Rising: A Live, Social-Distancing Conversation with Elizabeth Rush
Newport RI—On April 2, 2020, the Pell Center’s Facebook page become a virtual lecture hall, welcoming hundreds of viewers for a live conversation with Elizabeth Rush, co-hosted by the Pell Center and the Rhode Island Center for the Book. Rush is the author of “Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore,” this year’s Reading Across Rhode Island state-wide read, a Rhode Island Center for the Book program. Pell Center executive … Read More
Environmental Justice with Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha
In April 2014, officials in Flint, Michigan, switched the source of the city’s water from the Detroit water supply to the Flint, River. It was a cost-saving move, but it touched the lives of citizens across that city. Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha helped blow the story open. With science and determination, she proved the decision was poisoning the children of Flint. An associate professor of pediatrics and human development at Michigan … Read More
Human Caused Environmental Catastrophe with Elizabeth Kolbert
Air Dates: April 22-28, 2019 The fossil record of planet earth tells us that there have been five mass extinctions—the most famous being the fifth that destroyed the dinosaurs. Elizabeth Kolbert warns that we’re in the midst, now, of the sixth extinction and its cause is human activity. Kolbert’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Sixth Extinction, documents the risk to species across the planet. The threat is human activity. The fabric … Read More
Sunshine Menezes on “Story in the Public Square” September 23, 2017
Science tells us that Hurricanes Harvey and Irma were stronger because of climate change. That view is politically controversial, even if it is based on sound science. Guest Sunshine Menezes helps scientists communicate more effectively. Sunshine Menezes, Ph.D. has served as executive director of the Metcalf Institute at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography (URI GSO) and associate director for communication in the URI GSO Office of … Read More
May 13, 2017 – “Story in the Public Square”
Anthony Leiserowitz discusses communicating climate change to Americans on this week’s episode.
Water Privatization: Not Just a Drop in the Bucket
When thinking about environmental scarcity it is common to think of the depletion of rain forests, the growth in the number of animals on the endangered species list and the deterioration of the ozone layer. However, it is rare, at least in the United States, to consider the scarcity of freshwater resources. The reality is that less than three percent of the world’s water is fresh, and the ability to … Read More