Living on Earth

Because of its unique geography, the United States is particularly vulnerable to nearly every kind of natural disaster: tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, blizzards, and more. And these natural disasters are getting an unnatural boost with climate change. Also, some Florida sugarcane growers near the Everglades still use the archaic method of burning fields to remove the tops and leaves before harv...

New York state has adopted a law aimed at using federal funds to boost public power from renewables and shut down six polluting “peaker” gas power plants. Advocates say this will bring huge benefits for public health, environmental justice, and energy access. Also, unhoused residents help keep California clean by collecting recyclables. But many unhoused people say the state has rarely engaged wit...

Sixteen young plaintiffs have won their suit against the state of Montana over its refusal to protect them from climate change. We explain the unprecedented ruling and where the case could head next.  Also, children and adolescents are facing increasing health risks from extreme heat, and a study that looked at heat and pediatric emergency department visits found that black and brown children are...

Climate change is already making some places across the country unlivable and seems likely to uproot millions of Americans in the coming decades. The author of “The Great Displacement: Climate Change and the Next American Migration” collected the stories of people across the U.S. who have been driven out by fires, floods, droughts, and extreme heat. Plus -- when a whale dies, it eventually sinks t...

The Congo Basin in Central Africa is a critical biodiversity hotspot and linchpin in the fight against climate disruption. But will the world make good on its promises to protect biodiversity in the Congo and around the world? Also, the hit Netflix movie “Don’t Look Up” uses humor and the metaphor of an impending, Earth-obliterating comet to satirize climate denial, the political obstacles to clim...

The summer of 2023 has seen extreme heat waves around the world. From Texas, how heatwaves have proven particularly dangerous for inmates in prisons that lack air conditioning. Meanwhile the UAE has increased its climate ambition targets under the Paris Agreement following criticism around their choice of a top oil executive to lead this year’s UN climate talks.  But environmental activists say th...

Earth is choked by too much carbon in the atmosphere and running a fever that is only bound to get worse if we fail to restore its balance. How soaking up that excess carbon with the help of trees and plants is vitally important to life on Earth as we know it. Meanwhile, the financial sector isn’t taking likely climate impacts like sea level rise into account when it calculates risks to assets, ac...

The chasing arrow symbol that many consumers think means a plastic product is recyclable often doesn’t mean that in practice, since most plastics are of little to no economic value. Why revising the use of the recycling symbol could reduce consumer confusion. Meanwhile, so-called ‘chemical recycling’ of plastics is a highly inefficient process that releases large amounts of carbon emissions and ha...

The first constitutional climate suit in the U.S. has made it to trial. Sixteen youthful plaintiffs allege that the state of Montana has violated their constitutional right to a “clean and healthful environment” by promoting fossil fuel extraction in the face of intensifying climate disruption.   Also, global warming is slowing deep ocean currents near Antarctica that transport heat, carbon, and n...

PFAS “forever chemicals,” linked to cancer, liver problems and more, are leaching into cosmetics, household cleaners, and even food stored in plastic containers treated with fluorination. EPA is now going after a company that uses the fluorination process, but some advocates say the agency isn’t doing enough to protect the public. Also, Shell’s massive new ethane cracker plant in western Pennsylva...

The European Union’s new deforestation-free regulation blocks certain products made from cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soya, and wood, from entering the European market if they have been produced on land deforested after 2020. In honor of pride month we look into the academic discipline known as “queer ecology” which looks at environmental politics through a queer lens, rejecting heterosexual a...

Generations of Black Americans have faced racism, redlining and environmental injustices, such as breathing 40 percent dirtier air and being twice as likely as white Americans to be hospitalized or die from climate-related health problems. So the quest for racial justice now must include addressing the climate emergency, writes Heather McTeer Toney in her book Before the Streetlights Come On: Blac...

New research is showing that antimicrobial chemicals called quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs), which are widely used in disinfectants, pesticides and personal care products, are linked to numerous health concerns like asthma and infertility. But there are major gaps in regulation of these chemicals.  Also, over seven years poet Camille Dungy gradually transformed her sterile Fort Collins, Color...

