logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2019
14m 12s

The world's "Third Pole" is melting away...

TED
About this episode
The Hindu Kush Himalaya region is the world's third-largest repository of ice, after the North and South Poles -- and if current melting rates continue, one-third of its glaciers could be gone by the end of this century. What will happen if we let them melt away? Environmentalist and former Prime Minister of Bhutan Tshering Tobgay shares the latest from the "water towers of Asia," making an urgent call to create an intergovernmental agency to protect the glaciers -- and save the nearly two billion people downstream from catastrophic flooding that would destroy land and livelihoods.**

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Yesterday
Want to make change? Let the kids tell their stories | Anshul Tewari
As a teenager, social entrepreneur Anshul Tewari didn’t see young voices represented in the conversations that mattered. His solution? A simple blog that has since transformed into Youth Ki Awaaz (Voice of the Youth): India’s largest citizen media platform, where more than 200,00 ... Show More
11m 11s
Aug 27
Could we detect breast cancer with a fingerprint? | Simona Francese
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women globally. And yet, many people pass up opportunities to get screened for the disease, often because of the invasive and sometimes painful process of mammograms. Chemist and professor Simona Francese presents a potentially ground ... Show More
13m 23s
Aug 26
Why you should spend less time with your kids | Lenore Skenazy
Whether it’s micromanaging playtime, constantly hovering or incessantly texting, the adult takeover of childhood has created a crisis of anxiety in both children and parents, says Lenore Skenazy, cofounder and president Let Grow, an organization dedicated to normalizing childhood ... Show More
14m 40s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2023
The Race To Protect Millions Of People From Melting Glaciers
Melting glaciers are leaving behind large, unstable lakes that can cause dangerous flash floods. Millions of people downstream are threatened. In today's episode, NPR Climate Desk reporter Rebecca Hersher and producer Ryan Kellman take Short Wave co-host Emily Kwong to a communit ... Show More
14m 33s
Jun 2022
The climate tipping points
The melting of polar ice sheets, the collapse of the Amazon rainforest, the seizing up of ocean circulation - these are just some of the calamities we risk bringing about through our unabated carbon emissions. Each of these tipping points on its own could have dire consequences f ... Show More
50m 19s
Oct 2022
Svalbard’s climate change fight
Svalbard is the fastest warming place on earth. Deep inside the Arctic Circle, it is home to the world’s northernmost settlement, Longyearbyen, which is estimated to be heating at six times the global average. People living here have a front row seat for the climate crisis - melt ... Show More
26m 28s
Aug 2023
The famine at the edge of the ocean
Madagascar is experiencing its worst famine for over 30 years. With successive years of drought, this began in the country’s deep south but as successive cyclones hit Madagascar in 2022 and 2023, people in the south-east are now also suffering from food insecurity. The United Nat ... Show More
50m 11s
Jan 2022
Wednesday 1/5/22 - Antartica's 'Doomsday Glacier' Part II
Today is Part II on the Thwaites "Doomsday Glacier" in Antartica. We get into Baba Vanga's predictions for 2022, the role fossil fuels have in melting the glacier, comparing it to the Yellowstone Supervolcano, and more. 
20m 57s
Sep 2021
Life Below Sea Level: Bangladesh and our climate future
In August, the UN climate panel issued a “code red for humanity”. The latest IPCC report warned of a catastrophic planetary future if global emissions don’t reach net-zero within the next few decades. But in Bangladesh, there’s no code red needed. The country’s residents have bee ... Show More
22m 8s
Dec 2021
Best of The Take: Bangladesh and our climate future
This week and next, we're revisiting and updating some of our favorite episodes on The Take. In August, the UN climate panel issued a “code red for humanity.” The latest IPCC report warned of a catastrophic planetary future if global emissions don’t reach net-zero within the next ... Show More
22m 10s