Earthly

Apr 30 2024

Earthly Podcast artwork

Earthly explains emerging issues in agriculture, horticulture, natural resources, wildlife, science, and design through experts in those fields. It is produced by Clemson University, and is part of the University's land-grant mission to impart unbiased research-based information beyond the boundaries of the academy.

Earthly adjectiveDefinition of earthly1 a: characteristic of or belonging to this earth b: relating to the human race's actual life on this earth

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Ever and ever, forever and ever chemicals

Apr 30 2024 27 mins

The Environmental Protection Agency recently announced new drinking water limits on a category of chemicals called polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.These chemicals are found in thousands of products that we use every day, such as plastics, Teflon, water proofing, fire retardant and others.But they are also known as “forever chemicals” because they accumulate rather than brea

Highlights and lowlights from latest U.S. Census of Agriculture

Apr 08 2024 24 mins

Since the days of George Washington, the United States has been surveying farmers about their farm operations to monitor the health of the nation’s agricultural industry and the security of the food supply.The effort started in 1791, when Washington wrote to farmers requesting information on land values, crop acreages, crop yields, livestock values and taxes. Washington’s surve

Plant Breeding Just Might Save the World

Mar 05 2024 35 mins

The world's population has quadrupled in the last century and is expected to surpass 8 billion by 2050. This means that in the next 25 years or so, the world will need to produce about 60% more food to feed its estimated population.Furthermore, we’ll need to produce that food sustainably in unseasonable temperatures, drought and flood conditions, all while fighting disease an

Capturing climate change through art

Feb 14 2024 32 mins

Humans have forever turned to nature for artistic inspiration. The earliest cave paintings are at least 64,000 years old and depict images of wild animals, landscapes, and even the heavens. More recently, photographer Ansel Adams, poet Wendell Berry, sculptor Andy Goldsworthy, and movie director Werner Herzog have all produced great art by musing on the material world.Jonathan'

Cicadas here! Cicadas there! Cicadas are gonna be everywhere!

Jan 30 2024 21 mins

Every 13 years in the Southeast and parts of the Midwest, countless cicadas rise out of the ground and breed. The spring and summer of 2024 marks the thirteenth year since the cicada brood known as brood XIX’s last emergence, which means in a few months they’ll be everywhere.Jonathan talks with Clemson University entomologist Eric Benson about the fascinating lifecycle of what

They're coming for us! How South Carolina is beating back invasive plants and insects

Jan 22 2024 35 mins

Retirees and warm-weather seekers aren’t the only ones clamoring to move to the state of South Carolina. The Palmetto State is also under extreme pressure from invasive insects and plants that could devastate its agriculture industry and forests. In fact, a recent global report estimates that invasive species cause countries $423 billion a year in damage to crops, water, forests,

The majesty, demise, and restoration of the American Chestnut tree

Dec 12 2023 29 mins

When Bob Wells and Mel Tormé penned “The Christmas Song” in 1945 and the Nat King Cole Trio recorded it in 1946, “Chestnuts Roasting on an open fire/Jack Frost nipping at your nose,” became a Christmas tradition.Now as our attention turns to the holidays, it's worth remembering that the American Chestnut tree that once dominated Southern Appalachian forests is gone. On

What the heck is a hellbender?

Nov 28 2023 30 mins

The Eastern Hellbender is a mysterious creature. It has a scary name, slimy texture, lives a solitary life under rocks in remote AppalachianMountain streams, and is mostly nocturnal. Yet it’s also increasingly threatened and important to maintaining stream health.On this episode of Earthly, Jonathan talks to Clemson associate professor Cathy Jachowski.Jachowski studies stream eco

Researcher flies the skies collecting airborne genetic material

Nov 14 2023 29 mins

Clemson faculty member Kimberly Metris is not just an academic but also a licensed commercial pilot. One day while piloting skydivers to their jump altitude, Metris could see the Saharan dust plume over Upstate South Carolina and had a research epiphany to see what genetic matter was flying around in the sky. In this episode of Earthly, I talk to Metris about that epiphany, her wor

"Ecological Zombies" are going hog wild on the southern landscape

Oct 31 2023 23 mins

Referred to in some scientific literature as "ecological zombies," feral hogs cost millions of dollars of damage to farms, fields and forests, and they are breeding and spreading at a rate that outpaces the efforts of wildlife professionals to control them. In this Halloween edition of Earthly, Jonathan talks to Greg Yarrow and Andrew Jamison about the feral hog problem i