In a decision reversing five decades of legal precedent, the U.S. Supreme Court effectively stripped environmental protections from nearly half of the wetlands in the nation.  Also, the new White House Office of Environmental Justice will coordinate EJ efforts across all federal agencies. EPA Region 4 Administrator Daniel Blackman discusses how the office can help address the disproportionate poll...

Guyana has one of the fastest growing economies on the planet as an offshore oil boom gets underway. But a potential spill could wipe out its fishing and ecotourism economy. So a trial judge recently ruled that a major ExxonMobil crude oil project needs an “unlimited guarantee” to cover the costs of such a spill.  Also, the states that rely on the Colorado River for water are facing a supply crisi...

New York state has adopted a new law aimed at using federal funds to boost public power from renewables and shut down six polluting “peaker” gas power plants. Advocates say this will lower electricity rates and boost public health, environmental justice, and energy access. Also, peat that’s burned for energy is a major emissions source in Finland, which aims to become net zero by 2035. Peat mining...

This Mother’s Day we’re celebrating the incredible tenacity and tenderness of animal mothers, from crocodiles to leopards to whales. Our guest shares why observing mother orangutans inspired her own journey to becoming a mother.  Also, an intricate web of roots and fungi connects life in an old growth forest, allowing ancient “Mother trees” to nourish and protect their kin. A forest ecologist shar...

The world’s ocean surfaces are rapidly warming and recently hit an all-time temperature high. At the same time, the La Niña weather pattern is now shifting to an El Niño cycle, warming the oceans more still.  Also, because of its unique geography, the United States is particularly vulnerable to nearly every kind of natural disaster: tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, and more. These natural disaste...

The EPA is trying again with power plant rules to fight climate change, but this time, the agency is backed up by statutes in the Inflation Reduction Act. It’s using these to carefully craft new rules designed to survive legal challenges.  Also, the Africa recipient of this year’s Goldman Environmental Prize joins us to share how he organized a community and brought a UK based mining company to ju...

This Earth Day, we’re celebrating our planet with poetry, storytelling, and music, featuring an orchestral and choral work called “Lament of the Earth” that evokes the beauty and wonder of our planet as it speaks directly to the question, ‘where are all the people who care?’ Major Jackson, Catherine Pierce, Sy Montgomery, Jay O’Callahan, Lynne Cherry and more share their poetry and stories in this...

The EPA is proposing to cut the amount of toxic air pollutants industrial sources are allowed to emit. The targeted chemicals include known carcinogens that have long contaminated communities in Appalachia and Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley.”  Also, there are many sources of hidden plastic in the waste that wealthy countries send to the developing world, in clothing, tires, and electronics. How all tha...

America can’t meet its goals of reducing carbon pollution from power plants unless power grids get major upgrades and rules to bring clean energy online are detangled. We’ll explore the challenges and opportunities facing implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act.  Also, the Black residents of “Cancer Alley” in Louisiana have filed a civil rights and religious liberty lawsuit against the paris...

Microplastics are everywhere scientists have looked for them, from the deepest ocean trenches to mountain peaks; in our air, water, and food, even our own bodies. We’ll take a deep dive into the world of these tiny pollutants laden with thousands of different chemicals and discuss potential solutions. Also, the world has no time to waste in cutting carbon emissions if we want to avoid the worst im...

The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed strict new limits for PFAS “forever” chemicals in drinking water. PFAS are associated with health concerns including cancers and reproductive issues, so the move is being called a huge win for public health. Also, so-called “chemical recycling” is a greenwashing term used for incinerating plastic according to critics, who say it’s contributing to cl...

Jane Goodall is on a mission to protect habitat worldwide by empowering local communities to develop sustainably. And it all started when she was just ten years old and dreamed of studying wild animals in Africa. Also, a massive new oil drilling project in the Arctic just got the green light from President Biden despite his promises for no new drilling on federal lands. And the Congo Basin in Cent...