Geothermal energy, despite lower carbon emissions than coal, is not benign. Projects like Nevada's proposed Baltazor site highlight significant environmental and social costs. Geothermal development leads to habitat destruction (e.g., in Kenya and for Nevada's Dixie Valley toad) and violent evictions of indigenous communities.

Drilling releases toxic elements like mercury, arsenic, and boron into groundwater. Facilities also cause air pollution, including sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, contributing to acid rain and health issues, as seen in Iceland. Moreover, "enhanced geothermal systems" (EGS) utilize fracking technology, injecting high-pressure slurries that can poison groundwater and induce earthquakes, mirroring problems in the oil and gas industry.

More about the Baltazor project: https://www.blm.gov/press-release/humboldt-river-field-office-publish-final-environmental-assessment-baltazor More about the book Bright Green Lies: https://www.maxwilbert.org/books/

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Join Jeff Corwin on an Alaskan adventure to conserve North America's birds. He explores the Tongass National Forest, a vast old-growth temperate rainforest critical for species like the goshawk and vital for carbon sequestration. This unique ecosystem supports diverse wildlife, despite past logging impacts.

Corwin also visits the Alaska Raptor Center, where he helps rehabilitate and release a young bald eagle named Diesel. Rescued after being hit by a car, Diesel's recovery highlights the center's work in returning iconic raptors, including bald eagles and goshawks, to their natural habitat.

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Human objects in space are creating dangerous clutter. MIT Assistant Professor Danielle Wood advocates for sustainable space technology, stressing the need to respect both people and the environment in future missions. This approach is crucial for managing the "industrial waste" accumulating beyond Earth.

One promising solution involves a wax-based fuel for satellites, made from beeswax and candle wax. This less toxic and more affordable alternative would help bring objects closer to Earth for safe deorbiting and destruction, offering a sustainable way to address space debris.

Watch the newest video from Big Think: https://bigth.ink/NewVideo. Learn skills from top minds at Big Think Edge: https://bigth.ink/Edge. Read the full transcript: https://bigthink.com/videos/sustainable-space-tech.

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Jeff Corwin joins conservationists in California to protect pinnipeds, including elephant seals and sea lions. Organizations like the Marine Mammal Care Center and Defenders of Wildlife are crucial in rescuing and rehabilitating these animals, which face severe threats from climate change, overfishing, habitat loss, and plastic pollution.

Corwin assists Dr. Lauren Palmer and Andy Johnson in rehabilitating four malnourished California sea lion pups, one of whom ingested plastic. After critical care, tagging, and weighing, the pups are successfully released back into the wild. This effort underscores the vital role of conservation in giving endangered animals a second chance and addressing environmental challenges for ecosystem health.

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Join host Jeff Corwin on an epic adventure across the Great Plains of the United States on a mission to understand the connection between the incredible species that call it home. First, Jeff travels

Join host Jeff Corwin on an epic adventure across the Great Plains of the United States on a mission to understand the connection between the incredible species that call it home. First, Jeff travels to the Canadian border to help Native American tribes re-establish bison across tribal lands. Jeff learns how ancient bison herds once shaped the Great Plains and how modern conservationists are fighting to bring those herds back. Later, Jeff works with biologists to manage a delicate population of black-footed ferrets, a species once believed to be extinct. Jeff discovers how wild bison play a vital role in ferret survival and the survival of the Great Plains themselves. Video transcript: Jeff Corwin: Welcome to Northeast Montana, home of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian community. I'm with Jonathan Proctor, from Defenders of Wildlife. It's now about minus nine. Look at our backdrop, we've got American bison. John, they are forever interconnected to this ecosystem. Jonathan Proctor: Yes, this is one of the most important keystone species in the entire Great Plains. This species had an outsized importance, numerous impacts on the environment that benefited a whole host of other wildlife. Jeff Corwin: The bison behind us are descendants of a great and ancient herd, over 30 million animals that moved like a living wave across North America. But this species was nearly wiped out with the western expansion of America and industrial hunting. The deliberate mass slaughter of bison was devastating to the Great Plains, and especially to the native tribes that depended upon them as a food and cultural resource. Tragically, at the start of the 20th century, fewer than 1000 American bison were left alive. Jonathan Proctor: The loss of the bison historically, about a hundred years ago, had ripple effects throughout the entire Great Plains. All of the predators and scavengers that depended on the bison for food disappeared as a result. Bison graze down the grass, which benefit prairie dogs, and so many other species depend on prairie dogs. So when the bison were removed, the whole system unraveled. Jeff Corwin: So, the big challenge we face is to reintegrate them into the ecosystem because this environment, the prairie needs the bison. Jonathan Proctor: To achieve that goal, we need to restore at least 10 large bison herds back to the Great Plains. When we get to that level, we will have truly saved the bison and the environment that it once evolved in and helped create. Jeff Corwin: Leading the charge is the Intertribal Buffalo Council, a group of 76 native tribal communities working to establish new and wild bison herds across the Great Plains. This morning, Robbie Magnan and his team are moving 56 bison from Montana to their new home in Oklahoma. Robbie, for the many tribal communities, bison are so very important, even today. Robbie Magnan: Yes, that's very much so. They're helping us restore our culture, because they've always been part of our culture. And now, we have our opportunity to reconnect with them and restore our culture with them. Jeff Corwin: But here's the thing, we can't get these bison to Oklahoma until we corral them, and that my friends, is going to be a challenge. You ready to do this? Robbie Magnan: Yeah. Jeff Corwin: All right, let's go. Speaker 4: All right, look sharp, stay together. Jeff Corwin: So, what is the plan, Robbie? Robbie Magnan: The buffalo are in a temporary holding pen that we have to round them up. Sometimes it's not so easy. Follow me! Jeff Corwin: Woo, hold on. So you can kind of see what we're trying to do, right here. It's a little bit of chaos, organized chaos. And what we're trying to do is move them into the corral, make sure they're healthy, and then share them with another Native American community. Ooh. Robbie Magnan: You okay? Jeff Corwin: Yeah. Ooh, rock. Rock. Robbie Magnan: Take what you got. Take what you got, guys. Take what you got! Speaker 5: Here they come. Jeff Corwin: Okay, so we didn't get the whole herd, but we've got about half the herd, right here. We're moving them down this quarter and into the corral they go. Robbie, who do I invoice my chiropractor bill to? Now that we've got almost half the herd into the pen, Robbie guides them into a series of smaller quarters. Here, they can be individually identified and have their final health checks before their trip to Oklahoma. Robbie Magnan: Okay, get in there. Jeff Corwin: All right, all right, there we go. We've hit our character limit. Leave a comment for the rest of the transcript.

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