Join us on November 19 at 6 pm for the Commonwealth Club’s Virtual Gala. Raise your glass to Good Health, as we celebrate the leadership of women in science and medicine. Visit

Join us on November 19 at 6 pm for the Commonwealth Club’s Virtual Gala. Raise your glass to Good Health, as we celebrate the leadership of women in science and medicine. Visit commonwealthclub.org/2021gala to learn more or Text Club2021 to 41444 to register and donate today! Welcome to Hearts and Minds—A QTAPI Community Conversation Series, Session Two: Asians and Pacific Islanders: Our Future Determines Our Past. "Our future determines our past" is a play on words and ideas of how people are taught that the past can determine who we are. Though people can understand the past, will they necessarily learn from it to make decisions that make the future stronger and more just and equitable? When we are ashamed of some aspects of our history, do we not speak of it or acknowledge it? In the present, our relationship to the past—how we appreciate it, amplify it, and even shine light on the darkest aspects, can determine our relationship to that past and what we do with it and how we grow and evolve as a community. How can people, in the diversity of the Asian and Pacific Islander communities, honor and embrace all of these histories? This legacy can help people know their histories about resilience and strength as they stand on the shoulders of ancestors. The future may be undetermined, but we hope this conversation inspires folks to envision what sort of future they would like for their communities to be centered in and how they might participate in achieving that vision. Funded by the CA Humanities, whose mission is “to connect Californians to ideas and one another in order to understand our shared heritage and diverse cultures, inspire civic participation, and shape our future.” That is the shared vision for Hearts and Minds: A QTAPI Community Conversation Series,” and it is to that end that GAPA Theatre’s “Hearts and Minds” program continues its work in ensuring our QTAPI stories continue to be told. About the Speakers Peter Tuiolosega Silva is the executive director of Kumukahi Health + Wellness, located on the island of Hawai'i. Peter has been an HIV advocate in the Pacific Island community for more than two decades, serving as the HIV trainer for the Pacific Islands, coordinator for the Pacific Island Jurisdictions AIDS Action Group, founder of UTOPIA Hawai'i, and prevention director of Life Foundation. Silva was most recently a public servant in the Hawai'i Department of Health’s Harm Reduction Services Branch. He currently lives in Hilo with his partner of 25 years. Amy Sueyoshi is dean of the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University. Sueyoshi holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of California, Los Angeles and a B.A. from Barnard College and has published two books: Queer Compulsions: Race, Nation, and Sexuality in the Affairs of Yone Noguchi and Discriminating Sex: White Leisure and the Making of the American “Oriental.” Sueyoshi also authored “Breathing Fire,” a brief survey of queer APIDA history, for the National Parks Service’s historic LGBT Theme Study, which won the Paul E. Buchanan Award from the Vernacular Architecture Forum. Sueyoshi is also a founding co-curator of the GLBT History Museum, the first queer history museum in the United States, and seeded the intergenerational Dragon Fruit Oral History Project at API Equality Northern California. Helen Zia is the author of Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People, a finalist for the prestigious Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize and referred to by President Bill Clinton in two separate speeches in the Rose Garden. She coauthored, with Wen Ho Lee, My Country Versus Me, which reveals what happened to the Los Alamos scientist who was falsely accused of being a spy for China in the “worst case since the Rosenbergs.” She was executive editor of Ms. Magazine and is a founding board co-chair of the Women's Media Center. The daughter of immigrants from China, Helen has been outspoken on issues ranging from human rights and peace to women's rights and countering hate violence and homophobia. She is a Fulbright Scholar and a graduate of Princeton University’s first coeducational class. She attended medical school but quit after completing two years, then went to work as a construction laborer, an autoworker, and a community organizer, after which she discovered her life’s work as a writer. NOTES Zia photo by Bob Hsiang_BHP San Francisco RH. OCTOBER 27, 2021 Michelle Meow Producer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show," KBCW TV and Podcast; Member, Commonwealth Club of California Board of Governors—Host 💯SUBSCRIBE for more VIDEOS: https://www.youtube.com/user/commonwealthclub The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum 📣, bringing together its 20,000 members for more than 400 annual events on topics ranging across politics, culture, society and the economy.

