Pri: Living On Earth

Greenhouse gas emissions from plastic production in the United States are on track to outpace domestic coal emissions. Also, until recently landfills in America were often sited in coastal wetlands. Now rising seas are threatening to unleash their trash, toxics, and even nuclear waste into coastal areas. And a conversation with Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate about how the climate crisis is impacting Africa and the discrimination she’s faced in speaking up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Extraction of minerals on U.S. public lands is based on a 150-year-old law that doesn’t require royalty payments or adequate protection for the environment and local people. We talk about a proposed lithium mine in Nevada and efforts to reform the antiquated mining law. Also, a study found that three-quarters of young people surveyed believe the future is frightening because of climate change. What young people are expressing about their eco-anxiety and how parents can safely talk to their kids about climate. And a conversation about how the Zen Buddhist practice of mindfulness can provide an antidote to burnout and help us break out of a destructive cycle of consumption to live in harmony with the planet. --- Support for Living on Earth comes from the I Am Bio podcast, with powerful stories of biotech breakthroughs, the people they help, and the global problems they solve.       Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress has passed a historic climate bill with the enactment of the 2022 budget reconciliation measure called the Inflation Reduction Act. This first serious federal climate legislation includes about $400 billion to address climate and clean energy over the next decade, as well as major tax reforms and mandated consumer cost cuts for health care. We analyze the new law and take a closer look at its expanded electric vehicle incentives. Also, breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women worldwide, and endocrine disrupting chemicals are partly to blame. One such chemical is DEHP, a phthalate chemical commonly used in plastic hospital intravenous bags and medical tubing, and studies have shown that it’s interfering with breast cancer treatment and augmenting the odds of relapse.  And “The Reign of Wolf 21” is the true love story of an alpha pair who lead their Yellowstone pack with grace, courage, and an unbreakable bond. What these wolves can teach us about love, loyalty, and leadership. Le

Underwater explorer Craig Foster dives nearly every day in the near-shore waters of South Africa and it’s here that he befriended an octopus, a relationship captured in the documentary “My Octopus Teacher.” He’s coauthor of the 2021 book “Underwater Wild” and joined us for a memorable Living on Earth Book Club event to talk about his encounters with cuttlefish, sharks, and Cape clawless otters, and the power of connecting with wild nature.  Also, as the autism rate continues to rise among children, scientists and clinicians are connecting the dots between autism, genetics, folic acid deficiency, and chemicals like the endocrine disrupting plastic additives called phthalates. And bald eagles were nearly driven to extinction in the 20th century but are now making a big comeback. These majestic creatures are becoming so common that people are spotting them in the most unexpected places, even the heart of Manhattan. -- Support for Living on Earth comes from the I Am Bio podcast, with powerful stories of biotech b

A punishing drought in the Horn of Africa linked to climate change has led to mass famine, and some 19 million people in Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya don’t have enough to eat. Also, there are about 700 active oil and gas wells in the city of Los Angeles, mostly located in minority communities like the one where young activist Nalleli Cobo grew up, just 30 feet from a well. She and her neighbors have suffered for years from headaches, asthma, and cancer -- illnesses linked to the proximity of oil well sites. For her work fighting the oil companies operating those wells Nalleli was awarded the 2022 Goldman Environmental Prize. And a baby giraffe at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park named Msituni, which means “in the forest” in Swahili, was born with a disability that gave her trouble walking. So her veterinary team found a creative way to help her heal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Biden responds to a lack of Congressional action on climate change with new executive orders but stops short of declaring a national climate emergency, disappointing some.  Also, painting tree trunks bright blue to raise awareness about deforestation. And, The James Webb Space Telescope has sent back the first images of deep space and distant time.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Biden recently invoked the Defense Production Act to stimulate domestic production of clean energy technology including solar panels and heat pumps. And, how a seaweed supplement, currently in the experimental phase, may help reduce methane emissions from cattle. Also, Admiral David Titley, former Chief Operating Officer for NOAA, shares his observations on how climate change is affecting the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem from his home in Grand Teton National Park.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To help curb the plastic pollution crisis, the US Department of Interior will phase out single-use plastic products sold and distributed in national parks and other federal public lands it oversees.  Also, the first successful Mars lander was Viking 1 in 1976, and now, after dozens of missions NASA has finally captured the first ever audio recorded on the surface of the red planet. How sounds on Mars compare to how we experience them here on Earth. And the new James Webb Space Telescope is by far the most powerful space telescope ever built, able to see up to a hundred galaxies at once and detect the light emitted from some of the universe's very first stars while also checking planets near and far for conditions compatible for life.  --   Support for Living on Earth comes from: maude. Get a treat from maude! Use the code EARTH to get $5 off your first order on all products. And getaway.house. Use promo code EARTH to save $25 on your stay — and enjoy more free time in the great outdoors.   Learn more about yo

