Living on Earth

President Biden responds to a lack of Congressional action on climate change with new executive orders but stops short of declaring a 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.

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 affectin...

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 Ma...

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 facilit...

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...

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 liberat...

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 alrea...

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...

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 Du...

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...

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....

Whistleblowers Say EPA Endangers Public Health and More Than 200 New Species of Freshwater Fish. by Living on Earth

EV Sales Stuck in the Slow Lane, 150-Year-Old Mining Law Robs Public Lands Riches & more by Living on Earth

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 th...

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, i...

The U.S. solar installation business has been frozen suddenly in its tracks by a U.S. Department of Commerce investigation into whether China is evading tariffs on solar cells and panels. So at a time when there is more demand than ever for solar power, the solar industry is now experiencing project delays, layoffs, and uncertainty. Also, as climate related disasters worsen, the people who help re...

Higher levels of BPA plastic exposure while in the womb is associated with increased risk of asthma and wheezing in school aged girls, a new study has found. It’s the latest danger sign regarding the estrogen-mimicking chemical, which has also been linked to numerous health problems including heart disease and Type II diabetes. Also, fossil fuel markets are often volatile, especially around wars,...

European nations are taking a fresh look at nuclear power as a more secure and carbon-free source of energy than fossil fuels, compared to Russian oil and gas. Also, during the March equinox in Antarctica, the eastern portion of the continent recorded temperatures around 70 degrees Fahrenheit higher than typical. At the same time, the Arctic also boasted higher-than-average temperatures. And while...

Europe has vowed to quickly wean itself off Russian gas. Electric heat pumps could help and activists say invoking the Defense Production Act, to rapidly manufacture heat pumps for Europe, can weaken Putin’s fossil fueled war machine. Also in light of Ukrainian refugees fleeing their homes, experts note that climate change is expected to displace as many as 200 million people, many of them people...

At a recent UN meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, delegates from over 170 countries committed to come up with an ambitious cradle-to-grave, legally binding agreement to tackle the global plastic pollution crisis. Also, northern California native tribes are now the permanent guardians of more than 500 acres of coast redwood forest in one of the latest examples of “landback.” And the book Miseducation: How...

A more conservative Supreme Court has taken up a case that could significantly limit the tools EPA can use to curb greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, even though those rules don’t even exist. Why West Virginia v. EPA poses big risks to environmental regulation writ large. Also, the latest UN climate report is an “atlas of human suffering” that warns of great peril for ecosystems and human...

The Congo Basin is home to one of the largest peatlands in the world and a massive repository of carbon dioxide. Locals have been sustainably hunting and fishing in the area for generations, but the threat of new development has scientists concerned. Also, in honor of Black History Month, we bring agronomist and humanitarian George Washington Carver back from the past to talk about his famous pean...

For Black History month: Black Americans rose up from sugarcane slavery and built thriving communities along the lower Mississippi River, only to have the petrochemical industry move in and pollute the air, land, and water in what’s been dubbed Cancer Alley. An environmental justice champion shares her memories of what her home of St. James Parish was like before industry turned it toxic and talks...

The blocked Build Back Better budget bill contains half a trillion dollars of renewable energy and climate resiliency investments. So House Democrats now aim to include them in a revised budget reconciliation bill that can get all Senate Democrats on board. Also, when someone takes a bite of a hamburger or tofu or has a cup of coffee or hot cocoa, it’s hard to know if those foods added to the dest...

A federal Judge revokes the largest offshore oil and gas lease sale in U.S. history by the Biden Administration, citing environmental concerns. What the legal battle says about how seriously the White House is taking its promises to phase out fossil fuels. Also, China and the International Olympic Committee say there are many sustainable aspects of the Winter Olympics in Beijing. But critics point...