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Join host Jeff Corwin on an adventure across America to help save California condors and Massachusetts saltmarsh sparrows. First, Jeff travels to the spectacular coastline of Big Sur, California, to

Join host Jeff Corwin on an adventure across America to help save California condors and Massachusetts saltmarsh sparrows. First, Jeff travels to the spectacular coastline of Big Sur, California, to the renowned condor sanctuary of the Ventana Wildlife Society. Jeff helps prepare young condors for their new life in the wild and learns about how condors shape their environment - and how the environment shapes them. Later, Jeff travels to his home state to work alongside the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Wildlife on a mission to save a unique species of bird that only lives in salt marsh habitats of the East Coast. Video Transcript: Jeff Corwin: Our adventure begins along the central coast of the great state of California. Here, the Santa Lucia mountains rise from the Pacific ocean in a region named Big Sur. This pristine and undeveloped coastline has been described as one of the most stunning meeting points of land and sea on the planet. Circling high above is the mighty California condor. Today, the presence of wild California condors above the cliffs of this coastal state is a miracle of modern conservation.  Jeff Corwin: Look at that. Is that adult or sub-adult? Pamela Flick: Well, because we can see the white wing patch under the wing, that would be an adult condor that we see right now. Jeff Corwin: Now. So that's at least five or six years old. Pamela Flick: At least. Yeah. Jeff Corwin: Incredible. My friends, this is Pam Flick. She is of course, with Defenders of Wildlife. And what makes the story of the California condor is so remarkable? Pamela Flick: Well, Jeff, I think it's a special story because it's one of hope and one that demonstrates that it truly takes a village to save a species from extinction. Jeff Corwin: This is North America's largest flying bird. It's got nearly a 10 foot wing span, it's weighing 20 pounds plus in size. It takes a lot to keep these birds alive, doesn't it? Pamela Flick: It does. They can range over 200 miles in a single day on foraging missions. They need a lot of habitat. Jeff Corwin: So today we can come along this coast and have this spectacular moment. But this was a species that was in true jeopardy, wasn't it? Pamela Flick: Absolutely. In 1982, the entire population of California condors was just 22 individuals. At the time, the decision was made to pull all the condors from the wild to start a captive breeding program. Jeff Corwin: But they're a complex creature. It takes years and years for an adult to get to that point where it can replace itself. Pamela Flick: Yeah, at least six years. And that's one of the problems because they have such a slow population growth and they only breed once every two to three years and they only lay one egg per breeding attempt. Jeff Corwin: So Pam, how many condors do we have today? Pamela Flick: Well, the entire population in the world is roughly 500, and of that, about 300 are free flying today here in the central coast of California, in the mountains of Southern California in Baja, Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. And there are plans to reintroduce condors to the Yurok ancestral lands in Northwestern California within the next year.  Jeff Corwin: That's amazing. Jeff Corwin: Condors have been pulled from the brink of extinction, but the work has just begun. From the famous Pacific Coast Highway One, we're traveling to a protected mountain peak high above the clouds.  Well friends, get ready. You're about to experience one of my most favorite conservation projects in North America. We are working with the Ventana Wildlife Society. Their mission is to save what I consider the ambassador of the California sky. The Ventana Wildlife Society currently monitors more than 100 condors and 10 active breeding pairs. Today, senior biologist, Joe Burnett, and his team are preparing the next generation of condors for their new lives in the wild. Jeff Corwin: Joe, so what is our mission today? Joe Burnett: Today, we're going to get these tags on the birds. So this is how we'll visually identify each individual out in the field with this color number combination. But our first step, we got to get them in the nets and catch them. So let's go do it. Jeff Corwin: All right, let's go do it. This is going to be fun. Jeff Corwin: We enter an area called the flight cage. There are nine juvenile condors in this enclosure and all of them are the product of active breeding programs. Jeff Corwin: What we're trying to do is carefully trying to corral the condor. We don't want to stress it out. Jeff Corwin: But we can only work with one at a time.  Jeff Corwin: Look at the size of this bird. It's just amazing. This is a very young bird we're. Right now it has  probably an eight foot wing span. Just incredible.   Jeff Corwin: For this team, the safety of each condor is the highest priority. Jeff Corwin: I got a good grip... We've hit our character limit. Leave us a comment for the rest of the transcript.

