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EarthDate

EarthDate

Di: Switch Energy Alliance
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A proposito di questo titolo

 EarthDate is a short-format weekly audio program delivering concise, science-based stories about the Earth: its geology, environments, and the processes that shape our planet over deep time and today. Beginning in 2026, EarthDate is managed by Switch Energy Alliance and hosted by SEA's founder Dr. Scott W. Tinker. Together, we explore earth systems, natural resources, and their relevance to everyday life, with a focus on clear, accessible science education for broad audiences. EarthDate is written and directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Harry Lynch, and researched by Lynn Kistler. We search for captivating stories to remind listeners that science can enlighten, educate and entertain.Copyright 2026 EarthDate
Episodi
  • Eternal Calcium

    Eternal Calcium
    Feb 20 2026
    Take a moment to look at your hands. Move them around, and watch how the bones work. Think about what your hands have done in your lifetime alone. They learned to write. Drove your first car. Took the hand of the person you’d marry. They work every day, in an office, shop, or laboratory. And they held, or will hold, your children for the very first time. Your hands will touch every part of your time on Earth— but the minerals that make them up are eternal. The calcium in the bones of your hands is older than Earth itself. It formed after the Big Bang through supernova explosions and became concentrated in rocky planets. Once on Earth, it may have spent 500 million years drifting in seawater, or passing through generations of ancient sea creatures. 200 million years more in the age of dinosaurs, making up the bones of tyrannosaurs or the eggshells of Pteranodons. Your calcium then journeyed through 100 million years of mammals—finally pausing for a geologic split second to form your hands. After your hands have held their last cup of coffee or played their last song, no matter how your remains are disposed of, your calcium will one day reenter the earth. Who knows where it might end up next? Perhaps it could pass through the bones of generations of future humans. One of whom just may take a tiny part of you, once again, to another galaxy.
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    2 min
  • Tiny Titan

    Tiny Titan
    Feb 20 2026
    By looking at fossilized dinosaur nests, scientists have determined that most dinosaur babies needed to be nurtured by their parents, like modern birds. However, a new discovery points to a different upbringing for some of the biggest dino species. Recently, paleontologists discovered the fossil of a baby titanosaur from Madagascar. As an adult, this species could grow to 50 ft long. Yet their eggs were smaller than soccer balls, and their hatchlings weighed just 7 lb. How did they get from the size of a human baby to bigger than a city bus? While the infants of many species look very different from adults, this fossil baby was almost a perfect copy. The scientists used CT scans to look inside its bones and discovered patterns of very rapid growth showing that, since hatching, it had added 10 times its weight in a matter of weeks. A study of its joints then showed it would have been much more agile than its lumbering parents. Taken together, its adultlike proportions, rapid growth, and athleticism suggest that this little sauropod—unlike humans—would have had to fend for itself right after hatching, like many modern lizards. Its ability to find large quantities of food to be able to grow that quickly must have been key to its success. Scientists still don’t know much about the parenting habits of dinosaurs, but this tiny titan is shedding new light.
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    2 min
  • Lithium Power

    Lithium Power
    Feb 20 2026
    If you look at Earth from space, you’ll see a mysterious white spot on the west side of South America, in Bolivia. It’s so big that it looks like a flaw in the satellite photo. But it’s actually the world’s largest deposit of lithium, which has eroded from the Andes Mountains to form an enormous salt flat. Lithium is a very special element. It’s the lightest metal, with an atomic number of 3. Only hydrogen and helium are lighter, and they’re gases. It’s also highly reactive, because its third electron, circling alone in an outer orbit, is eager to bond with other elements. These two qualities, light weight and reactivity, make it perfect for rechargeable batteries. In fact, the lithium-ion battery has changed the world. It has allowed portable computers and mobile phones to become increasingly lighter and smaller, fundamentally altering the way we work, communicate, and access information. Continued advances in lithium batteries are expected to make electric cars cheaper and lighter, with the ability to drive longer on a single charge. They may also lead to widespread power-grid batteries. These could provide better, more portable storage of electricity to stabilize the output of renewable energies, when the wind’s not blowing or the sun’s not shining. This has made lithium a highly valuable commodity and could turn the Bolivian salt flat, once a remote tourist destination, into a powerful economic resource for the world.
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    2 min
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