In a major 6 to 3 decision with sobering implications for climate policy, the Supreme Court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency overstepped its authority when it created guidelines for how utilities generate electricity. Also, rising seas and temperatures are exacerbating the perennial problem of increasing salinity on both coastal and inland farmland. And America’s aging prison facilities are largely unprepared for climate impacts and often lack air conditioning, wildfire evacuation plans, and hurricane strategies. -- Support for Living on Earth comes from: maude. Get a treat from maude! Use the code EARTH to get $5 off your first order on all products. And Getaway House. Use promo code EARTH to save $25 on your stay — and enjoy more free time in the great outdoors.       Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Extreme heat events such as India and Pakistan recently endured are among the deadliest impacts of climate change, and pregnant women and fetuses are among the most vulnerable to heat stress. Extreme heat is linked to complications of pregnancy including eclampsia, preterm birth and stillbirth. Also, to help revitalize coal country as the mines close, the United Mine Workers of America is teaming up with an electric vehicle battery company on a new factory in West Virginia. And UN climate negotiators recently gathered in Bonn, Germany to prepare for the next climate summit this fall in Egypt, but these talks are not moving as fast as climate disruption itself. -- Support for Living on Earth comes from the I Am Bio podcast, with powerful stories of biotech breakthroughs, the people they help, and the global problems they solve. And from maude. Get a treat from maude! Use the code EARTH to get $5 off your first order on all products. And also getaway.house. Use promo code EARTH to save $25 on your stay — and en

June 19th marks the holiday known as Juneteenth, when African Americans gather to celebrate emancipation of ancestors from slavery with picnics and cook outs. The voyage from Africa isn’t often on people’s minds, but it is in their stomachs, by way of the foodways from across the Atlantic. Fast-forward to today, to the farmers who are working to cultivate justice, root out racism, and find liberation on the land, by reconnecting people of color to the earth. And systemic racism has set Black Americans up for far greater exposure to deadly air pollution, and extreme heat brought by climate change. Both environmental concerns have been primarily caused and exacerbated by white Americans, yet it’s Black communities that bear the brunt of the harm. Dismantling racism, celebrating Juneteenth, and more, this week on Living on Earth from PRX. -- Don’t miss our free, livestreamed Juneteenth celebration on Monday, June 20th at 6:30 p.m. Eastern! Sign up at loe.org/events Our podcast is supported this week by: maude.

Threatened by draconian tariffs, the US solar industry has been largely frozen since April and laid off thousands of workers, stalling crucial progress towards climate goals. But on June 6th, President Biden signed executive orders temporarily suspending tariffs and boosting domestic solar panel production. Also, with the start of the Atlantic hurricane season June 1, Tropical Storm Alex has already flooded Cuba, the Bahamas, and South Florida. Wildfires are already ravaging parts of the western United States, deadly heat waves are predicted, and some scientists say summer in the United States is the 'danger season'. And the stories of real people living through the climate emergency can help us comprehend what a degree of temperature change or a foot of sea level rise actually means. “1,001 Voices on Climate Change” and more. -- Our podcast is supported this week by: maude. Get a treat from maude! Use the code EARTH to get $5 off your first order on all products. And also getaway.house. Use promo code EARTH

Australia is a leading coal and natural gas exporter and has stubbornly opposed major climate action for decades, even as climate disasters like fires, floods, and droughts have taken their toll. But now Australian voters have ushered in a more progressive Parliament in the recent elections that signal their country is heading in a new direction on climate. Also, we continue our conversations with this year’s recipients of the Goldman Environmental Prize with Julien Vincent, the winner for Islands and Island Nations who led a grassroots campaign that had people cutting up their credit cards in a bid to convince Australia’s biggest banks and insurers to stop funding coal. And take the A Train: Gateway National Recreation Area offers green spaces, beaches and recreation just a quick transit ride from New York City. Plus, with inflation driving up food prices, we share some gardening tips to help you save some green with your green thumb. -- Our podcast is supported this week by: Wren, where you can calculate a

In the past decade, the EPA has received over 98,000 reports of harm and over 2500 reports of pet deaths connected to the Seresto brand of pesticide-containing flea collars. But the EPA has never issued any warnings or recalls of these collars. Also, the 2022 Goldman Environmental Prize recipient for Africa is Chima Williams, an environmental lawyer who worked with two communities to hold Royal Dutch Shell accountable for disastrous oil spills in Nigeria. We talk about why Chima and his colleagues brought the case all the way to the Hague in the Netherlands to pursue justice. And in the coming weeks we’ll feature more stories of this year’s intrepid Goldman Prize winners. And after dozens of missions to Mars over nearly five decades, NASA has finally captured the first ever audio recorded on the surface of the red planet, and we listen in. -- Support for Living on Earth comes from the I Am Bio podcast, with powerful stories of biotech breakthroughs, the people they help, and the global problems they solve.  