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Join host Jeff Corwin on an epic Alaskan adventure to help save some of North America’s most impressive feathered flyers. Jeff begins exploring the old-growth Tongass National Forest and learns how

Join host Jeff Corwin on an epic Alaskan adventure to help save some of North America’s most impressive feathered flyers. Jeff begins exploring the old-growth Tongass National Forest and learns how this ancient ecosystem has shaped the many birds that call it home. Later, Jeff visits the Alaska Raptor Center where he meets iconic bald eagles, beautiful great blue herons, lightning-quick goshawks, and helps rehabilitated birds return to the wild. Video Transcript: Jeff Corwin: Hey there, friends. I'm Jeff Corwin and welcome to what is going to be an awesome adventure today on Wildlife Nation. We are exploring one of the great wild frontiers in North America. Of course, I'm talking about Alaska, and to help launch our incredible journey, I'm  with Flash. Flash is a goshawk. And this is Pat. Pat works with Defenders of Wildlife. And Pat, I thought it'd be kind of fun to introduce this adventure with Flash, because this bird has a connection to this ecosystem. Patrick Lavin: Indeed, this bird thrives in this ecosystem, Jeff, and only in this ecosystem, in old-growth  forest, just as we have surrounding us here. Jeff Corwin: What's incredible about the goshawk is they are just superb predators. Their ability to negotiate and navigate through a bramble and tangle of branches is unmatched in the world of raptors. And Pat, this forest where we're standing is unmatched when it comes to national forests, isn't it? Patrick Lavin: That's the Tongass National Forest. It's by far our nation's largest forest and largest intact temperate rain forest in North America. Jeff Corwin: There are many classic celebrated Alaskan species that survive because of this forest. Patrick Lavin: For species like goshawks, wolves, bears, Sitka black-tailed deer. Jeff Corwin: Salmon. Patrick Lavin: Yes, all of these species depend on our keeping the old-growth forest intact. Jeff Corwin: It's lush. It's verdant, it's filled with life. But when it comes to issues like climate change, it's also critically important, isn't it? Patrick Lavin: Forests sequesters carbon, pulls carbon from the atmosphere, stores it in the trees and soil that you see here and does that better than almost any other landscape. So if you can keep the forest intact, allow it to continue serving that function, that's actually a natural carbon mitigation, a  natural solution. We've done a lot of logging in the past in the Tongass and it's removed a lot of habitat for species like the goshawk. Jeff Corwin: But the great news is that there are still millions of acres of Tongass National Forest. So I can't think of a better way for us to launch our incredible Alaskan adventure with Flash, the goshawk at my side. It's a little clue of the great adventure to come. Jeff Corwin: Goshawks belong to an incredibly powerful predatory group of birds known as raptors. These amazing airborne animals come in many shapes and sizes, but for today's adventure, we're connecting with one of the most iconic of them all, the bald eagle. Bald eagles are sea eagles that feed on fish, but also a variety of other forms of prey. They're one of North America's largest birds of prey. They build massive nests and they can live for decades. Jeff Corwin: This morning, we're visiting the world-renowned Alaska Raptor Center to help return a young bald eagle named Diesel back to the wild. Dr. V: This could be a challenge. Jeff Corwin: Why? Dr. V: The bird's up there. Jeff Corwin: Diesel was rescued and brought to the Raptor Center a few months ago after being hit by a car. But today, Diesel has recovered and this bald eagle is ready to fly. Dr. V: The goal is to get the eagle in a corner. We're going to have to move fast. Jeff Corwin: In order to get Diesel back into the wild, first we'll need to capture him. Jeff Corwin: All right. Dr. V: I'm going to have you... Actually don't throw your blanket, but let's just flick it and see. Jeff Corwin: See if we can get him to go down. Dr. V: That's all we needed. Jeff Corwin: Yeah. Dr. V: All right. It's good. You've got your... All right. We're going to move in slowly. Block its exit over there. There you go. Good. Jeff Corwin: There we go. Dr. V: Okay. What have you got? Okay. Are you going to let go? Nope. I am going to give this bird to you, but I want you to keep it really low because her head isn't covered. Jeff Corwin: Okay. Dr. V: So I'm going to keep a hold of things. Jeff Corwin: Yeah, I got them. Jeff Corwin: It will take a few more years for Diesel's feathers to develop the iconic white crown of adult bald eagles. Jeff Corwin: So what do you want to do to kind of keep the stress level down? Dr. V: Once we take away the visual stimulus on this bird, it's going to calm down. Jeff Corwin: So Diesel came to the Raptor Center in early summer. Diesel had a run in with an automobile. Dr. V: Yes. We've hit our character count. Leave us a comment for the rest of the transcript.

