Projected Extinction Rate Way Up, EPA’s New Rules For Power Plants, Dictionary Of American Regional English

Air Date:
Heard On Central Time

A new study suggests plants and animals are going extinct at a much higher rate in the human-era than previously thought. Rob and Veronica look at the reasons behind the high rate, and how technology is being used to help threatened species. Then, they learn what the Dictionary of American Regional English is doing to update for a new generation, and discuss what new EPA rules mean for coal-power in Wisconsin.

Featured in this Show

  • Species Going Extinct At Faster Rate Due To Humans

    According to a new study, species of plants and animals are going extinct at a rate at least 1,000 faster than they did before humans roamed the Earth. A conservation ecologist describes what’s behind the projected high rate of extinction, and how new technology is being used to help threatened species.

  • What Will New EPA Rules Mean For WI Coal Plants?

    The EPA announced new regulations today to cut power plants’ carbon emissions by 30 percent by the year 2030. What does it mean for Wisconsin where coal generates more than half of the state’s electricity?

  • Dictionary Of American Regional English Gets Reboot

    In 1965, University of Wisconsin students and researchers set out in “word wagons” to record the ways Americans spoke in various parts of the country. Now, nearly 50 years later, they’re tracing how language use has changed, substituting computers and online survey methods for those original wagons… all to update the Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE).

Episode Credits

  • Rob Ferrett Host
  • Veronica Rueckert Host
  • Chris Malina Producer
  • Marika Suval Producer
  • Stuart Pimm Guest
  • Chuck Quirmbach Guest
  • Joan Houston Hall Guest