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A proposed wind farm in the Newfound Lake area has once again raised familiar themes in New Hampshire: A desire for the Granite state to use more clean energy, versus local concerns over property values, as well as impacts on the environment and tourism. We’ll re-examine these arguments in light of this new proposal.

Guests

• Sam Evans-Brown - NHPR's Environment Reporter.
• Edward Cherian - Regional Development Director for Iberdrola Renewables, which develops renewable energy projects and is the second-largest wind operator in the U.S.
• Lisa Linowes - Executive Director of Industrial Wind Action Group, a national advocacy group focused on issues associated with industrial wind energy development. The group often raises questions about or opposes wind-energy projects, including in New Hampshire.

We'll also hear from:

• Christopher Courchesne - Staff Attorney for the Conservation Law Foundation – New Hampshire.

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In a new book, author David Owen exposes the complexities of what it means to truly be “green”.  He says supposedly earth-friendly ideas like hybrid cars or solar panels create efficiencies which allow us to consume more!   Efficiency, Owen says, once considered the Holy Grail of our environmental problems, turns out to be part of the problem! 

Guest:

David Owen: Staff writer for the New Yorker and author of the new book "The Conundrum: How Scientific Innovation, Increased Efficiency and Good Intentions Can Make Our Energy and Climate Problems Worse."

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David Brooks, writer for the Nashua Telegraph, walks us through current and future threats that global warming poses to the ski industry.

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New Hampshire is the second most forested state in the country, but according to our guest today, UNH Professor and Ecologist, Scott Olinger, our forests face serious challenges from climate change to invasive species.  Today on the Exchange, we're looking at what's happening to our trees, what cane be done to protect them and the environmental significance of our forests.

Guest

Scott Ollinger - Professor of Natural Resources and the Environment and Associate Director of the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space at the University of New Hampshire. Ollinger recently spoke on the topic of trees as part of the Seacoast Science Café series, which brings academic discussions out of the university and into the larger community.

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Despite arguments over effectiveness and cost, New Jersey has long practiced what is called “artificial beach nourishment”—importing and pumping tons of sand to build up its shore.  Much of that sand was swept away by super storm Sandy’s massive surge and the one that followed from the recent nor’easter. 

Word of Mouth talks more with Cornelia Dean, staff writer for the New York Times, who recently wrote about the costs of shoring up coastal communities.

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A 2004 poll estimated that thirteen percent of American households keep goldfish. Nearly 500 million are sold each year just to feed other pets. How goldfish became America’s go-to pet is a matter of some debate.

Katrina Gulliver is a historian and freelance writer who wrote "The Great Goldfish Invasion" for The Atlantic magazine that traces the origins of this disposable aquatic pet.

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Generations ago, when people lived closer to the natural world, more outdoors than in, mild October days were called "bluebird weather. "The eastern bluebirds' gentle, quizzical notes were familiar and their distinctive habits recognized. A bluebird family remains together this time of year when most other bird species disperse. They favor field or open habitat, and typically perch on branches at field edge when they feed. Family members take turns dropping down to the ground then return to perch, one after another, most likely in pursuit of grasshopper or cricket. From a distance they resemble falling leaves that rise again.

The family's attention sometimes turns to a nestbox or tree cavity. In and out they go, removing old nesting debris – and raising the hopes of any human onlooker that they'll return come spring to claim that nesting site. The placement of nestboxes help the species recover from a steep decline caused by the introduction of European starlings and house sparrows. Bluebirds lose out to both in the competition for nesting cavities. They also lost favored habitat when family farms and fields declined.

When word spread that this beloved songbird would accept manmade nestboxes, scout groups, school groups and garden clubs were among the many volunteers building and placing bluebird houses. It was human action that led to their decline - by introducing starlings and house sparrows - so there's special satisfaction in knowing that human action has also helped their recovery.

Script by Francie Von Mertens.

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Part 1: Data's Dirty Little Secret

Every Google search, every saved photograph, streamed song, text message and each stroke of the e-mail send button is served and stored on a digital infrastructure that is – to the end user – invisible. The New York Times has spent a year investigating the tens of thousands of data centers that support the information industry, and discovered a secretive, power-sucking infrastructure sharply at odds with its sleek, environmentally-friendly image. James Glanz joins us, he is an investigative reporter from the New York Times. 

Part 2: The End of Snark?/A Museum of Mythical Creatures

Dr. Brené Brown is a researcher and a professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work and author of several books. Her most recent book, Daring Greatly expands on themes she discussed in two TED talks that have been viewed more than seven million of time. In a nutshell, it is by fully owning our vulnerability that we forge strong connections to others.

Check out Dr. Brené Brown's TED talk:

and

A replica of Bigfoot, a display case dedicated to lake monsters, and the “mystery cat corner” are a few of the sights to see at Portland, Maine’s International Cryptozoology Museum. A little bit oddity, a little bit kitsch, it’s the type of place you might find by walking down a random alley... lucky for us, our adventurous producer Zach Nugent took that walk, and brings us this audio field trip.

The famous Patterson-Gimlin film:

Part 3: The Origin of the Infographic/Modern-Day Data Maps for Journalists

From apps for avoiding heavy traffic to the latest polling data in the presidential race -- infographics are visual shorthand for data in the post-newspaper slash social media slash sound byte age. Several sources credit the digital age for giving birth to infographics and others cite the publication of USA Today’s “Snapshots” beginning in 1982. Susan Schulten begs to differ. She’s chair of the history department at the University of Denver, and author of “Mapping the Nation", she joins us today. 

and

Last week, WNYC's John Keefe visited NHPR. He heads that station’s new Datanews group, and demonstrated some truly illuminating interactive data maps for us. One map of New York reveals that the blocks where the highest number of stop and frisk gun searches are conducted by the NYPD, are not the places where stopping and frisking actually results in seizing a gun. So, using graphics to illustrate raw data can add value to news stories, or become the story itself. John told us that most of the code used by the data news team comes from CartoDB an open source tool. We were curious about CartoDB's other applications, so we went to their source. Javier de la Torre joins us today, he is CEO of Vizzuality, the New York and Madrid-based tech company behind CartoDB.

Find out what your college would cost today:

Part 4: Letters from the Real-Life Downton Abbey

American audiences will have to wait until January before the popular drama, Downton Abbey returns to PBS. Meanwhile, New Hampshire has its own peculiar connection to the masterpiece classic, detailed in a new exhibit at the Porstmouth Athenaeum. Downton Abbey: The Porstmouth Connection profiles the life of Catherine Wendell and Castle Highclere, around which Downton Abbey is loosely based. Ronan Donahoe is curating the exhibit, and has spent ages cataloging more than eighty boxes pictures and correspondence donated to the Athenaeum by the Wendell family.

The season 3 preview of Downton Abbey:

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