Living on Earth

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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.

  1. 1 DAY AGO

    Glyphosate at the Supreme Court, How Oil Fuels Conflict, The Indigenous Fight to Save Bristol Bay, and more.

    The US Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments for Monsanto v. Durnell, a case about whether states can require warning labels on pesticides if the EPA does not. This stems from thousands of lawsuits against Roundup maker Monsanto, alleging that farmers and landscapers who developed cancer weren’t warned of the risks. Though the World Health organization has classified glyphosate, the key ingredient in Roundup, as “probably carcinogenic”, the EPA has not found glyphosate can cause cancer.   Also, the US-Israel joint war against Iran has shaken global energy markets, closed the Strait of Hormuz and restricted the flow of oil and natural gas worldwide. It's the latest of conflicts over Iranian oil, though for the first time the growing emergence of fossil free energy sources is prompting visions of ending our decades of dependence on oil, with its pollution and inevitable wars.   And in 2001, a Canadian mining company proposed a massive gold and copper mine at the headwaters of pristine Bristol Bay, Alaska. Local Native Alaskans became concerned about how the mine could harm their plentiful sockeye salmon run, a cultural and economic lifeblood. Alannah Acaq Hurley, Executive Director of the United Tribes of Bristol Bay, helped lead the fight against the mine and was awarded the 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize for North America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    52 min

  2. 24 APR

    Boundary Waters Mining Threat, Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism, and Community-Led Wildfire Prevention in Africa.

    The US Senate recently voted to reverse a moratorium on mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota, a million acres on the US-Canada border that’s teeming with wildlife and crystal-clear waters. The region is also rich in valuable copper, nickel, and cobalt, but Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) says mining in the same watershed as the Boundary Waters poses unacceptable risks.   Also, while electrifying transportation is essential to addressing the climate crisis, the mining of nickel, copper, and lithium required to build out these green technologies brings its own environmental and social costs. To understand these impacts, author and political scientist Thea Riofrancos traveled to the Atacama Desert in Chile, home to one of the largest lithium reserves in the world. She discusses her book, Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism.   And Nigerian conservation ecologist Iroro Tanshi rediscovered the short-tailed roundleaf bat in 2016, after decades when it was believed extinct in the region. The species is still critically endangered, with habitat loss from wildfires as one of its top threats. So Iroro joined with local groups to start a community-led program to develop safer field burning practices and wildfire fighting strategies, and she is the recipient of the 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize for Africa.   ---   Did you miss our online event with Dr. Hannah Ritchie and Host Steve Curwood discussing Clearing the Air? You can watch the full recording on our website at loe.org/events! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    52 min

  3. 17 APR

    Earth Day – 1970 vs Now, Artemis II Science and Awe, and Clearing the Air and Climate Solutions Hope

    The first Earth Day in 1970, when some 20 million people peacefully demonstrated, arrived amid Vietnam War protests and other social unrest. And it came not long after the Apollo 8 astronauts snapped the iconic “Earthrise” photo that showed all of us were on a single, fragile planet amid the blackness of space. In this moment when humans have finally returned to the Moon after decades, we reflect on the movement that led to that first Earth Day and how the world has changed.   Also, the four astronauts of the Artemis II mission that safely splashed down on April 10 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. --- Did you miss our online event with Dr. Hannah Ritchie and Host Steve Curwood discussing Clearing the Air? You can watch the full recording on our website at loe.org/events! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    52 min

  4. 10 APR

    Floating Border Wall, Climate Coverage Dropoff, “Night Owl” – Poems, and more.

    About two thirds of the US-Mexico border is along the Rio Grande, and the Trump Administration is working to install hundreds of miles of buoy barriers in the river. Now residents of border towns are raising the alarm over how these buoys could impact wildlife, restrict access to the river and sever cultural ties.   Also, news media outlets are retreating from covering climate change, according to the Media and Climate Change Observatory at the University of Colorado Boulder, which has been tracking this trend for decades. They report that since a peak in 2021, climate news stories across the globe have dropped nearly 40 percent.   And the poems in Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s new book Night Owl offer a window into the magic of nature at night and a light in the darkness. She shares selected poems from the collection and talks about how poetry can help us grapple with ecological loss and celebrate natural wonders alike.   ---   Interested in gaining hands-on experience with producing a radio show and podcast? Apply to be a Living on Earth intern this summer! We’re now accepting applications and to learn more, go to loe.org/about. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    52 min

  5. 3 APR

    Colonizing the Moon, Trump Waives Endangered Species Protections, and A Citizen Science Bioblitz.

