Living on Earth

World Media Foundation

As the planet we call home faces a climate emergency, Living on Earth is your go-to source for the latest coverage of climate change, ecology, and human health. Hosted by Steve Curwood and brought to you by PRX.

  1. -2 j

    PFAS and Our Genes, Artemis II Science and Awe, and Clearing the Air and Climate Solutions Hope

    A 2025 study found that exposure to certain PFAS chemicals, which are pervasive and persistent in the environment and human bodies, can lead to changes in gene expression that are linked to cancers, autoimmune and other immune disorders, and neurological disorders.    Also, the four astronauts of the Artemis II mission in April 2026 made new scientific observations that are helping to expand our knowledge of the Moon, as well as the Earth itself. Artemis II Lunar Science Lead Kelsey Young joins us to talk about the scientific goals and accomplishments of the mission and the unforgettable moments the crew shared with people back on Earth.   And climate solutions like renewable energy tech that requires intensive mining can run into skepticism from people across the political spectrum. But according to data scientist Hannah Ritchie, many of the concerns are based on partial- and misinformation, and the outlook for addressing the climate emergency isn’t as grim as some people may think. Ritchie is the author of Clearing the Air: A Hopeful Guide to Solving Climate Change in 50 Questions and Answers.    ---  You can help support our free public radio show and podcast, for free, by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. It’s one of the best ways to help other listeners find Living on Earth!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  2. 7 août

    A Cemetery Buzzing with Bees, Bluetooth Butterfly Tracking, How Flowers Made Our World, and more.

    While honeybees get most of the buzz, most bees don’t produce honey, and most don’t even live in colonies. Instead, they’re solitary bees who build individual nests. A study details an astonishing finding of several million solitary bees in a cemetery in Ithaca, New York. And monarch butterflies can travel thousands of miles each year between Mexico and North America in an epic relay race of multiple generations. Thanks to new technology, our phones and other Bluetooth devices can now tell us what paths these brave little insects take on this journey. Also, lush peonies, delicate hydrangeas, and vibrant roses burst into bloom in early summer, filling gardens and parks with color and fragrance. But flowers are more than their beauty. They’re some of the oldest beings on Earth, and they played a large role in shaping the natural world as we know it. Author and biologist David George Haskell joins us to discuss his 2026 book, How Flowers Made Our World: The Story of Nature’s Revolutionaries. — Find photos, transcripts, links to more information about these stories, and much more at the Living on Earth website, loe dot org! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  3. 31 juil.

    Saving the Klamath, Salmon, and Yurok Culture; Trump Attempts to Shrink Bears Ears -- Again; Hints of Life on Mars; and more.

    The culture of the Yurok tribe in Northern California is deeply intertwined with the Klamath river’s salmon. So, when toxic conditions caused by the dams on the river resulted in a massive fish kill, the Yurok people sprang into action and secured the historic removal of four dams, a story captured in The Water Remembers: My Indigenous Family’s Fight to Save a River and a Way of Life.   Also, on July 13, 2026, President Trump issued a proclamation reducing the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in southern Utah by about 90 percent, to remove almost 3 million acres from monument status. We discuss the significance of these places to several local tribes who co-manage them, and why in their view the President lacks the authority to slash monuments.   And on Mars, our planet’s rocky twin, NASA’s Perseverance Rover is seeking signs of past life, and now scientists say they may have uncovered some of the most compelling evidence yet, in the form of complex carbon molecules in Martian mudstones. That and more, next time on Living on Earth from PRX. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  4. 24 juil.

    Climate Change Speeding Up, Smog and Sunshine – CA’s Cleaner Air, and more.

    Current climate change has been well underway for decades, but the rate of that change is now going up so fast that people are noticing things like tornados and extreme heat waves are occurring in places where they have rarely been seen before. How greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, the loss of reflective ice and snow, and other changes are causing the Earth to retain extra heat energy from the Sun.   Also, decades ago, the Los Angeles basin was often cloaked in a thick blanket of choking smog, but today the skies are comparatively clear. This striking improvement was no accident and is a testament to how scientists, government, and engaged citizens can work together to solve difficult environmental problems. UCLA Environmental Law Professor Ann Carlson reflects on that success as described in her 2026 book, Smog and Sunshine: The Surprising Story of How Los Angeles Cleaned Up Its Air.   And one of the national parks you might visit this summer, or any time of year is Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Colorado, with the tallest dunes in North America. That’s where Living on Earth Explorer in Residence Mark Seth Lender watched the landscape and a local herd of elk as weather came in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  5. 17 juil.

    Extreme Heat and Tooth Decay, The Problem with Plastic, National Parks Magic and more.

    The extreme heat that’s becoming far more common in a warming world is now being linked to dental problems. As the body prioritizes sweat for cooling over saliva production, the resulting dry mouth can have devastating impacts on your teeth, and a dentist in Pakistan is documenting a tooth decay trend among his patients who work outdoors in the heat for prolonged periods. Also, cheap and convenient plastic products are everywhere you turn, and the microplastics they break down to are now in our water, soil, air, and deep inside our bodies. Joining us to discuss her 2025 book The Problem with Plastic: How We Can Save Ourselves and Our Planet Before It’s Too Late is Judith Enck, a former EPA Regional Administrator and the founder and President of the advocacy group Beyond Plastics.   Plus -- it’s peak summer travel season, and for many people traveling in the US that means a visit to a national park or monument. After all, "America's crown jewels” are ideal places to disconnect and reconnect with nature and our shared history. Will Shafroth, recently retired CEO of the National Park Foundation, takes a virtual road trip of sorts with us to share the magic of the national parks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  6. 10 juil.

