28/08/15

SciDev.Net Podcast: Batteries from rice husks and more

Copyright: UN Women Asia and the Pacific/Jean Qingwen Loo

By: Lou Del Bello

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<h1>SciDev.Net Podcast: Batteries from rice husks and more</h1>
<h4>By: Lou Del Bello</h4>
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<div id="article-body">
<p><iframe loading="lazy" frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/221286919&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<em>If you are unable to listen to this audio, please update your browser or <a href="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/221286919/download?client_id=02gUJC0hH2ct1EGOcYXQIzRFU91c72Ea&oauth_token=1-16343-47894121-334d8206d82f348">click here to download the file [38.1MB]</a>.</em></p>
<p>In early October the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will nominate its new chair, chosen from five candidates announced in August. In this month’s podcast, we kick off a series of interviews where we hear their thoughts about the future of the IPCC and its role in informing sustainable development.<br />
 <br />
Our first two guests are <a href="http://www.iiasa.ac.at/staff/staff.php?type=auto&visibility=visible&search=true&login=naki">Nebojsa Nakicenovic</a>, energy economist and deputy director general of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Vienna, Austria, and <a href="http://dge.stanford.edu/people/cfield">Chris Field</a>, a climate scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science in the US. We ask them what they plan to bring to the table in the lead-up to the UN’s climate summit in December, and about their vision for a global response to <a href="https://www.scidev.net/environment/climate-change/">climate change</a>.<br />
 <br />
We then discuss a project that uses biomass to power off-grid communities in rural India and <a href="https://www.scidev.net/farming/news/charcoal-plan-for-carbon-storage-under-fire.html">produces ‘biochar’</a>, a type of charcoal used to fertilise soil. The project’s founders expect to remove 500 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year for each plant installed and to reach one million people who are currently off grid.<br />
 <br />
Finally, we hear from a scientist who is studying the evolution of <a href="https://www.scidev.net/health/news/vaccine-candidate-against-lassa-fever-shows-promi.html">Lassa fever</a>, a virus endemic to West Africa, which kills approximately 5000 people every year. The hope is to develop a vaccine against the virus.<br />
 <br />
This month’s reporters are:<br />
Giovanni Ortolani  <a href="https://twitter.com/giovaortolani">@giovaortolani</a><br />
Kevin Pollock  <a href="https://twitter.com/KPstraightupG">@KPstraightupG</a><br />
Ines Nastali  <a href="https://twitter.com/InesN0608">@InesN0608</a></p>

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<p>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.scidev.net" target="_blank">SciDev.Net</a>. Read the <a href="https://www.scidev.net/global/multimedia/podcast-batteries-rice-husks-ippc-lassa-vaccine/" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p>
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If you are unable to listen to this audio, please update your browser or click here to download the file [38.1MB].

In early October the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will nominate its new chair, chosen from five candidates announced in August. In this month’s podcast, we kick off a series of interviews where we hear their thoughts about the future of the IPCC and its role in informing sustainable development.

Our first two guests are Nebojsa Nakicenovic, energy economist and deputy director general of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Vienna, Austria, and Chris Field, a climate scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science in the US. We ask them what they plan to bring to the table in the lead-up to the UN’s climate summit in December, and about their vision for a global response to climate change.

We then discuss a project that uses biomass to power off-grid communities in rural India and produces ‘biochar’, a type of charcoal used to fertilise soil. The project’s founders expect to remove 500 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year for each plant installed and to reach one million people who are currently off grid.

Finally, we hear from a scientist who is studying the evolution of Lassa fever, a virus endemic to West Africa, which kills approximately 5000 people every year. The hope is to develop a vaccine against the virus.

This month’s reporters are:
Giovanni Ortolani @giovaortolani
Kevin Pollock @KPstraightupG
Ines Nastali @InesN0608