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Redwood Rebirth After Fire
Nearly all the tall coast redwoods in California’s Big Basin Redwoods State Park burned in a 2020 wildfire. But within a few months the charred trunks had grown a fuzz of healthy green shoots. A paper documents how the trees were able to regenerate using energy reserves stored for many decades.
Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of Our Planet
The many millions of miles of roads that crisscross our planet block everything from bears to beetles from safely moving through habitats. But new wildlife crossings like overpasses and underpasses are helping reconnect animals with the landscape.
Wildfires Bring 'Climate Trauma'
Wildfires like those hitting southern California take an enormous social and psychological toll on victims and observers alike. We hear how people and communities can heal from the ‘climate trauma’ brought by wildfires and other disasters linked to the climate crisis.
States Fight Plastics Crisis in Court
With a global plastics treaty delayed and federal action to stem the plastics crisis unlikely in the near future, states and cities are turning to the courts for remedies. We explain the potential impact of these lawsuits against fossil fuel companies and beverage makers.
Jimmy Carter's Green Legacy
The Carter Presidency left a legacy of environmental action, ranging from major habitat protection to trying to address the then largely unrecognized threat of fossil fuels to climate stability. Gus Speth chaired the White House Council on Environmental Quality under Jimmy Carter and joins us to recall pivotal moments and ponder what might have been if the solar-panel-loving President had won a second term.
New Climate Champion in Congress
Freshman U.S. Representative Yassamin Ansari, a Democrat representing Arizona’s 3rd district, puts climate at the top of her priority list. She joins Host Steve Curwood to reflect on her work with the UN on the Paris Climate Accord, discuss how extreme heat is affecting her constituents, and preview her climate aims in Congress.
Montana Climate Win
In a landmark 6 to 1 decision, the Montana State Supreme Court upheld a ruling that found young people, and by extension all people in Montana, have a constitutional right to a livable climate that state officials can’t ignore. Vermont Law and Graduate School Emeritus Professor Pat Parenteau explains to Host Steve Curwood how the plaintiffs presented their case and how the ruling could guide litigation in other states.
Celebrating 30 years of Living on Earth!
Host Steve Curwood in the Living on Earth studio
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Green Light for State Climate Cases
Facing huge costs for climate adaptation and disaster recovery, some states and localities are suing fossil fuel companies for damages. The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined an attempt to block these lawsuits, and we explain the significance of some of them proceeding to trial.
Redwood Rebirth After Fire
Nearly all the tall coast redwoods in California’s Big Basin Redwoods State Park burned in a 2020 wildfire. But within a few months the charred trunks had grown a fuzz of healthy green shoots. A paper documents how the trees were able to regenerate using energy reserves stored for many decades.
Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of Our Planet
The many millions of miles of roads that crisscross our planet block everything from bears to beetles from safely moving through habitats. But new wildlife crossings like overpasses and underpasses are helping reconnect animals with the landscape.
This Week’s Show
January 17, 2025
listen / download
Green Light for State Climate Cases
listen / download
Facing huge costs for climate adaptation and disaster recovery, some states and localities are suing fossil fuel companies for damages. The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined an attempt to block these lawsuits, and we explain the significance of some of them proceeding to trial.
Redwood Rebirth After Fire
listen / download
Nearly all the tall coast redwoods in California’s Big Basin Redwoods State Park burned in a 2020 wildfire. But within a few months the charred trunks had grown a fuzz of healthy green shoots. A paper documents how the trees were able to regenerate using energy reserves stored for many decades.
La Niña and El Niño Dance
listen / download
With the recent appearance of a flip from an El Niño back to a weak La Niña climate pattern, we discuss what it could mean for U.S. and world weather patterns, as well as how the El Niño / La Niña oscillation is changing in the era of climate disruption.
BirdNote®: Waxwing Nightlight
listen / download
Waxwings were once believed to glow in the dark, and Pliny the Elder reported that their feathers were said to “shine like flames” in the dark forests of central Europe. That is, until one sixteenth-century Italian birder decided to take a closer look, says BirdNote®’s Mary McCann.
Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of Our Planet
listen / download
The many millions of miles of roads that crisscross our planet block everything from bears to beetles from safely moving through habitats. But new wildlife crossings like overpasses and underpasses are helping reconnect animals with the landscape.
Special Features
Field Note: "Seal Island"
Living on Earth’s Explorer in Residence, Mark Seth Lender reflects on the military history of Seal Island in the Main Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge.
Blog Series: Mark Seth Lender Field Notes
Field Note: Eagle!
Rise early in the morning and head out to a nearby national wildlife refuge, and you’ve got a good shot of being rewarded with the sights and sounds of all kinds of birds. And on this birdwatching trip, you might be watched back.
Blog Series: Mark Seth Lender Field Notes
...Ultimately, if we are going prevent large parts of this Earth from becoming not only inhospitable but uninhabitable in our lifetimes, we are going to have to keep some fossil fuels in the ground rather than burn them...
-- President Barack Obama, November 6, 2015 on why he declined to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline.
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