    Antarctic Ice Missing, Arctic Peatlands Expanding, Nuts to Feed the World and more

    Midsummer in the Northern hemisphere marks the dead of winter in Antarctica, usually a time when temperatures plunge and the surrounding ocean ices over, nearly doubling the continent’s size. But this June, scientists found Antarctica’s west coast was missing a chunk of sea ice the size of France. How unusually warm ocean water is affecting sea ice as well as massive Antarctic glaciers. Also, recent findings that peatlands are expanding northward as the Arctic warms might sound like good news, since peat has powerful carbon storage capabilities. But it takes millennia for peat to sequester large amounts of carbon, while we are burning fossil fuels far more quickly than the Earth can absorb. And much of the world’s staple crops of corn, wheat, rice and soy are grown in huge monocultures that disrupt ecosystems and require massive amounts of fertilizer, pesticides, fossil fuels and water. The author of ‘Feed Us with Trees: Nuts and the Future of Food’ offers a more sustainable vision of food production. She shares how nut trees can offer alternative sources of starch, protein and healthy fats that integrate well into local ecosystems and can help feed a growing population. -- Don’t miss the next virtual Living on Earth Book Club event on Tuesday, July 14 at 5 pm PDT / 8 pm EDT! We’ll talk with Yurok activist and attorney Amy Bowers Cordalis about how multiple generations of her family have advocated for the protection of Northern California’s Klamath River, a crucial habitat for salmon and the lifeblood of the Yurok tribe. Her book is The Water Remembers: My Indigenous Family’s Fight to Save a River and a Way of Life. You can sign up for this free event at loe.org/events. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  7. 3 juil.

    America’s Enduring Ecology: Forests, Public Lands, and more

    As we mark America’s 250th birthday, we celebrate parts of America’s enduring ecology, including our forests, national parks and other public lands. At the heart of one of Washington State’s most expansive wild ecosystems is North Cascades National Park, just a three-hour drive from Seattle yet one of the lesser-known parks.   Also, around 30% of the United States is federal public lands, and the biggest chunk or 245 million acres falls under the purview of the Bureau of Land Management. BLM lands are sometimes called “leftover” or “forgotten” lands, but they offer free or very cheap camping and feature a stark beauty that captivated writer and photographer Josh Jackson, author of the 2025 book, ‘The Enduring Wild: A Journey into California’s Public Lands.’   And when European colonists landed in North America, some of the most dramatic changes they made were to our forests. Clearcutting ran rampant, but now, on the 250th birthday of the United States, much of our forests have recovered, particularly in the Northeast. And today, maintaining our forests is vital for mitigating the effects of climate change. -- Sign up for the next virtual Living on Earth Book Club event on July 14 at 5 pm PDT / 8 pm EDT! We’ll talk with Yurok activist and attorney Amy Bowers Cordalis about how multiple generations of her family have advocated for the protection of Northern California’s Klamath River, a crucial habitat for salmon and the lifeblood of the Yurok tribe. Her book is The Water Remembers: My Indigenous Family’s Fight to Save a River and a Way of Life. You can sign up for this free event at loe.org/events. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  8. 26 juin

    When the Forest Breathes with Suzanne Simard, Ocean Monitoring Restored, Fighting Fracking in Colombia and more.

    Forest ecologist Suzanne Simard has shown through her research that the biggest and oldest ‘Mother Trees’ in the forest anchor networks of social connection among the trees, and indeed the whole forest ecosystem. Her latest book is When the Forest Breathes: Renewal and Resilience in the Natural World, and she shares how more sustainable logging practices incorporating Indigenous knowledge can help heal decades of clearcutting harm.   Also, after announcing at the end of May it was dismantling the Ocean Observatories Initiative, the National Science Foundation faced widespread public criticism and the Senate passed a bipartisan measure to preserve the vital ocean monitoring network. NSF then reversed its decision and says an array that was already being removed will be redeployed. We discuss this reprieve for climate and ocean science.   And our sixth and final installment of interviews with the 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize winners features Latin American winner Yuvelis Morales Blanco, honored for fighting against fracking in Colombia and forced to flee after receiving death threats. The recent presidential elections in Colombia put fracking back on the table, after four years of an administration that signaled a desire to transition away from fossil fuels.   --   Sign up for the next virtual Living on Earth Book Club event on July 14 at 5 pm PDT / 8 pm EDT! We’ll talk with Yurok activist and attorney Amy Bowers Cordalis about how multiple generations of her family have advocated for the protection of Northern California’s Klamath River, a crucial habitat for salmon and the lifeblood of the Yurok tribe. Her book is The Water Remembers: My Indigenous Family’s Fight to Save a River and a Way of Life. You can sign up for this free event at loe.org/events.   Music from public domain and licensed from Blue Dot Sessions: sessions.blue Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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As the planet we call home faces a climate emergency, Living on Earth is your go-to source for the latest coverage of climate change, ecology, and human health. Hosted by Steve Curwood and brought to you by PRX.

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  • Création
    World Media Foundation
  • Années d’activité
    2005 - 2026
  • Épisodes
    1,3 k
  • Classification
    Tous publics
  • Copyright
    ℗ & © 2021 World Media Foundation
  • Site web de l’émission
    Living on Earth

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