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One in Five Deaths from Fossil Fuels
Fine particulate matter produced from fossil fuel combustion is known to cause numerous health issues, and a recent study finds that this pollution is responsible for one in five early deaths worldwide, hitting people of color especially hard. Pediatrician Aaron Bernstein, who is the interim director of the Center for Climate, Health and the Global Environment at Harvard, joins Host Steve Curwood to discuss the implications of the research.
Redlined Real Estate and Extreme Urban Heat
In the 1930s, while the world was digging out of the Great Depression, the US government came up with a plan to rate neighborhoods based on their presumed suitability to receive home loans, with those considered riskiest outlined in red. These “redlined” neighborhoods tended to be in city centers and home to black Americans. Today as climate change exacerbates urban heat, they’re experiencing much higher temperatures than surrounding areas. Vivek Shandas is a lead author of the research and speaks with Bobby Bascomb about the unequal impacts of racist ‘redlining’ practices.
Farming While Black: A Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land
Soul Fire Farm in upstate New York is dedicated to not only growing food, but also cultivating environmental, racial and food justice. Its ten black, brown and Jewish farmers aim to dismantle racism within the food system while reconnecting people of color to the earth. Leah Penniman is the co-founder of Soul Fire Farm and joins Steve Curwood to discuss her book, Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm's Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land, and her journey as a person of color reclaiming her space in the agricultural world.
The Golden State Going Greener
California has often led the nation in environmental ambition, and now that his state finds itself with a big budget surplus Governor Gavin Newsom wants to invest $14 billion of it in climate initiatives. That would help make progress on the state’s ambitious goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2045. Jared Blumenfeld is the secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency and host of the podcast, Podship Earth, and he joins Living on Earth Host Steve Curwood to discuss offshore wind, environmental justice and more.
Backup: African Elephant and Chacma Baboon
Near dawn at a waterhole in Motobo National Park, Zimbabwe, a young elephant makes the mistake of bothering a band of baboons. Living on Earth’s Explorer-in-Residence Mark Seth Lender relives the encounter.
One Step Further: The Story of Katherine Johnson
The Living on Earth Book Club recently took a look at the children’s book, One Step Further: My Story of Math, the Moon, and a Lifelong Mission. It tells the story of Katherine Johnson, an African American woman who while living under Jim Crow in the south worked at NASA as a mathematician and helped put a man on the moon. Host Steve Curwood was joined by one of Katherine’s three daughters, Katherine Moore, who co-authored One Step Further to help share her mother's story.
Climate Departure Date
A group of scientists at the University of Hawaii have figured out a way to project when the climate at a given location will move outside the range of anything we’ve known in modern times. It’s sooner then you think.
Hummingbirds in the Canyon
Watching hummingbirds in Arizona's Madera Canyon gave Mark Seth Lender an up close view of their interactions, and a chance to take spectacular photos.
Deepwater Disaster Three Years On
Ten years ago the Deep Water Horizon oil spill poured 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Now, a team of chemists, engineers, and biologists is attempting to assess the damage to the Gulf ecosystem.
Juneteenth and African Foodways
African Americans celebrate their ancestors’ emancipation from slavery on June 19th, a holiday known as Juneteenth. On that day, families gather to picnic and cook out. The voyage from Africa isn’t often on people’s minds, but it is in their stomachs. Ike Sriskandarajah digs into the foodways that traveled the Atlantic.
Why I Wear Jordans in the Great Outdoors
Some stereotypes about who can be “outdoorsy” can leave people of color out, so environmental educator CJ Goulding actively and creatively works to encourage young people of color to feel that they belong in the outdoors, too. CJ Goulding speaks with Steve Curwood about how his Air Jordan “Bred'' 11 sneakers help him link young people of color to the great outdoors.
Farming While Black: A Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land
Soul Fire Farm in upstate New York is dedicated to not only growing food, but also cultivating environmental, racial and food justice. Its ten black, brown and Jewish farmers aim to dismantle racism within the food system while reconnecting people of color to the earth. Leah Penniman is the co-founder of Soul Fire Farm and joins Steve Curwood to discuss her book, Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm's Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land, and her journey as a person of color reclaiming her space in the agricultural world.
This Week’s Show
June 18, 2021
listen / download
Juneteenth and African Foodways
listen / download
African Americans celebrate their ancestors’ emancipation from slavery on June 19th, a holiday known as Juneteenth. On that day, families gather to picnic and cook out. The voyage from Africa isn’t often on people’s minds, but it is in their stomachs. Ike Sriskandarajah digs into the foodways that traveled the Atlantic.
One in Five Deaths from Fossil Fuels
listen / download
Fine particulate matter produced from fossil fuel combustion is known to cause numerous health issues, and a recent study finds that this pollution is responsible for one in five early deaths worldwide, hitting people of color especially hard. Pediatrician Aaron Bernstein, who is the interim director of the Center for Climate, Health and the Global Environment at Harvard, joins Host Steve Curwood to discuss the implications of the research.
Redlined Real Estate and Extreme Urban Heat
listen / download
In the 1930s, while the world was digging out of the Great Depression, the US government came up with a plan to rate neighborhoods based on their presumed suitability to receive home loans, with those considered riskiest outlined in red. These “redlined” neighborhoods tended to be in city centers and home to black Americans. Today as climate change exacerbates urban heat, they’re experiencing much higher temperatures than surrounding areas. Vivek Shandas is a lead author of the research and speaks with Bobby Bascomb about the unequal impacts of racist ‘redlining’ practices.
Why I Wear Jordans in the Great Outdoors
listen / download
Some stereotypes about who can be “outdoorsy” can leave people of color out, so environmental educator CJ Goulding actively and creatively works to encourage young people of color to feel that they belong in the outdoors, too. CJ Goulding speaks with Steve Curwood about how his Air Jordan “Bred'' 11 sneakers help him link young people of color to the great outdoors.
Farming While Black: A Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land
listen / download
Soul Fire Farm in upstate New York is dedicated to not only growing food, but also cultivating environmental, racial and food justice. Its ten black, brown and Jewish farmers aim to dismantle racism within the food system while reconnecting people of color to the earth. Leah Penniman is the co-founder of Soul Fire Farm and joins Steve Curwood to discuss her book, Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm's Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land, and her journey as a person of color reclaiming her space in the agricultural world.
Special Features
Field Note: "Backup": African Elephant & Chacma Baboon
Living on Earth's Explorer-in-Residence Mark Seth Lender has a track record of bringing back wonderful wildlife photographs, but he muses about the cost of looking through the lens, and the value in simply being present among other species.
Blog Series: Mark Seth Lender Field Notes
Field Note: “Fight Card” -- Elk at Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada
Elk are big, potentially dangerous creatures, yet they usually give numerous warnings before they charge. Living on Earth's Explorer in Residence Mark Seth Lender explains.
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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