Living on Earth

Latest Episodes:

A 2020 Climate Change Candidate for President, Heat Wave Kills Nature Down Under, The Challenges of Eminent Domain and more Feb 01, 2019

Show notes

Inslee's Climate-focused White House Bid / Heat Wave Scorches Nature Down Under / BirdNote®: Palm Cockatoo Gets The Girl / Beyond the Headlines / Eminent Domain and the Landowners Who Wouldn't Back Down Washington Governor Jay Inslee hasn't yet officially announced his candidacy in the 2020 presidential campaign, but he's working to position himself as the climate candidate if he does run. Gov. Inslee joins Living on Earth to discuss pairing economic prosperity with environmental policy. Also, Australia's plants and animals evolved to withstand a hot climate, but the recent extreme heat is far from normal. In recent weeks about a third of the bat population has died and water sources are becoming oxygen-depleted. And pipelines, highways, railroads and high-voltage transmission lines tend to require long paths across the landscape. When the government exerts its eminent domain powers, farms and even suburban neighborhoods can be caught in the middle. The residents who fight back and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRI.

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Climate Displacement at Home and Abroad, Food From the Radical Center, and more Jan 25, 2019

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Climate Migrant Caravans / Climate and the Majestic Gyrfalcon / Climate Disruption and the Poor / Beyond the Headlines / Healing Our Land and Communities Through the Power of Food / BirdNote®: Where Are They Now? This week, we delve into the link between climate change and the recent wave of migrant caravans coming from Central America. Many of the migrants are fleeing their homes in the wake of crop failures, the result of a massive drought that has lasted for five years. Also, without the financial means to adapt or recover from climate impacts, disadvantaged groups here in the U.S. are vulnerable, too. In New Bern, North Carolina, many African-American residents of a public housing complex flooded out by Hurricane Florence are now homeless. And local food movement pioneer Gary Paul Nabhan joins us to discuss how restoring the health of our lands can improve the health of our communities. He's the author of the new book, Food from the Radical Center: Healing Our Land and Communities. Displacement and rootedness, in this week's episode of Living on Earth from PRI.

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The Amazon in Peril, Youth Call for Minnesota Green New Deal, World's Oceans Warming Faster and Faster, and more Jan 18, 2019

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Defending Public Lands / Beyond the Headlines / Ocean Warming Speeding Up / Youth Activists Call for a Minnesota Green New Deal / Brazil's President Targets Amazon / An Amazon Tribe Turns to Modern Technology to Save Their Trees In this episode we hear how protections for the Amazon Rainforest and its indigenous peoples are being weakened by Brazil's new president, Jair Bolsonaro. And new data shows the Earth's oceans are warming much more rapidly than previously reported. That means rising sea levels, stronger storms, and more intense droughts. Also, youth activists in Minnesota aren't waiting for a national Green New Deal. They're working with the state government on moving the state away from fossil fuels, while creating clean energy jobs and other sustainable economic growth. The push for a Green New Deal in Minnesota and more, next time on Living on Earth from PRI.

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The Conservation Costs of Shutdowns, Congress Launches Climate Crisis Committee, "Forest Bathing" and more Jan 11, 2019

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Capitol Hill Panel on Climate Crisis / Beyond The Headlines / Lead in Newark's Water / 'Forest Bathing' for Health / The Conservation Costs of Shutdowns Florida Democrat Kathy Castor tells Living on Earth that the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis she's chairing will press for climate change to be taken into account for all House legislation. Concerns abound about the impacts of government shutdowns on national parks and forests. Examples range from the National Mall to Joshua Tree, where the lack of services can mean trash cans overflow and visitors off-road in sensitive areas. Also, a Japanese practice known as "forest bathing" encourages spending time in nature for health benefits - and studies show spending time amongst the trees may in fact be good for human health. Join us for a walk in the woods and more, in this week's Living on Earth from PRI.

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A Greener Congress, Kerala’s Ambitious Organic Pledge, and more Jan 04, 2019

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A Greener U.S. Congress / Kerala's Ambitious Organic Pledge / Pesticide Peril in Paradise Democrats now hold a majority in the House of Representatives for the first time in nearly a decade. Under Speaker Nancy Pelosi the House leadership now recognizes the science of climate change and has created a new Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. Also, locals call the lush tropical Indian state of Kerala "God's own country". But food there is laden with chemicals and cancer rates are rising. So the government has called for all organic food by 2020, and residents are pitching in with their own organic gardens on roof tops and terraces. That's in this week's installment of Living on Earth from PRI.

