What’s Up With The Weather, Endangered Species List, State News Roundup

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The Wisconsin State Assembly passed a series of tax cuts this week. Rob Ferrett and Judith Siers-Poisson get an update on the week’s state news. Then they check the world’s endangered species list and find out what’s up with all the unusual weather we’re experiencing.

Featured in this Show

  • Climate Expert Confirms This Is 'The New Normal'

    The second “historic” storm in a single month hit the southern U.S. this week amidst a backdrop of extreme weather events around the world. California is experiencing severe drought, the U.K. is suffering the worst flooding in centuries and Australia is sweltering in record-breaking heat.

    Milwaukee-based climate expert George Stone confirmed what appears obvious.

    “In recent years, the frequency and intensity of extreme weather and climate events has increased dramatically,” he said.

    When it comes to this year’s winter in Wisconsin, however, Stone said, “This is a normal, old-fashioned Wisconsin winter.”

    He said recent winters have been the outliers.

    “Here in Wisconsin, we’ve experienced a lot of mild winters of late … a few years ago, we set a record for the number of consecutive months without any below-zero temperatures (in Milwaukee),” said Stone.

    President Barack Obama announced a $1 billion resilience fund on Friday to help prepare for the kind of severe weather making headlines. Stone agreed that such preparation is necessary and added that things like, “more rail, bus, and street cars so we’re not totally dependent on automobile traffic” would help.

    He reiterated that even if people are prepared for severe weather, “we can’t take our eye off of the long term, which is reducing greenhouse gasses to mitigate long-term climate change.”

    When asked if this is the new normal, “Yes,” he said, “I’m afraid it is.”

  • Strange Weather: The New Normal?

    This week winter storms again wreaked havoc, disrupting air travel, causing serious highway accidents, and even dragging down the economy. And that’s just in the U.S. Are global weather patterns set to get more and more unpredictable? Is this going to be the new “normal”?

  • Getting Species Back Off The Endangered List

    For the first time, a fish species has been taken off the endangered list. A conservation expert explains what it takes to help a species recover from the brink of extinction.

  • State News Round-Up For February 14, 2014

    WPR’s assistant news director joins us to talk about what’s making news in Wisconsin this week, and what’s around the corner.

Episode Credits

  • Rob Ferrett Host
  • Judith Siers-Poisson Host
  • Marika Suval Producer
  • George Stone Guest
  • Stan Temple Guest
  • Noah Ovshinsky Guest

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