KPFA - Terra Verde

Lifelong trade unionist, environmental activist, and musician Joe Uehlein realized pretty early on how climate change was going to be, what he calls, a “jobs killer.” Founding president of Labor Network for Sustainability, an organization dedicated to driving urgent, science-based climate action by building a powerful labor-climate movement, Uehlein’s new memoir — Three Roads, Labor, Music, Ecolog...

Indigenous activist and education Melissa K. Nelson. As the climate crisis deepens, our educational systems have a foundational role to play in developing an informed citizenry and charting a path forward. Yet traditional Indigenous knowledge often remains marginalized in these spaces. On this episode of Terra Verde, co-host and Earth Island Journal Managing Editor Zoe Loftus-Farren speaks with In...

A weekly public affairs show that delivers news and views about the most important environmental issues in California and globally. The post Terra Verde – September 4, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.

A gray whale mother-calf pair migrating along the central California coast from the wintering grounds in Mexico to the summer feeding grounds in the Arctic. Long term ocean warming and changes in sea ice have affected supplies of the high-fat prey that these cetaceans, researchers say. Photo Courtesy of NOAA Fisheries. Photo Courtesy of NOAA. Since the start of this year, at least 187 gray whales...

The Trump administration advances a plan to rescind the federal “Roadless Rule,” which protects millions of acres of national forest lands from new roads and timber harvesting. Photo by Mick Haupt / Pexels. For more than two decades, the federal Roadless Area Conservation Rule has limited new road construction and certain forms of development across millions of acres of undeveloped national forest...

The West faces extremely high fire potential this season, with a number of major wildfires already burning across the region. No single fire is the same as any other, yet public information about wildfires often lacks geographic specificity and historical context — which are critical to understanding both specific fires and our broader fire reality. Zeke Lunder started The Lookout during the Dixie...

Author and speaker Jeremy Lent suggests that as climate change, inequality, and social fragmentation intensify, humanity faces an imminent choice. We can either continue with the same system of extraction, exploitation, and endless growth that created the polycrisis we now face—which will almost certainly lead to collapse—or, we can reimagine civilization itself.  In his new book, Ecocivilization:...

In his new documentary Fog Eaters, filmmaker Kyle Baker follows environmental toxicologist Peter Weiss-Penzias and a team of researchers investigating unusually high levels of methylmercury in mountain lions along California’s central coast. Tracing mercury pollution through the food web, the researchers ultimately tie it back to an unlikely source: coastal fog. In this episode of Terra Verde, hos...

Organizers are keeping up the fight against a proposed coal export terminal in West Oakland, where residents already face a high burden from environmental pollutants. Photo of Port of Oakland by Ronan Furuta. More than a decade ago, residents of Oakland, California, first got wind of a plan to export coal from their city through a proposed bulk commodity export terminal. Initially, developers reas...

A weekly public affairs show that delivers news and views about the most important environmental issues in California and globally. The post Terra Verde – July 10, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.

A weekly public affairs show that delivers news and views about the most important environmental issues in California and globally. The post Terra Verde – July 3, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.

Author and speaker Jeremy Lent suggests that as climate change, inequality, and social fragmentation intensify, humanity faces an imminent choice. We can either continue with the same system of extraction, exploitation, and endless growth that created the polycrisis we now face—which will almost certainly lead to collapse—or, we can reimagine civilization itself.  In his new book, Ecocivilization:...

Veteran environmental activists André Carothers and Annie Leonard have spent decades protesting for climate action, environmental protection, and human rights. Photo by Brooke Anderson. The right to speak freely, to organize and protest injustice is under threat across much of the world right now. In the United States, in particular, protesters — especially those focused on environmental justice a...

Eighteen young people are challenging the EPA’s repeal of the 2009 “endangerment finding” on constitutional grounds. The finding provided the basis for federal climate policy,including the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from cars, trucks, and power plants. Photo by Sila Lundquist / Unsplash. Earlier this year, the Trump administration repealed the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2009 “en...

The former Zeneca chemical facility site in Richmond, CA, a contaminated shoreline property that has become a focal point for community concerns about environmental health, cleanup efforts, and the future impacts of sea level rise along San Francisco Bay. Photo courtesy of Richmond Shoreline Alliance. Across the San Francisco Bay shoreline, communities are living alongside the legacy of more than...

Fog Eaters explores the unexpected link between fog and high mercury levels in California’s coastal mountain lions. Photo by Zetong Li. In his new documentary Fog Eaters, filmmaker Kyle Baker follows environmental toxicologist Peter Weiss-Penzias and a team of researchers investigating unusually high levels of methylmercury in mountain lions along California’s central coast. Tracing mercury pollut...

A weekly public affairs show that delivers news and views about the most important environmental issues in California and globally. The post Terra Verde – May 15, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.

A weekly public affairs show that delivers news and views about the most important environmental issues in California and globally. The post Terra Verde – May 8, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.

A rarely-invoked committee colloquially known as the “God Squad” met in late March and unanimously voted to exempt oil and gas activity in the Gulf of Mexico from environmental safeguards put in place by the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The ESA is widely recognized as one of the most effective conservation laws in the United States, having prevented extinction of 99% of protected species since 19...

A “bathtub ring” lines the canyon walls of Lake Mead, marking the dramatic drop in water levels as the Colorado River system faces prolonged drought and overuse. Image by Tara W. / Pexels. As the Colorado River Basin faces historic drought, shrinking reservoirs, and intensifying climate pressures, new research reveals a striking reality: Some of the largest water users in the West pay little to no...

Locally farmed flowers offer an alternative to imported varieties, which in the United States typically come from South America. ​Photo by Zoe Richardson. Flower have much to offer. They bring us joy and beauty. They improve ecosystem health and boost food production. And they play an important role in many cultural practices and in celebrations of love and life. The global flower industry, howeve...

A weekly public affairs show that delivers news and views about the most important environmental issues in California and globally. The post Terra Verde – April 3, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.

A weekly public affairs show that delivers news and views about the most important environmental issues in California and globally. The post Terra Verde – March 27, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.

This oil drilling rig off the coast of Santa Barbara is one of numerous that line the ocean view. Photo courtesy of Way Out West News. On Saturday, March 14, using the pretext of the war on Iran and spiking fuel prices, the Trump administration allowed Sable Offshore Corp. to restart the controversial Santa Ynez offshore oil platform and pipeline along the Santa Barbara County coast. The pipeline...

The National Parks Service has lost nearly a quarter of its permanent employees since Trump took office last year, and drastic budget cuts have significantly impacted the agency’s ability to carry out educational programming, maintenance, and vital emergency services within the parks. On this episode of Terra Verde, host and producer Fiona McLeod speaks with Christine Lehnertz, President and CEO o...