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Podcast Drops Here August 29th, 2020: https://ccl.podbean.com/e/ccr-51-art-and-identity-in-a-time-of-climate-change Those of you who regularly listen to this podcast know that when addressing

Podcast Drops Here August 29th, 2020: https://ccl.podbean.com/e/ccr-51-art-and-identity-in-a-time-of-climate-change Those of you who regularly listen to this podcast know that when addressing climate change, we believe in the power of art. Artists take on a unique role in helping the public better understand the many issues connected to climate change. They also play an important part in helping us process our strong emotions about our rapidly changing world. Poet and climate advocate Clara Fang shares her powerful and moving poem, The Children on Why They are Striking for the Climate. She also tells us about the poetry she reads and how it connects her to the natural world. Clara serves as Citizens’ Climate Lobby Student Engagement Coordinator. In her role, she engages students in climate advocacy and helps members conduct outreach to higher education. She holds a Master of Environmental Management from Yale University and a MFA in Creative Writing from University of Utah. In the episode she announced plans to organize a creative writing action group on CCL Community. Photographer, writer, and climate advocate, Princella Talley tells us about the vital role of art in her life and her work. Her interests in visual art and storytelling started at a young age when observing dolphins in the ocean. After a successful career as a professional writer, Princella worked on a freelance writing assignment that ultimately drew her into the world of climate change and her role as diversity outreach outreach coordinator at Citizens’ Climate Lobby. In her conversation with host, Peterson Toscano, Princella speaks candidly about the challenges of being a person of color in predominately white climate spaces. Before joining the Citizens’ Climate Education team, Princella spent more than a decade as a photographer and writer. She covered topics ranging from climate change and ecotourism to artificial intelligence and mobile app development for major news outlets with more than 60 million online visitors, independent publications, and tech startups in Silicon Valley. She’s written for CBS Las Vegas, worked as a former copy editor for a digital publication with 135,000 weekly readers, and created content for a GRAMMYs campaign. Princella is also a business owner of Louisiana Food Fellow, a cohort of change leaders working within local food systems. In Central Louisiana, she partners with community leaders to provide environmental education and implement sustainable and eco-friendly programs in economically disadvantaged communities. Krista Hiser, PhD is a professor of composition and rhetoric at Kapi'olani Community College in Honolulu, Hawaii. She also directs the Center for Sustainability Across Curriculum within the University of Hawaii System. In the spring she taught the course, Landscapes in Literature—Cli-Fi, Sci-Fi, and the Culture of Sustainability. In this episode, Dr. Hiser outlines for us the difference between science fiction and climate fiction and provides examples for each. She also raises concerns about the many apocalyptic narratives that flood the Cli-Fi market and that play a prominent role in climate conversations. She believes there are batter ways to talk about climate change. We always welcome your thoughts, questions, suggestions, and recommendations for the show. Leave a voice mail at 518.595.9414. (+1 if calling from outside the USA.) You can email your answers to radio @ citizensclimate.org. You can hear Citizens’ Climate Radio on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio, SoundCloud, Podbean, Northern Spirit Radio, Google Play, PlayerFM, and TuneIn Radio. Also, feel free to connect with other listeners, suggest program ideas, and respond to programs in the Citizens’ Climate Radio Facebook group or on Twitter at @CitizensCRadio.

