Living on Earth

The climate emergency is creating a public health emergency by increasing risks for heat stress, vector-borne diseases, and traumatic injuries as well as disrupting healthcare access. Also, 2023 saw some notable environmental decisions in U.S. federal and state courts, from the Supreme Court’s removal of some wetlands protections to the landmark win for youth plaintiffs in a Montana climate case....

From one woman’s dream of swimming with marine iguanas, to uncommon encounters with common rabbits, to a Native American tale of how the dog came to be our loyal companion, and much more, this Living on Earth holiday storytelling special features stories of how other species on this Earth touch human lives. “Wildly Magical: Stories of Animal Encounters”, a storytelling special from PRX. -- As a no...

The Power Of Stories / Native American Tales / Stories of the Night Sky and an English Wassail Native American myths and tales help us endure or even enjoy the short days and long nights of winter. Living on Earth's annual celebration of stories helps connect people with the natural world, and includes an Iroquois explanation of why the constellation Pleiades twinkles overhead and an Abenaki custo...

Nearly 200 nations attending the COP28 UN climate summit in Dubai came to a consensus to declare fossil fuels are on their way out, marking a breakthrough after three decades of climate summits. But much more is needed to turn the words into action. Also, author and animal whisperer Sy Montgomery’s latest book, Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell features miraculous st...

The very first bill that Speaker Mike Johnson passed through the House would gut many energy and climate projects financed by the Inflation Reduction Act, even though Republican states are massively benefiting from this funding. The repeal would also block environmental justice efforts and deny a “just transition” for disadvantaged communities. Also, even if the world’s nations soon come together...

Leaked documents from the team leading the COP28 climate talks now underway in Dubai point to corporate coopting of the UN climate negotiations. COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber is also CEO of the UAE national oil company Adnoc, which according to the documents has used the COP process to try to cut oil and gas deals with companies and countries. Also, in North Birmingham, Alabama, racist zoning pr...

Many of the chemicals used in fracking for natural gas are hazardous to human health, but loopholes in disclosure laws mean that companies can keep them secret. Pennsylvania’s Governor is moving to change that. Also, the world is way off track from the Paris Agreement goal to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. A new joint statement on fighting the climate crisis from the world’s two biggest emi...

The “Three Sisters” of corn, beans, and squash all grow together in a symbiotic planting relationship. A Chickasaw chef shares recipes and the significance of these crops to many Native American cultures. Also, the story of the “first Thanksgiving” that persists in American culture often stereotypes Native peoples and sanitizes what happened to them as white settlers dispossessed them of their lan...

The man leading the upcoming UN climate talks in Dubai heads the United Arab Emirates’ state oil company. Sultan Al Jaber is the climate envoy for the UAE and has led the state renewable energy company, but his critics question the substance of his green credentials. Inside the public relations campaign to green Al Jaber’s image and install an oil CEO at the heart of the UN climate process. Also,...

Exceptionally warm waters in the Eastern North Pacific off Acapulco, Mexico appear to have fed the rapid strengthening of Hurricane Otis into a deadly Category 5 storm that weather forecasters failed to understand in time to warn the public. We learn about the science behind the storm and how needed improvements in weather forecasting can help communities better prepare for extreme storms. Also, t...

Wealthy nations have agreed to pay low-income countries for some of the loss and damage caused by the climate crisis. But rich and poor nations are divided on key elements of the fund. Also, on November 7th voters in the state of Maine will be able to choose if they want to replace the state’s two existing for-profit electric utilities with a non-profit utility largely governed by an elected board...

The Biden administration is invoking special powers to waive more than 20 environmental laws so it can fast-track a new section of border wall. The administration claims it is compelled to spend funds appropriated by Congress, but opponents of the barrier say there could be severe environmental consequences. Also, when a wildfire powered by extreme heat and drought nears a neighborhood, all it tak...

Eight years after the encyclical Laudato Si’ Pope Francis published a new text “Laudate Deum” which condemns climate denial and urges the world to act swiftly to avert climate disaster. Also six young plaintiffs from Portugal are suing over 30 European countries they say have violated their rights to life by failing to act on climate change. Patrick Parenteau is an emeritus professor at Vermont La...

As the 2024 campaign season heats up, some young Republicans want their party to move on from climate denial and offer solutions. We discuss policies that align with the environmental roots of the party. Also, the spacecraft OSIRIS-REx has successfully delivered a sample from the asteroid Bennu to Earth. Scientists are eager to study the rocky material and see if it can unveil anything about the o...

Ninety years after the creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Biden administration is mobilizing a national workforce to tackle today’s crisis of climate disruption. The American Climate Corps aims to train 20,000 young people in its first year for jobs in clean energy, climate resilience, and land restoration. Also, governments are increasingly touting clean and renewable energy as the...

At the UN Climate Ambition Summit in New York, some developed nations promised more money to help vulnerable countries adapt, but biggest emitting countries including the US and China had no new plans to put on the table. Also, microorganisms can generate carbon-rich soil and help plants grow, but too often our food comes from industrial farms that limit beneficial microbes by depleting the soil w...

In 2022 the US EPA opened a civil rights investigation into whether the State of Louisiana overburdens Black communities along “Cancer Alley” with toxic industries. But the agency abruptly closed the inquiry when the Louisiana attorney general filed a suit charging reverse discrimination. Also, Africa has emitted a tiny fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions but is experiencing catastrophic i...

As extreme heat linked to climate disruption becomes more common during the school year, many U.S. schools lack adequate cooling and ventilation systems to keep kids safe and focused on learning. And temperature and air quality affect learning outcomes for low-income kids and students of color the most. Also, the wildfires that killed more than 100 people and displaced thousands on the Hawaiian is...

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 e...

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 the...

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...