Living on Earth

Latest Episodes:

Rating 2020 Prexy Candidates' Climate Ambition, Seeking Justice for the Ogoni Nine, Increasing World Climate Action Ambition, and more Jun 21, 2019

Show notes

Increasing World Climate Ambition / Moving the Paris Climate Deal Ahead / Beyond the Headlines / Bringing Back Butternut Trees / Rating the Climate Promises of 2020 Prexy Candidates / Seeking Justice for the Ogoni Nine / BirdNote®: Brewer's Sparrow, Sageland Singer Polls show climate change is a rising concern for Democratic voters looking towards the 2020 presidential election. Greenpeace has a scorecard for each candidate based on commitments to a Green New Deal and phasing out fossil fuels. Also, many of the 2,000 delegates from 185 nations at UN Climate session in Germany are seeking to raise the ambition of nations in the Paris Climate Agreement, in hopes of limiting planetary warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. And Ogoni Nine widow Esther Kiobel is one step closer to justice in her battle against Royal Dutch Shell. She has pursued the oil giant for nearly 25 years, since the Nigerian government executed her husband in 1995 on trumped up charges, allegedly encouraged by Shell. Ms. Kiobel's husband was part of a group known as the Ogoni Nine, including Ken Saro-Wiwa which fought against Shell for environmental and economic damages to their homeland near the Niger River Delta. Now Ms. Kiobel will finally have her case heard in a Dutch case in her bid for reparations and the clearing of her husband's name. Seeking justice for the Ogoni Nine and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRI.

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Sobering Climate Risks, Cactus and Snow in the Desert Sky Islands, Horizon By Barry Lopez, and more Jun 14, 2019

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Sobering Climate Risks / Note on Emerging Science: Hot Potato Blues / Beyond the Headlines / Exploring the Parks: Cactus and Snow in the Desert Sky Islands / BirdNote®: Ponderosa Pine Savanna / Horizon by Barry Lopez If carbon emissions keep going up until 2030 it will be too late to avoid a 'hot house' Earth with a billion climate refugees starting in 2050, according to the Australia-based Breakthrough National Centre for Climate Restoration. These researchers warn the climate is changing faster than politicians and the public are responding, and say interventions on a scale never before seen during peacetime are needed right now. Also, Coronado National Forest, north of Tucson, Arizona is the latest subject of Living on Earth's occasional series on America's public lands. There's plenty of heat and cacti, of course - but also many species that you're more likely to find far north of the desert Southwest, and even enough snow for skiing! We take a trip to the remarkably diverse biomes of Arizona's Sky Islands, with a local biologist as our guide. And in his new book Horizon, 30 years in the making, award-winning writer Barry Lopez asks: "Who is our navigator?" now, in this time of climate change and pervasive inequality. Looking towards the horizon and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRI.

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NH Fights PFAS Pollution, Global Warming Clues From Henry David Thoreau, Recomposing the Dead and more Jun 07, 2019

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New Hampshire Fights PFAS Pollution / Youth Climate Suit Plea / Beyond the Headlines / Recomposing the Departed / Global Warming Clues from Henry David Thoreau / Solid Seasons: The Friendship of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson / BirdNote®: Henry David Thoreau and the Wood Thrush New Hampshire may be one of the smallest states in the US, but it's taking on some of the largest chemical companies in the world. The state wants DowDuPont, 3M and six other companies to take financial responsibility for allegedly knowingly polluting the environment with the persistent toxic class of chemicals called PFAS and PFOA while failing to disclose the risks to public health. Also, for most of recent human history, we've laid our dearly departed to rest through burial and cremation. But these can bear an environmental burden linked to land use and greenhouse gas emissions. Now, Washington State residents have a new green option: human composting. And the Nineteenth Century writings of naturalist and transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau are treasured not only by students of environmental literature, but also scientists today using his observations to track how a warming world is affecting trees and flowers. We dive into that research, then sit down with the author of a new book that traces the "Walden" author's rich and fulfilling friendship with fellow transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson. The legacy of Henry David Thoreau and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRI.

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Green Wave Sweeps Europe, Binge-Watching For Our Planet, Misfit Produce At Your Doorstep, and more May 31, 2019

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Green Wave Sweeps European Parliament / Beyond the Headlines / The Law of Languages / Misfit Produce at Your Doorstep / Our Planet / BirdNote®: Ruddy Duck Can binge-watching help save our stricken world? The producers of a new Netflix original series are hoping to move viewers enough to demand real action on climate change. Our Planet, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, is streaming majestic scenes of life on Earth -- through the sobering lens of climate change -- to millions of viewers. In fact the public's growing concern about climate change just helped usher in a new wave of Green party members to the European Parliament. And thanks to the increasingly fragmented body, with its multiple competing parties, the Greens have some leverage despite still holding only about 10% of seats. Also, every human language that's been tested follows a curious pattern called Zipf's law. Now researchers are looking to see if non-human languages, like the clicks and whistles used by dolphins and whales, follow a similar structure. The law of languages and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRI.

