Happy B-Earth-day, Planet Earth! 🌎

LISTEN HERE

The Ten News Season 3: Episode 54

In today's episode: 🌎 Can you be-leaf the first Earth Day wasn't until 1970? We're here with the history behind the celebration 🐮 Miss Laine from Nature Nerds knows a new way to slow climate change & it involves potty-training cows! ♻️ Climate activist, Ryan Hickman of Ryan’s Recycling shares his best practices 🤔 Trivia with Tessa: do you know what people outside of the US call Earth Day?

Follow Along with Us

📧 Do you have something to tell us? Email us at: hello@thetennews.com

📝 Sign up for The Ten News-letter!

📸 Join us on Instagram

Links

https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-earth-day

https://nelsonearthday.net/gaylord-nelson-founder-of-earth-day/

https://www.realsimple.com/holidays-entertaining/earth-day-facts

https://www.noaa.gov/stories/earth-day-turns-50-get-to-know-our-planet-without-leaving-home

TRANSCRIPT:

Ryan Willard  00:04

Pamela, this is my jam.

Pamela Kirkland  00:07

Glad to hear it, Ryan. It's the official theme song of Earth Day.

Ryan Willard  00:12

Whoa! Earth Day is a theme song!?

Pamela Kirkland  00:15

Of course. It's one of the biggest worldwide celebrations!

Ryan Willard  00:19

I love starting the show with a song.

Pamela Kirkland  00:21

Me too, I'm Pamela Kirkland.

Ryan Willard  00:24

And I'm Ryan Willard. It's Wednesday, April 26th.

Pamela Kirkland  00:27

This is The Ten News.

Sound Bit  00:34

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. 

Ryan Willard  00:41

This past Saturday, April 23rd, was Earth Day. Earth Day began in the US in 1970 but is now celebrated around the world. Around 1 billion people celebrate Earth Day each year.

Pamela Kirkland  00:53

It all started when Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson saw the terrible effects of an oil spill off the coast of California in 1968. He campaigned for a day to protect the environment, that day became Earth Day.

Ryan Willard  01:10

From the beginning, schools, and universities have been the driving force behind Earth Day. It's always held around the time students have spring break so that they can participate in this important day. On the first Earth Day, 10% of the US population got involved.

Pamela Kirkland  01:26

Earth Day led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, the EPA, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency or NOAA, the scientific body that monitors the weather, oceans, and atmosphere. Earth Day leads to so much good.

Ryan Willard  01:47

Absolutely. We have so much to celebrate this Earth Day.

Pamela Kirkland  01:54

One of the big things on everyone's mind around Earth Day, and every day, is climate change. And what exactly we can do to slow the effects?

Ryan Willard  02:07

Hey Pamela, we have a guest in the studio.

Pamela Kirkland  02:12

Ryan, is that a whole cow?

Ryan Willard  02:16

Yep, this is Ernestina! Miss Laine from Nature Nerds told me about a new way to slow climate change and it involves potty-training cattle.

Pamela Kirkland  02:24

Let's go to Laine. And let's hope Ernestina is already a potty-trained cow.

Corinne Catibayan  02:32

Potty-training is the not-so-glamorous process of teaching people where to put their pee and poop. It's not the most pleasant thing to think about. But we've all gone through it. And our world is a better place because of it. No joke. It takes toddlers anywhere from three to six months to master the porcelain throne. But cows learn where to place their bovine behinds much faster. Why? Yes, you heard me correctly. Today we're talking about potty-trained cattle. According to a recent study, it only takes 15 days for cattle to become bathroom-loving bulls and commodes-using cows. You're kidding me. Now, you might be thinking, Why in the world are scientists teaching cows to use the toilet? Well, to save the planet, of course, okay. You see, cows are big animals. They eat a lot and drink a lot to sustain their large frames. But when you eat a lot and drink a lot, you poop and pee a lot. Just how much pee are we talking about? Well, a single cow can produce eight gallons of pee a day, round up five cows and you can fill a bathtub That's gross. Cow pee and poo are not inherently bad. However, things get complicated when the scat and the urine unify. You see, the resulting mixture contains a chemical known as ammonia. And when ammonia soaks into the soil, it breaks down and becomes the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide. Though it only makes up 7% of the greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, nitrous oxide is not to be taken lightly. With this in mind, scientists at the University of Auckland came up with a wacky theory for reducing nitrous oxide emissions, managing the waste proactively by potty training the cattle first proposed as a joke. The idea eventually became a full-blown study involving specially constructed cow toilets called Moo Lose. Now, don't get too excited. The cows were not trained to sit on the toilets. Oh man, the MOU bears no resemblance to your bathroom at home. Rather, it's a special metal stall with a graded floor covered in fake grass. scientists conducted the experiment with 16 young cows at an indoor lab in Germany. To begin the study. They brought the calves into the mu and waited for nature to take its course once the cow Sped, they were rewarded with their favorite special treat a molasses milkshake. shiz and any calves that released themselves outside of the designated potty training area got a little squirt of cold water. The process was repeated. And after about two weeks 11 of the 16 cows were entering the mu to pee without prompting. So the initial study was a smashing success. But what does it all mean? Well, training a handful of cows to pee in a cool box doesn't do our planet much good, but training a lot of cows to pee in special boxes could initial estimates from the Auckland study suggest that collecting 80% of cow urine produced on a farm could reduce ammonia emissions by more than half. Excellent. Those are some pretty sizable numbers. And if scaled globally and implemented correctly, it's possible that potty training cattle could have a considerable positive impact on lowering greenhouse gas emissions awesome. But only time will tell if the idea of commode-loving cattle and bathroom-using bulls makes it into common agricultural practices. Until then, enjoy the fact that you get to use a real toilet instead of the moolah.