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Puerto Rico: Rebuilding for Resilience, Repairing Broken Coral, and more Dec 28, 2018

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Rebuilding Puerto Rico's Battered Farms / "Pa'lante": Puerto Rican Resilience After Maria / Volunteers Test Drinking Water in Puerto Rico / Repairing Puerto Rico's Corals Puerto Ricans continue to rebuild their lives in the wake of Hurricane Maria, which killed thousands and wiped out basic services. Now a new and more resilient Puerto Rico is emerging: from a nascent local food movement, to citizen scientists testing water for safety, to Puerto Ricans restoring their island's coral reefs. How Puerto Ricans are forging ahead with a spirit of resilience and preparing for future hurricanes, in this installment of Living on Earth from PRI.

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The Earth Is Our Home For the Holidays and Always 2018 Dec 21, 2018

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Christmas Candles / Mary's New Year's Eve / Superbowl Sundae / A Green Message for the Next Generation / A Mainer's Family Traditions At this coldest, darkest time of year, draw near the fire and the radio, join with family and friends, and savor the warmth and joy of good company, good food, and good stories. It's Living on Earth's story telling special - with some joyous tales, environmental insights and musical surprises.

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Rules to Save the Climate, Most Republicans Believe in Climate Change, Creating the Moon, and More Dec 14, 2018

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Rules To Save The Climate / Beyond The Headlines / Climate Action Off Track / Most Republicans Believe In Climate Change / Creating The Earth And Moon UPDATE: Rules for reporting climate protection progress were adopted at the 24th Conference of the Parties (COP24) in Katowice, Poland, as almost all 190-plus countries in the climate treaty called for stronger international commitments on climate action. But the United States joined a faction promoting global warming coal. Also, while nearly 80% of Americans believe that the planet's climate is changing, only a third believe immediate action is necessary. And a novel theory for how the moon was formed sheds light on earth's origin. From Paris to Katowice to the Moon and back, in this installment of Living on Earth from PRI.

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The Environmental Voting Gap, Green Gifting, Cong. Deb Haaland and more Dec 07, 2018

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Meet Deb Haaland, Native American Congresswoman / Beyond The Headlines / The Environmental Voting Gap / The Right To Repair / Is Shopping In A Store Greener Than Buying Online? / Green Gifts For The Holiday Season / Smeagull The Seagull: A True Story New Mexico's 1st Congressional District is sending Deb Haaland to Capitol Hill in January. A Democrat, she's one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress and campaigned on climate change and other environmental issues. Also, some 20 million registered voters in the U.S. list the environment as one of their top two priorities. The largest fraction of these "super-environmentalists" are young people, African Americans and Hispanics, but they tend to vote at lower rates than the rest of the population. And the tradition of exchanging gifts at the holidays often ends up creating a lot of needless consumption and environmental harm. But greener ways to show loved ones that you care abound, and the Living on Earth team is here to share their "green gift" ideas. That and more, in this installment of Living on Earth from PRI.

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Trump Climate Report, Saving Sumatran Rhinos, The Dangers of Palm Oil, and more Nov 30, 2018

Show notes

Trump Climate Change Report / Saving The Sumatran Rhino / Climate Dangers of Palm Oil / BirdNote®: Long-Lived Wisdom, The Albatross / Beyond The Headlines / New England's Stone Walls The latest National Climate Assessment brings the most serious warning yet about present and future climate impacts in the U.S. But the Trump Administration is downplaying the findings of its own agencies as it continues to pursue rollbacks of climate protection regulations. Also, with fewer than 80 Sumatran Rhinos left in the wild, a new captive breeding program is hoping to learn from the mistakes of past attempts to bolster the species' numbers. They've plummeted in large part because of habitat loss, as a booming palm oil industry in Indonesia rapidly converts tropical forest into vast monocultures. And the destruction of these tropical peatlands is also causing a sharp uptick in carbon emissions. The climate consequences of palm oil and more, in this installment of Living on Earth from PRI.

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