Morning News Podcast: Climate Change Policies & Facebook’s Pullback

Yesterday, President Joe Biden signaled a new direction for the country when it comes to climate change. He said it should be considered an essential part of foreign policy and national security.

He signed an extremely wide ranging executive order that includes a number of new measures that could kick off the battle between the White House and the oil industry.

  • Plus, Facebook’s pull back from politics.
  • And, the second round of small business loans are off to a slow start.

Guests: Axios’ Ben Geman, Courtenay Brown, Sara Fischer and Joann Muller

Views: ‘Wild Side Ranch’ – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Wild Side Ranch gets its name for its 14,538± total acres of dramatic cliffs and canyons with a rolling landscape marked by thick stands of ponderosa pines, juniper and pinons, numerous canyons, rock outcroppings, cliff faces, arroyos, drainages, and all interspersed by meadows of native grasses.

The primary feature of the property is the stunning and iconic landmark, Cañon Blanco, serving as the southern boundary. Nestled between the Sandia and Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range, every turn on the property offers a different view from big sky bluffs across sprawling prairies to dense forests before New Mexico’s notable grandiose sunsets. Several miles of the Wild Side’s eastern boundary border the 1.6 million-acre Santa Fe National Forest, protecting the land as a wildlife habitat for trophy elk, mule deer, wild turkey, bear, and mountain lions.

Winter Walks: Village Of ‘Miyama’ In Kyoto, Japan

Kyoto is famous for its historic temples and shrines, But Not so many tourists know about the beautiful village like Shirakawa-go, Miyama.

Miyama (美山) is a remote, rural area in the mountains 30 kilometers north of central Kyoto. The area is famous for its traditional, thatched roof (kayabuki) farmhouses of which over 200 can be seen dotting the countryside. Unlike those found in many other historic towns and districts around the country, the majority of Miyama’s old houses survive as residential dwellings where people still live and work. This in turn lends a very nostalgic atmosphere to the area, and gives visitors a chance to experience the traditional, authentic feel of rural Japan.

Travel & Adventure: Overnight Stays At Idaho Fire Lookouts (Video)

The outdoors in Idaho can be a lot of different experiences. In Idaho, there are a dozen fire lookouts that can be booked online. With views for days and ample peace and quiet, a stay in an Idaho fire lookout will be a bucket list trip leaving you with memories for a lifetime.

While staying in an Idaho fire lookout is stunning with surrounding views and solitude, some may require small hikes to get to, and depending on the time of year certain vehicles may be needed. This video gives you a good look at the experience.

Science Podcast: Spinal Cord Injury Device, Hand Gestures & Saturn’s Tilt

A neuroprosthetic device restores blood-pressure control after spinal-cord injury, and identifying the neurons that help us understand others’ beliefs.

In this episode:

00:47 A neuroprosthetic restores the body’s baroreflex

A common problem for people who have experienced spinal-cord injury is the inability to maintain their blood pressure, which can have serious, long-term health consequences. Now, however, researchers have developed a device that may restore this ability, by stimulating the neural circuits involved in the so-called baroreflex.

Research Article: Squair et al.

News and Views: Neuroprosthetic device maintains blood pressure after spinal cord injury

08:27 Research Highlights

How gesticulating changes the way that speech is perceived, and a new theory of how Saturn got its tilt.

Research Highlight: Hands speak: how casual gestures shape what we hear

Research Highlight: The moon that made Saturn a pushover

10:58 A neuronal map of understanding others

Humans are very good at understanding that other people have thoughts, feelings and beliefs that are different to our own. But the neuronal underpinnings of this ability have been hard to unpick. Now, researchers have identified a subset of neurons that they think gives us this ability.

Research Article: Jamali et al.

18:04 Briefing Chat

We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, the science of why cats love catnip, and the struggle to identify what the mysterious celestial object StDr 56 actually is.

Science: Why cats are crazy for catnip

Syfy Wire: So what the heck is StDr 56?

Walks: ‘Nynäs Havsbad’ In Southern Sweden (Video)

Nynäshamn is a locality and the seat of Nynäshamn Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 13,510 inhabitants in 2010. While interest in the area as a potentially useful port grew from the mid 19th Century, it was only with the opening of the railway to Stockholm in 1901 that Nynäshamn started to develop. 

Analysis: How America Can Build & Run A 100% Clean Electric Grid (Video)

The U.S. electric grid is outdated. Designed for a world that runs on fossil fuels, our grid needs some major tech upgrades in order to transition to a more distributed, all-renewable system. That means smart, internet connected hardware working in tandem with advanced data analytics software to ensure that supply and demand are balanced, even when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing.

Winter Views: Clouds Fill Snow-Covered Grand Canyon In Arizona (Video)

A snowy Grand Canyon was shrouded by a partial cloud inversion in Arizona.

Grand Canyon National Park, in Arizona, is home to much of the immense Grand Canyon, with its layered bands of red rock revealing millions of years of geological history. Viewpoints include Mather Point, Yavapai Observation Station and architect Mary Colter’s Lookout Studio and her Desert View Watchtower. Lipan Point, with wide views of the canyon and Colorado River, is a popular, especially at sunrise and sunset. 

Wildlife: ‘Yellowstone Bison’ Are Built For Winter Survival (Video)

With a dense coat, a powerful mass of muscle and a large head ideally suited for clearing away snow and locating buried grass, bison are built for frigid conditions in Yellowstone. If it wasn’t for a hidden herd in the deepest reaches of this National Park, bison would have been wiped out in the late 1800s. Today, thousands of them thrive.

From Epic Yellowstone: Fire and Ice https://bitly.com/35mV4hU

Walks: ‘Carcassonne Castle’ In France (Video)

Carcassonne, town, capital of Aude départementOccitanie region, southwestern France, southeast of Toulouse, near the eastward bend of the Aude River, which divides the city into two towns, the Ville Basse and the Cité. The Cité has the finest remains of medieval fortifications in Europe.

On the summit of an isolated hill rearing abruptly on the Aude’s right bank, the site of the Cité was occupied as early as the 5th century  BCE by the Iberians, then by Gallo-Romans. The inner rampart was built in 485 CE, when Euric I was king of the Visigoths. Clovis failed to take it in 508, though Muslim invaders succeeded in 728, as did Pippin III the Short in 752.