    The astronauts of the Artemis II mission are prospecting for a planned base on the moon, the first lunar expedition since 1972. The crew includes the first woman, the first person of color, and first Canadian to travel to the Moon. Danny Olivas, an engineer and retired NASA astronaut, talks about the mission objectives and challenges, why it faced delays and what sets the Artemis program apart from the Apollo visits to the moon of more than 50 years ago.   Also, a panel known as the “God Squad”, consisting mostly of Trump cabinet members, recently voted to exempt the oil and gas industry operating in the Gulf of Mexico from the Endangered Species Act. If courts do not intervene, this decision would waive the standard ESA requirements to protect endangered species including the Rice’s whale, of which there are only a few dozen left.   And the City Nature Challenge is an international contest known as a bioblitz: a brief, intensive survey of biological diversity over a set area and time. A few years back we met up with the Boston BioBlitz Initiative for Girls during a trip to Thompson Island in Boston Harbor, where a group of teens practiced their observational skills for the competition. And you can participate in this year’s bioblitz.   ---   Interested in in gaining hands-on experience with producing a radio show and podcast? Apply to be a Living on Earth intern this summer! We’re now accepting applications and to learn more, go to loe.org/about. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    52 min

  6. 27 MAR

    Climate Resilience Grants Resume, The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything, and A Woolly Rhino DNA Discovery

    A federal judge recently issued an enforcement order mandating the release of funds from FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities or BRIC program, which the Trump administration had stalled. Why money spent to protect critical infrastructure from disasters like storms, floods and wildfires pays for itself many times over.   Also, over billions of years of its history, the planet has frozen over almost completely and then lost all its ice as crocodiles basked in a balmy Arctic. Carbon-based life arose and adapted to all this change. And at the center of it all is the notorious greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, the focus of the book The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything: How Carbon Dioxide Made Our World.   And a recent discovery is giving us insights into the last days of the woolly rhinoceros in Siberia before it went extinct some 14,000 years ago. Researchers studied the DNA of a well-preserved piece of woolly rhino meat that was the last meal of a wolf pup. --- Interested in in gaining hands-on experience with producing a radio show and podcast? Apply to be a Living on Earth intern this summer! We’re now accepting applications and to learn more, go to loe.org/about. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    52 min

  7. 20 MAR

    Vanguard Retreats from ESG, Running Free from Pricey Gas—EVs, A Vision of a Wind-Powered Venezuela and more.

    The investment giant Vanguard is retreating from its climate initiatives as part of a $30 million settlement deal for an anti-trust lawsuit brought by Republican state attorneys general. The lawsuit alleged that Vanguard and fellow asset managers BlackRock and State Street, which are still fighting the suit, conspired to kill the coal industry. Vanguard did not admit to wrongdoing but is now barred from participating in climate investment watchdog groups such as Ceres.   Also, facing pain at the pump, US drivers looking to buy an electric vehicle now have more and cheaper choices than ever. But with the $7500 federal tax credit for new electric vehicles now gone, you may be wondering whether EVs are the smart buy in 2026. We share some insights about EV options, cost and the charging network.   And since the US capture of President Nicolás Maduro in early January, there has been a lot of discussion about Venezuela’s massive oil reserves. But it also turns out that Venezuela is ideally positioned to harness abundant clean, renewable energy, particularly from wind. We map out this blue-sky vision for a green Venezuela. --- Join LOE and Inside Climate News for the next Living on Earth Book Club event on Thursday, March 26th! We’ll talk with data scientist Hannah Ritchie about her new book Clearing the Air: A Hopeful Guide to Solving Climate Change in 50 Questions and Answers. Learn more and sign up for this free, live online event at loe.org/events Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    52 min

  8. 13 MAR

    Fires and Logging Justice, Back to the Moon, Pioneering Women in Science and more.

    A decades-old US Forest Service rule that’s been used to supposedly reduce wildfire risk through large-scale logging while bypassing environmental review has been deemed unlawful by a federal court in Oregon. Clearcutting can instead increase wildfire risk, and our guest says USFS needs to rethink its entire approach to managing forests and wildfire risk.   Also, the Artemis II mission is getting ready to use the most powerful rocket ever built by NASA to return to the moon for the first time since the original Apollo missions more than 50 years ago. How declining public support shut down the Apollo program, and why NASA again faces headwinds in maintaining the public’s interest in space exploration.   And women have historically been underrepresented in science and engineering, but that didn’t stop Marie Curie, Jane Goodall, and Rachel Carson, and there are many more women in these fields who are not as famous. Artist and author Rachel Ignotofsky shares the contributions of some of the remarkable female scientists she profiles in her book, Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World.   ---   Join LOE and Inside Climate News for the next Living on Earth Book Club event on Thursday, March 26th! We’ll talk with data scientist Hannah Ritchie about her new book Clearing the Air: A Hopeful Guide to Solving Climate Change in 50 Questions and Answers. Learn more and sign up for this free, live online event at loe.org/events. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    52 min
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About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    World Media Foundation
  • Years Active
    2005 - 2026
  • Episodes
    1.3k
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    ℗ & © 2021 World Media Foundation
  • Show Website
    Living on Earth

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