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Hawaiian Kids Win Climate Case
Thirteen young plaintiffs who took the Hawaii Department of Transportation to court over its role in the climate crisis have won a settlement that requires the agency to fast-track public transit, new bike lanes, and electric vehicles.
New Tech Finds More Cancer Risk
New technology reveals startling levels of cancer-causing ethylene oxide gas wafting from industrial sources in Cancer Alley, Louisiana.
Environmental Justice Denial
Black residents of Cancer Alley who live next door to polluting industrial plants say they are the victims of environmental discrimination. But their attempts to seek justice through a key provision of the Civil Rights Act are being met with racist pushback.
SCOTUS Restricts Rulemaking
In a 6-3 decision the US Supreme Court struck down the longstanding Chevron deference doctrine, which allowed federal agencies to make rules relying on unclear statutes, provided their interpretation was reasonable. We parse the potentially disastrous consequences of this decision for environmental and other public protection regulations and what agencies and environmental lawyers will need to do to have a fighting chance in court.
A Vivid New View of Earth
A powerful new NASA satellite called PACE can look at the ocean and clouds to distinguish between different kinds of microscopic phytoplankton and aerosols from an orbit 400 miles up. How the technology works, its value to scientific research on climate change, and the real-time data it provides about water and air quality worldwide.
Starborn: How the Stars Made Us
Stargazing has profoundly shaped who we are as human beings, and gave rise to science, religion, and origin stories from diverse traditions. Roberto Trotta, the author of the book Starborn: How the Stars Made Us (And Who We Would Be Without Them) joins us to discuss how studying the night sky shaped science and why satellites now threaten our connection to the stars.
Presidential Debate and the Climate
At the first debate of the 2024 presidential election, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump had vastly different responses to the single question on climate change. We discuss the highlights, what was left out of the debate, and what the two presidents have done on climate and environment in their first terms.
Celebrating 30 years of Living on Earth!
Host Steve Curwood in the Living on Earth studio
Join the Living on Earth Book Club on October 13th!
Bestselling science journalist Ed Yong joins us to talk about his new book. Click here to learn more and register!
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Hawaiian Kids Win Climate Case
Thirteen young plaintiffs who took the Hawaii Department of Transportation to court over its role in the climate crisis have won a settlement that requires the agency to fast-track public transit, new bike lanes, and electric vehicles.
Environmental Justice Denial
Black residents of Cancer Alley who live next door to polluting industrial plants say they are the victims of environmental discrimination. But their attempts to seek justice through a key provision of the Civil Rights Act are being met with racist pushback.
Climate Action to Protect the Oceans
Island nations are facing a flooded future and running out of time for the world to get its climate act together. So, they turned to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and in May 2024, a court found that countries do have legal obligations to stop greenhouse gases from polluting the world’s oceans.
This Week’s Show
July 12, 2024
listen / download
Hawaiian Kids Win Climate Case
listen / download
Thirteen young plaintiffs who took the Hawaii Department of Transportation to court over its role in the climate crisis have won a settlement that requires the agency to fast-track public transit, new bike lanes, and electric vehicles.
New Tech Finds More Cancer Risk
listen / download
New technology reveals startling levels of cancer-causing ethylene oxide gas wafting from industrial sources in Cancer Alley, Louisiana.
Environmental Justice Denial
listen / download
Black residents of Cancer Alley who live next door to polluting industrial plants say they are the victims of environmental discrimination. But their attempts to seek justice through a key provision of the Civil Rights Act are being met with racist pushback.
Note on Emerging Science: Why Do Some Lizards and Snakes Have Horns?
listen / download
Snakes and lizards have independently evolved horns or spikes on their heads at least 69 times, and recent research finds evidence that horns may provide camouflage for predators that ambush their prey rather than actively chasing it.
From the History Books
listen / download
This week, we celebrate the July 12, 1817, birth of nature writer Henry David Thoreau, and the July 1850 invention of icemaking using compressed air.
Climate Action to Protect the Oceans
listen / download
Island nations are facing a flooded future and running out of time for the world to get its climate act together. So, they turned to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and in May 2024, a court found that countries do have legal obligations to stop greenhouse gases from polluting the world’s oceans.
Special Features
Field Note: "In Defense of Little Foxes"
Living on Earth Explorer-in-Residence Mark Seth Lender reflects on how experience and anthropocentrism color our perceptions of other species and how much we care about their well-being.
Blog Series: Mark Seth Lender Field Notes
Field Note: "Oh, Say Can You See?": Kingfisher on Long Island Sound
Living on Earth's Explorer in Residence Mark Seth Lender provides some context for his essay, "Oh, Say Can You See?" about a kingfisher on Long Island Sound.
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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