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Full Podcast Here: https://ccl.podbean.com/e/ccr-51-art-and-identity-in-a-time-of-climate-change Those of you who regularly listen to this podcast know that when addressing climate change, we

Full Podcast Here: https://ccl.podbean.com/e/ccr-51-art-and-identity-in-a-time-of-climate-change Those of you who regularly listen to this podcast know that when addressing climate change, we believe in the power of art. Artists take on a unique role in helping the public better understand the many issues connected to climate change. They also play an important part in helping us process our strong emotions about our rapidly changing world. Poet and climate advocate Clara Fang shares her powerful and moving poem, The Children on Why They are Striking for the Climate. She also tells us about the poetry she reads and how it connects her to the natural world. Clara serves as Citizens’ Climate Lobby Student Engagement Coordinator. In her role, she engages students in climate advocacy and helps members conduct outreach to higher education. She holds a Master of Environmental Management from Yale University and a MFA in Creative Writing from University of Utah. In the episode she announced plans to organize a creative writing action group on CCL Community. Photographer, writer, and climate advocate, Princella Talley tells us about the vital role of art in her life and her work. Her interests in visual art and storytelling started at a young age when observing dolphins in the ocean. After a successful career as a professional writer, Princella worked on a freelance writing assignment that ultimately drew her into the world of climate change and her role as diversity outreach outreach coordinator at Citizens’ Climate Lobby. In her conversation with host, Peterson Toscano, Princella speaks candidly about the challenges of being a person of color in predominately white climate spaces. Before joining the Citizens’ Climate Education team, Princella spent more than a decade as a photographer and writer. She covered topics ranging from climate change and ecotourism to artificial intelligence and mobile app development for major news outlets with more than 60 million online visitors, independent publications, and tech startups in Silicon Valley. She’s written for CBS Las Vegas, worked as a former copy editor for a digital publication with 135,000 weekly readers, and created content for a GRAMMYs campaign. Princella is also a business owner of Louisiana Food Fellow, a cohort of change leaders working within local food systems. In Central Louisiana, she partners with community leaders to provide environmental education and implement sustainable and eco-friendly programs in economically disadvantaged communities. Krista Hiser, PhD is a professor of composition and rhetoric at Kapi'olani Community College in Honolulu, Hawaii. She also directs the Center for Sustainability Across Curriculum within the University of Hawaii System. In the spring she taught the course, Landscapes in Literature—Cli-Fi, Sci-Fi, and the Culture of Sustainability. In this episode, Dr. Hiser outlines for us the difference between science fiction and climate fiction and provides examples for each. She also raises concerns about the many apocalyptic narratives that flood the Cli-Fi market and that play a prominent role in climate conversations. She believes there are batter ways to talk about climate change. We always welcome your thoughts, questions, suggestions, and recommendations for the show. Leave a voice mail at 518.595.9414. (+1 if calling from outside the USA.) You can email your answers to radio @ citizensclimate.org. You can hear Citizens’ Climate Radio on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio, SoundCloud, Podbean, Northern Spirit Radio, Google Play, PlayerFM, and TuneIn Radio. Also, feel free to connect with other listeners, suggest program ideas, and respond to programs in the Citizens’ Climate Radio Facebook group or on Twitter at @CitizensCRadio.

