Trees On the Move
The big old oak in your backyard might be solidly planted in place, but its acorns can travel. New research in the Eastern US finds that, as the planet warms, seeds of broadleaf trees including maples and oaks are heading West of their historical ranges, while pines and other evergreens are heading North.
The Hidden Life of Trees
Forests contain much, much more than meets the eye: within the roots of trees are active brain-like processes, and trees are capable of communication and learning. And for one German forester, uncovering the unseen and unsung linkages between trees is also a way to repair the fraught relationship between humans and the forest.
The Place Where You Live: Bear Creek, WI and St. Paul, MN
Living on Earth gives a voice to Orion magazine’s longtime feature, The Place Where You live. This week, photographer and landscape architect Regina Flanagan celebrates the special trees that humans have chosen to keep and care for in both town and country. A single white oak in a hayfield on her family’s farm in whose shade she and her father ate lunch inspired her childhood adventures and her photography.
Greening the Military
Deploying renewable energy helps the U.S. military function better, and saves the lives of soldiers, says Jim Goudreau, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy. He discusses how green technologies such as 'solar blankets' and hybrid vehicles have improved operations within the Marine Corps and the Navy.
Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right
A California sociologist ventured out of her liberal bubble to try to grasp why some conservatives reject government regulations in Louisiana, even as industry pollution persists - largely unchecked - for years. Arlie Russell Hochschild, author of the book Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right, discusses what she found in economically-depressed rural Louisiana.
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The Telescope in the Ice: The Hunt for the Ghost Particle
One of the world’s most sensitive telescopes is buried deep in Antarctic ice, searching for evidence of elusive neutrinos, tiny, subatomic particles. A new book chronicles the decades-long project to build the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, which has the ability to spot where neutrinos came from – making it a powerful new tool for understanding many mysteries of the universe.
Migrations Off Schedule
The monarch butterflies are late, the wildebeest have turned around, and the North Atlantic right whales are missing. What’s going on with the world’s great animal migrations?
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Russia Nixes Antarctic Marine Reserve
Negotiators from 25 countries met in Germany recently in a bid to create a massive marine reserve in the seas around Antarctica. But at the last minute, Russia backed out of the deal.
Ancient Underwater Forest in the Gulf of Mexico
Sixty feet beneath the water off the coast of Alabama is a forest of cypress trees that is more than 50,000 years old.
Flying Insects Crash
The disappearance of many bees and butterflies has concerned scientists and the public for years, and now a new study from Germany confirms that the abundance of all flying insects has dropped over 75% since 1989. Scientists say the problem is so serious it could lead to an “ecological Armageddon.”
Trees On the Move
The big old oak in your backyard might be solidly planted in place, but its acorns can travel. New research in the Eastern US finds that, as the planet warms, seeds of broadleaf trees including maples and oaks are heading West of their historical ranges, while pines and other evergreens are heading North.
The Hidden Life of Trees
Forests contain much, much more than meets the eye: within the roots of trees are active brain-like processes, and trees are capable of communication and learning. And for one German forester, uncovering the unseen and unsung linkages between trees is also a way to repair the fraught relationship between humans and the forest.
This Week’s Show
August 17, 2018
listen / download
Flying Insects Crash
listen / download
The disappearance of many bees and butterflies has concerned scientists and the public for years, and now a new study from Germany confirms that the abundance of all flying insects has dropped over 75% since 1989. Scientists say the problem is so serious it could lead to an “ecological Armageddon.”
Emerging Science Note: Brazilian Peppertree
listen / download
The Brazilian Peppertree is considered an invasive nuisance in the American South, but Emory University researchers have isolated a compound from the tree’s berries that appears to fight the superbug MRSA, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
Trees On the Move
listen / download
The big old oak in your backyard might be solidly planted in place, but its acorns can travel. New research in the Eastern US finds that, as the planet warms, seeds of broadleaf trees including maples and oaks are heading West of their historical ranges, while pines and other evergreens are heading North.
The Early Bird Breeds Fast
listen / download
The early bird, the proverb says, catches the worm. But new research suggests that for many migrating birds in Western Pennsylvania, the changing climate means that they are arriving and breeding earlier so they don’t miss the insects their nestlings need. And some birds are adapting well and thriving, while others are producing fewer chicks.
Baby Tern Goes Exploring
listen / download
On Falkner Island off the coast of Connecticut, new common and roseate tern parents can raise their offspring in peace, thanks to the protection of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. But as our Resident Explorer Mark Seth Lender describes, one adventurous baby tern gives his anxious parents a fright as he sets out to dip his little feet into the ocean.
The Hidden Life of Trees
listen / download
Forests contain much, much more than meets the eye: within the roots of trees are active brain-like processes, and trees are capable of communication and learning. And for one German forester, uncovering the unseen and unsung linkages between trees is also a way to repair the fraught relationship between humans and the forest.
The Place Where You Live: Bear Creek, WI and St. Paul, MN
listen / download
Living on Earth gives a voice to Orion magazine’s longtime feature, The Place Where You live. This week, photographer and landscape architect Regina Flanagan celebrates the special trees that humans have chosen to keep and care for in both town and country. A single white oak in a hayfield on her family’s farm in whose shade she and her father ate lunch inspired her childhood adventures and her photography.
Special Features
What the Osprey Overheard
listen / download
As new osprey parents feed and care for their young, even the faintest of sounds – like a distant plane – seem a threat to the youngsters. Living on Earth’s resident explorer Mark Seth Lender watches as the ospreys keep a watchful eye, and ear, on their surroundings, and muses on how loud our anthropogenic world must be to them.
Blog Series: Mark Seth Lender Field Notes
Field Note: Fishing Line Endangers Birds
Living on Earth's Explorer in Residence, Mark Seth Lender, reflects on his tangle with a tern and fishing line on the 4th of July.
Blog Series: Mark Seth Lender Field Notes
Lawmakers Call for Pruitt to Resign
listen / download
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is under heavy fire for alleged legal and ethical violations, and a record number of lawmakers say "enough is enough." Some 140 House members and 39 senators, all caucusing with Democrats, have signed on to a non-binding resolution introduced by Representative Kathy Castor of Florida and Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico calling for Mr. Pruitt’s resignation. Senator Tom Udall discusses with host Steve Curwood Pruitt's ethical red flags that have recently come to light, and the EPA rollbacks the Senator says are harmful to human health.
Blog Series: LOE Updates
...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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