The 6-3 conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to constrain climate action by the Environmental Protection Agency in a decision before the end of the SCOTUS term in June. Why a loss for EPA in this one case, West Virginia v. EPA, could limit climate policies across multiple agencies. Also, on Earth Day April 22, Wynn Bruce, a Buddhist and environmental activist, set himself on fire on the steps of the Supreme Court to protest inaction on climate change. A conversation about the urgent message behind this extreme action and moving beyond climate despair. And the suspect of the recent mass murder of Blacks in Buffalo is a self-proclaimed white supremacist and eco-fascist. What the environmental movement must do to delegitimize the eco-fascist movement’s use of violence and racist ideology. -- Support for Living on Earth comes from Wren, where you can calculate and offset your carbon footprint.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With record low water levels that threaten hydropower generation, the federal government has decided to retain water in Lake Powell and release less to Lake Mead and beyond. But the Colorado River basin still faces a long-term water shortage that imperils the future of cities and farms in the Southwest.  Also, the sea ice that Inuit people rely on for travel and hunting is growing dangerously thin. Now, sensors and GPS technology along with Inuit traditional knowledge are helping to measure sea ice in real time. And as civilization hurtles toward climate disaster, the world continues to rely heavily on fossil fuels and drag its heels on transitioning to clean energy. Harvard University Professor of the History of Science Naomi Oreskes joins us to note climate change science is unequivocal and why the paths to solving the climate crisis are political and social. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Whistleblowers say EPA endangers public health by being too cozy with industry and approving cancer-causing and other unsafe chemicals.    Also, "No Mow May." The movement to leave our lawnmowers in the garage for the month of May and give pollinators a chance to access spring flowers.    And, in her new book, "The Hawks Way" author Sy Montgomery takes a deep dive into the world of hawks and falconry.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Electric vehicles are key to decarbonizing the transportation sector but most cars sold in the U.S. are still gas-powered. Even in Massachusetts, where a climate law requires net zero emissions by 2050, EV numbers are nowhere near where they need to be.    Also, the extraction of minerals on U.S. public lands is based on a 150-year-old law that doesn’t require royalty payments or adequate protection for the environment and local people. The antiquated law is impacting the future of renewable energy and electric vehicles as companies mine for lithium, an essential component for large battery storage.  And for years Twin Metals Minnesota has sought to mine for copper and nickel just outside the pristine Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, but the Biden administration recently canceled two federal mining leases the company needs to begin operations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our Earth Day special examines this decisive moment for the human species and our challenging relationship with our planet. We meet people who envision a future reshaped by an emerging energy system and new power structures, as we wean off of fossil fuels. Next we take a big-picture view of Earth as a complex and sustaining organism known as Gaia. Over billions of years life has interacted with the elements of this planet in cycles of constant change and adaptation. With the help of deep ecologists, children, an astronaut and more, we survey our place on this ever-evolving living planet. And while science and policy are vital in building a more sustainable world, they can't convey the values we need as we strive for ecological harmony. Indigenous stories, holy scriptures, East Asian cosmologies, papal encyclicals and divine revelation all shed light on our duties and relationship to each other and to our common home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The new James Webb Space Telescope is by far the most powerful space telescope ever built, able to see up to a hundred galaxies at once and detect the light emitted from some of the universe's very first stars while also checking planets near and far for conditions compatible for life.  Also, Wildlife Services, a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, killed 1.75 million animals in 2021, including bears, wolves and beavers among 400,000 native animals. USDA claims these exterminations protect agriculture and public health, but opponents say there are better ways to deal with animals that present problems for humans. And trillions of dollars of financial assets are at risk of losses related to the climate, so the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is now moving to require public companies to disclose their climate risk. The Living on Earth Book Club is back! Join us April 25th at 5:30 p.m. Eastern in Concord, New Hampshire or online from the comfort of your own home for a conversation with bes