Ryan Willard  06:10

Thanks, Miss Lane. Did you hear that Ernestina? You could help mitigate climate change!

Pamela Kirkland  06:19

Maybe there'll be a way to train the cows to be a little less farty in the future. 

Ryan Willard  06:26

Oh, that's a stinky one. Did you get into the cheese puffs, Ernestina?

Pamela Kirkland  06:37

Ryan, what's the number one easiest way to protect the Earth for future generations?

Ryan Willard  06:44

Oh, I got this one, Pamela. It's recycling. And we recycled a couple of our segments today. 13-year-old climate activist, Ryan Hickman is making a difference with his company, Ryan's Recycling. So Ten News correspondent Corinne Catibayan sat down with him to get the lowdown.

Corinne Catibayan  07:01

Hey, Ryan, thanks so much for joining us. Can you tell us who you are, what you do, and why you do it? 

Ryan Hickman  07:07

My name is Ryan Hickman. I'm 13 years old. I like to recycle. And I started just when I was three and a half. My dad took me to the local recycling center for the first time. I loved it so much. So I want to keep doing it, it is fun. And I saw it was helping the planet. 

Corinne Catibayan  07:23

What is Ryan's recycling? And what is it do? 

Ryan Hickman  07:26

Yes, I have a recycling company Ryan's Recycling based in Southern California, Orange County, and we go to all my customers, pick up their recycling and we take it to the recycle center and recycle it. 

Corinne Catibayan  07:36

So wait, you basically have customers that you pick up the recycling and then you take it to the center for them? 

Ryan Hickman  07:41

But they donate it to me. So I get all the money from it too. And I put that in my college fund. 

Corinne Catibayan  07:46

Very cool. So what is the job entail? Can you walk me through as if I were one of your customers? 

Ryan Hickman  07:52

So you go on my website, you email my dad. First, I get a doughnut because they're really good. And I can't recycle them and go to my customer's house at a call for a pickup or recycle or I pick up from them take them to the recycle center. I sort it out there. And I give the recycling to them to recycle properly. 

Corinne Catibayan  08:10

How do you encourage your friends to recycle? 

Ryan Hickman  08:13

I tell them it's easy and I hope to save the planet. Most of the time they do it, too. like I have beach club full time. And I have lots of people that go to them to watch kids for my school and help me clean up the beach. It's fun. Honestly. Just tell them it's fun. It helps the planet. It doesn't kill animals. And most kids are excited about it, too. 

Corinne Catibayan  08:32

What do you think is the most recyclable item? 

Ryan Hickman  08:34

Probably the bottle cannot have glass because oh probably no probably can or glass bottle because those could be recycled and indefinitely? Is that the right term? I don't know a lot of times. 

Corinne Catibayan  08:47

What's the easiest tip that you can give to someone who wants to recycle? 

Ryan Hickman  08:51

Just start small. You don't have to don't have to do it big like me, just try your best every little bit makes a big difference.

Pamela Kirkland  08:59

Thank you, Ryan. Recycling is a great way to help the Earth. And don't forget to reduce and reuse as well.

Ryan Willard  09:08

Right! There's always a little more we can do.

Tessa Flannery  09:17

Welcome to the trivia throne. Ernestina hop or clop on up on the trivia thrown for today's trivia question. You're ready?

Sound Bit  09:35

What is going on here?

Tessa Flannery  09:45

Earth Day is what we call it in the US but do you know what people in the rest of the world call Earth Day? Is it a) Green Planet Day, b) International Mother Earth Day, or c) World for the Earth? Ten'ers, did you guess it? Ernestina, what's your answer? The answer is b) International Mother Earth Day. The UN officially named April 22nd, International Mother Earth Day in 2009. But no matter what it's called the goal is the same. Appreciate the Earth and protect the environment for future generations. Ten'ers, do you want to sit on the trivia throne and share your trivia knowledge? Visit thetennews.com/contact to get in touch, and we might have you on the show.

Ryan Willard  10:40

And now we've got to give special Ten News Snaps to one of our listeners.

Pamela Kirkland  10:45

But before we do, here's a quick note for the grown-ups.

Ryan Willard  10:49

Time for Ten News Snaps.

Pamela Kirkland  10:56

Ten'er, Fishbite wrote this review of The Ten News. Good pod, but not enough poop.

Ryan Willard  11:02

We hope today's episode made you happy Fishbites and thanks for listening to The Ten News! Ten Things You Need to Know drops every Tuesday and our in-depth reports drop every Wednesday. But if you want some bonus content, you could join the Ten'ers Club on our website or on Apple podcasts.

Pamela Kirkland  11:18

The Ten News is a coproduction of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts.

Ryan Willard  11:23

The Ten News creative team is recycling and includes Tracey Crooks, Pete Musto, and Tessa Flannery.

Pamela Kirkland  11:29

Our production director is Jeremiah Tittle. And our executive producers are Donald Albright and show creator Tracy Leeds Kaplan. 

Ryan Willard  11:37

I'm Ryan Willard. 

Pamela Kirkland  11:38

And I'm Pamela Kirkland. Thanks for listening to The Ten News. Let's make Earth Day, every day!