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Daisy Khan has devoted much of her life to fighting Islamophobia, increasing public understanding of Islam and breaking down barriers between Muslims and other faiths. Ms. Khan served for 18 years as

Daisy Khan has devoted much of her life to fighting Islamophobia, increasing public understanding of Islam and breaking down barriers between Muslims and other faiths. Ms. Khan served for 18 years as executive director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement, where she was hailed as a bridge builder for promoting cultural and religious harmony through intra-faith programs such as Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow and inter-faith arts programs. To combat anti-Muslim bias, she created the "Today, I am a Muslim Too" rally involving 100 interfaith organizations. She has also worked to modernize the role of women within Islam. Khan founded The Women's Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality (WISE) with the express goal of peace building, gender equality and human dignity. She says that women's leadership is essential to solving societal issues, and that the WISE Shura Council is creating a crucial space for activism that contributes to Muslim women’s struggle for justice. The council issues informed and religiously grounded opinions on controversial issues of particular relevance to Muslim women in their personal, familial and societal lives. By advocating a constructive conception of women’s status, rights and responsibilities, Khan says these opinions function as legitimate alternatives to oppressive religious arguments. Ms. Khan's awards and honors include: the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award, Edinburgh Peace Award, and the Interfaith Center’s Award for Promoting Peace. She's been listed among Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People and was ranked among the “Top Ten Women Faith leaders” by The Huffington Post. Khan plans to follow her 2018 memoir, Born with Wings, with two forthcoming books: 30 Rights of Muslim Women and WISE UP White Supremacy. Come for an important conversation with Daisy Khan about Islam and the advancement of Muslim women. NOTES SPEAKERS Daisy Khan Founder, Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality (WISE); Co-Founder & Former Exec. Director, American Society of Muslim Advancement (ASMA) ; Author, Born With Wings In Conversation with Sara Abbasi Philanthropist; Provider of Endowment, Sohaib and Sara Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies, Stanford University ]💯SUBSCRIBE for more VIDEOS: https://www.youtube.com/user/commonwealthclub 📆 UPCOMING EVENTS: https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events 🎉 BECOME a MEMBER: https://www.commonwealthclub.org/membership 💰 DONATE NOW: https://support.commonwealthclub.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=298 📺➕📻 Watch & Listen https://www.commonwealthclub.org/watch-listen CWC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecommonwealthclub/ CWC Instagram https://www.instagram.com/cwclub/ CWC Twitter https://twitter.com/cwclub The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum 📣, bringing together its 20,000 members for more than 400 annual events on topics ranging across politics, culture, society and the economy. Founded in 1903 in San Francisco California 🌉, The Commonwealth Club has played host to a diverse and distinctive array of speakers, from Teddy Roosevelt in 1911 to Hillary Clinton in 2010. Along the way, Martin Luther King, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton have all given landmark speeches at the Club.

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Building materials contribute an estimated 5 to 15 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. What if we used materials that not only take less carbon to produce but also can capture and store

Building materials contribute an estimated 5 to 15 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. What if we used materials that not only take less carbon to produce but also can capture and store carbon? In California, architect and climber Dylan Johnson joined up with Yvon Chouinard and a seasoned crew to construct two houses using straw bales that would otherwise have gone to waste. Watch Home, Grown to learn why they agree that natural building isn’t just better for the climate—it’s a better way to build. Directed By Forest Woodward Filmed By Ben Sturgulewski Edited By Aidan Haley and Ben Sturgulewski Produced By Forest Woodward and Laura Yale Additional Cinematography by George Knowles, Nate Ptacek & Forest Woodward Assistant Camera George Knowles Audio Post Production | Coupe Studios Music + Sound Design - Boulder, CO Sound Design and Mix: Kip Kuepper Producer: Aaron Garrison - coupestudios.com Executive Producers Monika McClure, Alex Lowther, Damien Etchaubard Graphics Claire Kairalla, Nick Tonn Archival Photos History Nebraska The National Archives Library of Congress Special thanks to The Chouinard Family Ecological Building Network California Straw Building Association Ron & Corky | K&R farming Massey Burke | CASBA Bruce King | Buildwell Media Bud Miller | Sierra Summit Construction Matthew Cook | McGillivray Construction David Arkin | Arkin Tilt Architects Jim Reiland | Many Hands Builders Anthony Dente | Verdant Structural Engineers Zane Kanyer, Swenson Say Faget | Structural Engineering Team Tom Hughes, Mechanical Engineering Consultants, Inc, | MEP Engineering Team Scott and Judi Nicolai Subscribe: https://pat.ag/Subscribe Get more from Patagonia: Official site: https://pat.ag/Patagonia Patagonia Stories: https://pat.ag/PatagoniaStories Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patagonia/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PATAGONIA/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/patagonia TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@patagonia?lan... LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pata... 00:00 Intro 1:08 Build Site #1 1:31 Meet Dylan 2:06 Straw 4:07 The source 5:55 Build Site #2 9:08 The final product 9:59 11:53 Credits Music “Easy Street” Amanaz Courtesy of Now-Again Records “Supr” Nash Howe Courtesy of Article Records “Be at Rest” Possessed by Paul James From the album 'As We Go Wandering’ Written by Jon Konrad Wert Courtesy of PPJ Records and Heyday Media Group “Raunchy” Bill Justis Courtesy of Musicbed “Strawbale Blues” Carl M Banks Courtesy of Carl M Banks “Jubilee” Jake Xerxes Fussell Courtesy of Terrorbird

