joel Cohen, professor of population and head of the Laboratory of Population at the Rockefeller University and Columbia University

 

 

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30

Rainn Wilson and Climatologist Tim Flannery chew on life's big questions

You most likely know him as Dwight Schrute from "The Office," but beneath that caustic veneer is a deep thinker. Meet Rainn Wilson, lover of philosophy, religious studies and flapjacks. Patt sat down with the actor at the Los Angeles Times Book Festival last week to talk about his book and web site "Soul Pancake," which chews on life's big questions. Patt also caught up with another chewer of life's big questions, Australian climatologist Tim Flannery. Flannery is almost single-handedly responsible for waking Aussies up to the realities of climate change and our own species' finite time on Earth's crust. How did he do it and how can his lessons be applied in a global setting? Tune in for some answers and God's phone number, which Patt just might prank call.

 

Guests:

Rainn Wilson, actor best known as Dwight Schrute on NBC's "The Office" and co-creator of the book and web site Soul Pancake

ON TAPE

 

Tim Flannery, mammalogist, palaeontologist, environmentalist and author most recently of "Here on Earth"

ON TAPE

 

Jonathan Serviss
Senior Producer, Patt Morrison
Southern California Public Radio
NPR Affiliate for Los Angeles
89.3 KPCC-FM | 89.1 KUOR-FM | 90.3 KPCV-FM
626.583.5171, office
415.497.2131, mobile
jserviss@kpcc.org / jserviss@scpr.org
www.scpr.org