Setbacks to the Playpump Project, Altitude Tolerance in Tibetans
This week: An update on a story we aired on The World in 2005 – a water pump built into a merry-go-round that many hoped would provide drinking water for impoverished African villages. Also, we visit one Norwegian town that remains enthusiastic about offshore oil drilling. We look at the genetic basis of Tibetans’ adaptation to high altitudes. Elsa brings news about dinosaur eggs and organic agriculture.
Problems with the Playpump: A water pump built into a children’s merry-go-round. The idea was simple: harness the energy of children at play to draw well water up from the ground. It was meant to provide clean water for thousands of African villages. Philanthropists loved the PlayPump project. Until it fell apart.
Guest: Amy Costello.
Watch the video of Amy’s documentary, “Troubled Waters.”
Watch the original 2005 video about the PlayPump.
More about technological failures in developing countries, in Podcast 39.
Our Science Forum discussion about fixing technology fixes.
The Evolution of High Altitude Tolerance in Tibetans: Tibet is known for its mountain peaks and high altitudes. It is also known for its people who can tolerate those high altitudes. It turns out there are real genetic differences between Tibetans and those of us who live closer to sea level. According to a newly published study, those genetic changes occurred over a relatively brief period of evolutionary time.
Guest: Rhitu Chatterjee.
The study.
Mixed Support for Oil Drilling in Norway: Most Norwegians seem to support their government’s moratorium on deepwater drilling, especially after the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. But not all Norwegians feel that way. We visit one Norwegian town where just about everyone says the environmental risks are worth it.
Report by: The World’s Gerry Hadden.
Other countries are rethinking their drilling plans as well. Learn more in an interview with author Michael Klare.
Oil spill coverage from the BBC.
What else is going on in Hammerfest? (The town’s tourist information site.)
Elsa’s Favorite Science Stories:
- Dinosaurs Steamed Their Eggs: Giant herbivorous dinosaurs kept their eggs cozy and warm–but not by sitting on them. A fossil find in Argentina reveals the eggs nestled near geysers and hydrothermal vents.
The study.
National Geographic‘s virtual museum of dinosaur eggs and hatchlings. - Organic Farming–Good News and Bad News: First, the good news. In Washington potato fields, leaving off the synthetic pesticides promotes a higher diversity of predatory insects, which, in turn, provide better protection against the problematic Colorado potato beetle. On the other hand, some natural organic pesticides can actually be harder on the environment than well-chosen synthetic ones. That’s the finding of a new study on chemicals for controlling soybean aphid.
The potato study.
The soy study.
Nature News article.
More about the organic food industry in Podcast #71.
