Smart Talk: Red Land closer to LL title; Pope brings attention to climate change; Methane gas and cattle

What to look for on Smart Talk Thursday, August 27, 2015:

The Red Land Little League team continues to be the talk of Central Pennsylvania.  The York County squad made up of 11, 12 and 13-year olds will play for the U.S. championship Saturday afternoon after their 3-0 victory over Texas Wednesday night in Williamsport.

More than 35,000 people watched Red Land’s Adam Cramer strike out 13 Texas batters while allowing only three hits.  The last 16 Texas outs came via the strikeout.  Cole Wagner swatted a home run for Red Land.

WITF’s Ben Allen was in Williamsport and appears on Thursday’s Smart Talk.

According to the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection, methane is the second most prevalent greenhouse gas emitted in the United States from human activities. Methane comes from natural sources such as wetlands and leakage from natural gas systems.  However, up to a quarter of the methane worldwide is produced by livestock — cattle, sheep, and buffalo — when they burp.  That’s no joke.  A Penn State researcher is part of a team that may have found a way to reduce methane emissions from cattle.

He is Dr. Alexander Hristov, Professor of Dairy Nutrition, in the Department of Animal Science at Penn State University and he joins us on Thursday’s program.

Donald Brown has appeared on Smart talk several times before with a message that climate change is not just a scientific and political issue, but is a moral one too.  In fact, Brown wrote about it in his book Climate Change Ethics: Navigating the Perfect Moral Storm.

And now, Pope Francis has weighed in with the same opinion.

Donald Brown, Scholar in Residence and Professor of Sustainability Ethics and Law, Widener University Commonwealth Law School appears on today’s show.