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Join host Jeff Corwin on an adventure to the great state of Alaska as he explores a few of the incredible animals that call it home. Jeff begins on the shores of the icy Cook Inlet helping

Join host Jeff Corwin on an adventure to the great state of Alaska as he explores a few of the incredible animals that call it home. Jeff begins on the shores of the icy Cook Inlet helping conservationists monitor a population of endangered beluga whales. To learn more about the wildlife featured in the episode, visit www.defenders.org/wildlifenation Video Transcript: Jeff Corwin: For today's adventure, I'm traveling to America's last great frontier, the mighty state of Alaska. Alaska is a place of extremes. It is home to some of the most stunning landscapes on earth and a collection of North America's most iconic species. This morning we're exploring the massive Cook Inlet watershed located south of Anchorage. I'm joining Nicole Whittington-Evans from Defenders of Wildlife and Suzanne Steinert to help the ongoing conservation of the great white canaries of the sea. Jeff Corwin: Incredible. So we've got one beluga there and another one right here.  Nicole, when they come up, it's a flash, isn't it? Nicole Whittington-Evans: Yeah. It's just like a marshmallow surfacing on the water and then going back down. Jeff Corwin: What is bringing them here? Nicole Whittington-Evans: They're coming in to the inlet because they are following salmon. They're feeding on salmon and other fish. Jeff Corwin: The beluga whale is uniquely adapted to life in the Arctic. The absence of a dorsal fin allows them to swim under ice with ease. Their highly developed sense of hearing allows them to use echolocation to communicate with each other and navigate through the icy water that often has low visibility. Jeff Corwin: Suzanne, typically, how many belugas would we see here? Suzanne Steinert: This time of year, Jeff, we could see dozens on one tide cycle. Jeff Corwin: Nicole and Suzanne carefully count and photograph every beluga they find to monitor the health of this critically endangered population.   Jeff Corwin: In the late '80s and early '90s, Cook's Inlet was home to well over a thousand beluga whales, but today the population has plummeted by nearly 80%. What has happened to beluga whales? Nicole Whittington-Evans: In Cook Inlet, we're directly adjacent to the largest population center in Alaska. And through that, there's been a lot of habitat degradation for Cook Inlet belugas. Suzanne Steinert: There are a number of threats that are likely contributing cumulatively to preventing this population from recovering. Jeff Corwin: What is one step do you think that we could do today that would ensure their survival into tomorrow? Nicole Whittington-Evans: We really need to be thinking about how we can reduce our impacts to the climate. Suzanne Steinert: And if they're going to have any chance of survival, we've got to figure out how to better balance human and beluga needs. Jeff Corwin:  Our goal is to ensure that every generation has a chance to perch upon this rock and witness these amazing whales. Thank you guys so much. This was awesome. Nicole Whittington-Evans: Yeah, this was fantastic. There's one right there. Jeff Corwin: There is one right there.

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