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Science

Friday

News

The Significance of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker

Phillip Hoose explains the importance of the ivory-billed woodpecker sighting. Hoose is author of The Race to Save the Lord God Bird and senior conservation planner for the Nature Conservancy's Canada-U.S. Partnership.

The Significance of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker

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Education

Kansas Weighs Teaching Intelligent Design

A preview of next week's hearings in Kansas on how science will be taught in their schools. In presentations over several days, advocates for the teaching of evolution and the idea of "intelligent design" will speak to a subcommittee of the Kansas State Board of Education. The board is scheduled to revise curriculum standards for science in June.

Kansas Weighs Teaching Intelligent Design

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Space

Fuel Tank Issue Delays NASA Shuttle Launch

NASA postpones shuttle Discovery's planned May launch to July 13, at the earliest. Engineers discovered that the shuttle's external fuel tank still needs work to reduce the chances that hazardous debris will fall from it during liftoff.

Fuel Tank Issue Delays NASA Shuttle Launch

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Radio Expeditions

The Future of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker

Even before it disappeared in the 1940s, the ivory-billed woodpecker had near-mythical status. Christopher Joyce reports on what scientists are planning now that they believe they've rediscovered a species long thought extinct.

The Future of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker

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Thursday

Environment

Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Found Not to Be Extinct

The ivory-billed woodpecker was thought to be extinct. Now, scientists say it's been sighted again and conservationists are planning ways to protect it. The striking bird has been discovered in the Big Woods area of Arkansas.

Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Found Not to Be Extinct

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Opinion

Space

Slate's Explainer: Disposing of Spent Satellites

Slate contributor Daniel Engber explains how the federal government disposes of satellites when they are no longer in operation. Space agencies track some 13,000 objects orbiting the Earth, many of them dead satellites or space debris. Sometimes, the satellites are sent into a higher orbit, away from active satellites -- but often spent satellites burn up re-entering the atmosphere.

Slate's Explainer: Disposing of Spent Satellites

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Opinion

World

The Story of Pakistan's Nuclear Father

Fresh Air

Physicist David Albright is president of the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington, D.C. He's the co-author of a new report on A.Q. Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program, that was published in the Spring 2005 edition of The Washington Quarterly. Khan sold nuclear technology and information to Iran, Libya and North Korea. He was reportedly able to do this for the last 20 years, while eluding authorities and intelligence agencies. Albright says Khan's actions have had an impact on nuclear proliferation.

The Story of Pakistan's Nuclear Father

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Radio Expeditions

Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Rediscovered in Arkansas

Scientists say a rare ivory-billed woodpecker — thought to be extinct — has been found in a remote nature reserve in Arkansas. The sighting was kept secret for a year, in part to protect the habitat.

Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Rediscovered in Arkansas

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Wednesday

Opinion

From Our Listeners

To the North Pole!

A group of explorers has reached the North Pole in record time, thereby proving the possibility of an earlier claim to the pole made almost 100 years ago. We speak with the expedition leader, who is still camped out in the Arctic region.

To the North Pole!

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Friday

Environment

Drilling Tactic Endangers Drinking Water, Critics Say

The Energy Bill passed by the House Thursday includes a controversial provision that would exempt an increasingly popular drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing from regulation under the Clean Drinking Water Act. Opponents of the exemption say the technique has been known to contaminate drinking water.

Drilling Tactic Endangers Drinking Water, Critics Say

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Environment

On Earth Day, Bush Plugs Environmental Policies

President Bush marks Earth Day with a visit to the Great Smoky Mountains -- America's most-visited national park and one of its most polluted. The president will use the park as a backdrop for promoting policies he says will result in cleaner air and water. Environmentalists say he is actually weakening regulations.

On Earth Day, Bush Plugs Environmental Policies

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Environment

State of the Earth's Ecosystems

More than 1,300 hundred scientists have contributed to a new United Nations' report on the state of the world's ecosystems. We look at this "report card" for Earth. And we'll hear about a second U.N. report that recommends immediate steps we should take to protect our environment and encourage sustainable economic development.

State of the Earth's Ecosystems

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Environment

Climate Change Update

A new study says glaciers in the Antarctic Peninsula have been melting over the past 50 years, and that retreat has accelerated in the past five years. We look at the severity of climate change from the Antarctic to the Arctic, examine climate data, and find out how climate scientists respond to skeptics.

Climate Change Update

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