Tragic Fate of the Donner Party

On this episode of Expanded Perspectives the guys talk about how one of the last known groups of woolly mammoths died out because of a lack of drinking water, scientists believe. The Ice Age beasts were living on a remote island off the coast of Alaska, and scientists have dated their demise to about 5,600 years ago. They believe that a warming climate caused lakes to become shallower, leaving the animals unable to quench their thirst. Then, what do you so with land that’s been rendered inhabitable by humans? The Ukrainian government has decided the best use of the 1,600 square mile “exclusion zone” surrounding the former Chernobyl nuclear power station is to build one the world’s largest solar power plants, according to Electrek. Then, Australia is to shift its longitude and latitude to address a gap between local co-ordinates and those from global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). Local co-ordinates, used to produce maps and measurements, and global ones differ by more than 1m. Then, Cam brings up an unusual Gnome encounter in the deep dark woods. After the break, Kyle details the horrific story of the Donner Party. In the spring of 1846, a group of nearly 90 emigrants left Springfield, Illinois, and headed west. Led by brothers Jacob and George Donner, the group attempted to take a new and supposedly shorter route to California. They soon encountered rough terrain and numerous delays, and they eventually became trapped by heavy snowfall high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Purportedly reduced to cannibalism to survive through the winter, only half of the original group reached California the following year. Their story quickly spread, and before long the term “Donner Party” became synonymous with one of humanity’s most ingrained taboos. Thanks for listening to Expanded Perspectives!

Show Notes:

• Last Woolly Mammoths "Died of Thirst"
• Chernobyl nuclear exclusion zone could become the world’s largest solar farm
• Toyota Plans Solar Power System for New Texas HQ
• Australia plans new co-ordinates to fix satelite -navigation gap
• Tree People & Garden Gnomes
• The Donner Party

Music:

All music for Expanded Perspectives is provided by Pretty Lights. Purchase, Download and Donate at www.prettylightsmusic.com.

Songs Used:

• Pretty Lights vs. Led Zeppelin
• If I Gave You My Love
• Future Blind
• Let The World Hurry By