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Saving West African Rainforests, Global Warming Poor Tax, Grammy’s Dandelion Feast, and more May 24, 2019

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Global Warming Poor Tax / Beyond the Headlines / BirdNote®: Recycle Your Egg Shells to Help Nesting Birds / Saving West Africa's Last Rainforest / Grammy Goes A-Gatherin' When an oil palm development in the poor West African country of Liberia uprooted indigenous communities, destroying their religious shrines and burial grounds, and threatened the last major tropical rainforest in West Africa, lawyer Alfred Brownell jumped into action. He was able to get the company to back off, but was then forced to flee for his life. And, as if the crop failures, infrastructure damage, and biodiversity loss linked to climate change weren't already enough, new research finds that global warming appeared to reduce the GDP of the world's poorer countries by 25 percent since 1961. Also, dandelions can be the bane of some who care for lawns. But for 97-year-old Grammy, dandelions are a culinary delight. Grammy goes a-gatherin' and more, this week on Living on Earth from PRI.

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Greening NYC’s Buildings, Congestion Pricing for NYC, Julián Castro on the Campaign Trail, and more May 17, 2019

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Julián Castro Campaigns / Remembering the Legacy of Jim Fowler / Congestion Fee for NYC / Cutting Emissions From NYC Skyscrapers / BirdNote®: Unlikely Places to Go Birding / Beyond the Headlines / Leopard Seal Says Hello / Protecting the Cook Islands from Overfishing Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro is making climate change a key part of his campaign for president. At a recent meet and greet in New Hampshire, he laid his climate agenda and why a green economy can be a strong, job-creating economy. Also, New York City just became the first in the nation to adopt a congestion pricing plan. It's expected to raise about a billion and a half dollars in revenue every year for its crumbling subway system and cut down on some of Manhattan's infamous traffic. And NYC has taken another major step in the fight against climate change by putting big buildings on a low-carbon path, requiring them to reduce emissions 80% by 2050. Greening NYC and more, this week on Living on Earth from PRI.

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Climate-Resilient Cities, A Grave Biodiversity Warning, Exploring the Parks: North Cascades, and more May 10, 2019

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Bipartisan House Vote For 'Climate Action Now' / Climate-Resilient Cities / A Grave Biodiversity Warning / Beyond The Headlines / Goldman Prizewinner Vanquishes Oil Terminal Project / Exploring The Parks: North Cascades National Park As climate disruption advances with rising sea levels and more intense storms, floods and wildfires, some people are thinking about safer places to live. Duluth, Minnesota and Buffalo, New York are already branding themselves as climate resilient, thanks to their cool climate and proximity to fresh water. Also, the US House passes an historic climate action bill with bi-partisan votes. And meet the hero who fought a massive oil terminal project slated for Vancouver, Washington. How community organizing vanquished a fossil fuel project and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRI.

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A Refugee Camp Becomes a City, Tulsi Gabbard’s Presidential Bid, No Show Green Voters, and more May 03, 2019

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A Refugee Camp Becomes a City / Tulsi Gabbard's Presidential Bid / No-Show Green Voters / Beyond the Headlines / Pioneer Warren Washington Wins Tyler Prize In Uganda's Bidibidi refugee camp, progressive policies enable South Sudanese refugees to live, farm, and work freely with locals, to foster the growth of small businesses and infrastructure. The goal: to attract outside investments and build an enduring future city. Also, Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) is a Democratic candidate for the 2020 Presidential elections. Campaigning in New Hampshire Congresswoman Gabbard spoke about the importance of addressing climate change and reducing military spending. And approximately 20 million registered voters in the US list the environment as one of their top two priorities. But many of these "super-environmentalists" stay home on Election Day. Getting out the green vote and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRI.

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Klobuchar Goes Green, Microplastics Lead to Macro-Problems, The Wonders of Spring Migration, and more Apr 26, 2019

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Klobuchar Goes Green / A Citizen Science BioBlitz / Beyond the Headlines / Microbeads in the Great Lakes / Microplastics Leading to Macro-Problems / A Season on the Wind: Inside the World of Spring Migration A handy smartphone app is all that's needed to participate in a citizen science "bioblitz", a brief, intensive survey of biological diversity over a set area and time. This year, thousands are expected to participate in the City Nature Challenge. Also, microplastics are everywhere, and sewage treatment doesn't remove them from the water. So they end up in lakes and streams, posing a growing threat to freshwater and saltwater ecosystems. And a veteran field guide author discusses the incredible phenomenon that happens every spring and fall, as a journey of thousands of miles begins with a single flap. The wonders of migration and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRI.

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An Earth Day Checkup, Exploring The Parks: Aniakchak, Exxon Climate Risk Lawsuit, and more Apr 19, 2019

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Exxon Sued Over Climate Risks of Storage / Beyond The Headlines / Earth Day Checkup / BirdNote®: What's Your State Bird? / Prepping for the City Nature Challenge / Exploring the Parks: Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve Since the first Earth Day in 1970, much has been done to clean up our air and water, here in the U.S. and elsewhere. But the world now faces the imminent threats of climate change and biodiversity loss, with a long way to go on curbing carbon emissions. Also, our newest installment in Living on Earth's series exploring America's public lands takes us to the grizzlies and volcanism of Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve, deep in the remote Alaskan wilderness. And as sea level rise and intensifying storms put coastal ecosystems, communities, and industrial facilities at risk, ExxonMobil faces a lawsuit over the alleged vulnerability of the company's Boston Harbor storage facility to climate disruption. All that and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRI.

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