Living on Earth
Living on Earth is a weekly news and information program from PRI about the world's changing environment, ecology, and human health. If there's something new about global warming, climate change, environmental politics or environmental quality and human health, you can count on Host Steve Curwood and the LOE public radio news team to keep you up to date with fair and accurate coverage.
Airs on:
SUN 4am-5am
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51 min
Kavanaugh and Environmental Law, The 1.5°C Warming Threshold, and more
Kavanaugh On Environmental Law / Beyond The Headlines / Global Warming Is Heating Up / Bringing Back Butternut Trees / Night Moves / BirdNote®: Starlings Say It With Flowers / John Kerry: 'Respect Democracy - By Going Out And Voting'
After being confirmed by a narrow margin, Brett Kavanaugh is now a Supreme Court Justice. We take a look at why he's likely to shift SCOTUS towards narrower interpretations of environmental law, which would limit the government's authority to regulate pollutants like climate-warming gases.
Speaking of - a new UN climate report points to dire consequences if the world fails to quickly curb greenhouse gases. Earth's average surface temperature is already on track to rise by much more than the key threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures.
And we wrap up our conversation with John Kerry about his memoir, Every Day Is Extra - and why respecting democracy means going to the polls on Election Day.
Those stories, our weekly segment catching up with Peter Dykstra and more, in this installment of Living on Earth from PRI.
51 min
John Kerry On "Every Day Is Extra", Hemlock Hospice, and more
EPA Raises Risks To Children's Health? / Beyond The Headlines / Cool Fix For A Hot Planet: A Tiny, Carbon-Sucking Fern / Failed Tsunami Warnings / Walrus Changes His Mind / Hemlock Trees On Hospice / John Kerry Looks Back - And Ahead / BirdNote®: Chipping Sparrows: Song Learning Starts Early
John Kerry is on a mission to get out the vote. As America and the world face pressing issues like climate change, he says there's a dire need for elected officials who are willing to face the future head-on.
His call to action comes as the Environmental Protection Agency is rolling back regulations on mercury and is reportedly preparing to shutter its Office of Children's Health Protection.
Also, an artist and ecologist team up to communicate the story of the dying eastern Hemlock tree.
"Hemlock Hospice" and more, in this installment of Living on Earth from PRI.
51 min
Reviving Local Food in Puerto Rico, The Tangled Tree of Life, and more
Billion Dollar Losses Related to Roundup / Beyond the Headlines / Birdnote®: The Cuban Tody, A Caribbean Jewel / Rebuilding Puerto Rico's Battered Farms / The Tangled Tree
Even before Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico imported nearly all of its food. Now, as locals rebuild their lives, an agricultural revival is bringing fresh fruits and veggies back to the island.
Also, Bayer faces billions of dollars in potential court damages, after a jury finds Bayer-owned Monsanto knowingly sold a cancer-causing herbicides without warning consumers.
And a discussion with science writer David Quammen on how new discoveries go beyond Darwin's "tree of life".
New secrets of life and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRI.
51 min
Puerto Rican Resilience After Maria, Floods of Waste in the Carolinas and more
Wastes Flood The Carolinas / Science Note: Hurricanes, Lizards and Leafblowers / "Pa'lante": Puerto Rican Resilience After Maria / Beyond The Headlines / Women Climate Scientists Threatened and Harassed / An App For Urban Foraging
Hurricane Maria brought great hardship to the residents of Puerto Rico and killed thousands. Now survivors are forging ahead with a spirit of resilience as they prepare for future hurricanes.
Also, floods brought by Hurricane Florence inundate hog and poultry farms, spreading infectious animal waste across the Carolinas.
And as the fall harvest begins, we share a story about an app that guides urban foragers to fruit for the taking.
Those stories and more, in this installment of Living on Earth from PRI.
51 min
Puerto Rico's Recovering Forests, California's Climate Leadership, and more
California Moves Toward Carbon-Free Economy / Resilience In Puerto Rico's Tropical Forests After Hurricane Maria / Beyond The Headlines / Rising: Dispatches From The New American Shore
California commits to 100% carbon-free electricity by 2045, and as the Global Climate Action Summit kicked off, citizens took to the streets to call for swifter action.
Also, Hurricane Maria stripped Puerto Rico's trees of their leaves, but forests that evolved in the hurricane belt have ways to cope with the damage and they are re-growing.
And we speak with a writer who set out to document the stories of people caught in the rising tides along the American seaboard.
Those stories and more, in this installment of Living on Earth from PRI.
51 min
A Pipeline Blocked, Water for Puerto Rico, and more
Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Blocked / Beyond the Headlines / Volunteers Test Drinking Water in Puerto Rico / Crop Pests in a Warmer World / Eager: The Surprising Secret Life of Beavers
Canada's Federal Appeals court has ruled that the Trudeau government improperly reviewed the controversial Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion, likely delaying the project past Canada's elections in 2019.
Also, meet the citizen scientists who got to work testing Puerto Rico's water sources for safety in the wake of Hurricane Maria.
And we bring you a tale of how the largest rodent in America, once trapped almost to extinction, is being brought back thanks to a "beaver love motel" and a growing cadre of fans.
The "beaver believers" and more, in this installment of Living on Earth from PRI.
51 min
Sexual Misconduct in the Forest Service, Saving the Queen Conch, and more
Gulf Orphans / Sexual Misconduct in the US Forest Service: One Woman's Story / BirdNote®: Blakiston's Fish Owl / Conch at the Edge / The Place Where You Live: Rose-Hill, Mauritius
Western wildfires are growing more intense with global warming, and more women are joining the US Forest Service to help fight these fires. But a deep-seated macho culture in the agency means they often face hostility and harassment, and retribution if they complain.
Also, a team of rescuers wades through chilly northern waters to save "Gulf Stream orphans," tropical fish babies stranded up north by the Gulf Stream.
And down in the Bahamas, "conchservationists" work to save the Queen Conch, a marine mollusk that's in danger of being loved to death.
Those stories and more, in this installment of Living on Earth from PRI.
51 min
Toxics In Our Homes: Lead, House Dust, and more
Thousands of Lead-Poisoned Communities / Science Note: The Power of Dust / Obesity and House Dust / Bitcoin, The Energy Hog / Tamed and Untamed: Close Encounters of the Animal Kind
Lead is a deadly neurotoxin that's especially harmful to children's brains, and though it's banned in paint and gasoline, it's still found at dangerous levels in many communities.
And another danger might be lurking under your bed - in dust bunnies. House dust can include chemicals that trigger the growth of mouse fat cells in the lab, and might be a factor in the obesity epidemic.
Also - what are animals thinking? Two best-selling writers muse on the thoughts and emotions of animals, and why some people believe chickens have names for their keepers.
Those stories and more, in this installment of Living on Earth from PRI.