Photo of water overflowing shore depicting rising sea levels, from Dave/Flickr/Creative Commons/CC BY 2.0, via NASA.gov.
Photo of water overflowing shore depicting rising sea levels, from Dave/Flickr/Creative Commons/CC BY 2.0, via NASA.gov.

Death by Climate Change, with Natalia Reagan

Credit: Dave/Flickr/Creative Commons/CC BY 2.0, via NASA.gov.
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About This Episode

Climate change is the hot-button issue of today. With most of the focus being on how climate change will impact humans, we turn our focus on how it will impact the rest of the biosphere. Primatologist Natalia Reagan is back to host alongside comic co-cost Tim Alexander, biological anthropologist Todd Disotell and paleoanthropologist Ian Tattersall. First, however, we start with humans: You’ll hear why climate change will have such a drastic impact on humans given our reliance and vitality on coastal-based infrastructure, what pathogens might spread due to rising temperatures, and why the focus of combating climate change should be an economical argument. We then turn the focus towards other species of life. You’ll learn how major climate changes in the past have impacted the diversity of species, how the start of invention played a factor in past climate changes for early humans, and how we must keep inventing and innovating for the future. You’ll also hear about the acidification of oceans and its effect on marine life. We explore how conservation biologists work to create genetic diversity, how single weather events can drastically effect certain animal populations, and what the world would be like without humans in it. All that, plus, Ian, who authored A Natural History of Wine, explains how growing grapes is being effected by climate change, as well as growing hops for beer.

NOTE: All-Access subscribers can watch or listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: Death by Climate Change, with Natalia Reagan.

In This Episode

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