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Climate and Punishment
America’s aging prison facilities are largely unprepared for climate impacts and often lack air conditioning, wildfire evacuation plans, and hurricane strategies and some inmates have died from extreme heat. Journalist Alleen Brown talks about how U.S. prisons reveal the intersection of mass incarceration, systemic racism, and climate change.
Saltier Soils in a Warming World
Rising seas and temperatures are exacerbating the perennial problem of increasing salinity on both coastal and inland farmland. Journalist Fred Pearce explains how this is affecting farmers from Vietnam to Bangladesh and talks about potential solutions.
UN Climate Talks On Hot Seat
With heat waves, fires and drought raging around the world, UN climate negotiators recently gathered in Bonn, Germany to prepare for the next climate summit this fall in Egypt, but these talks are not moving as fast as climate disruption itself. Alden Meyer, a 30-year veteran of climate conferences, discusses the session, including the hot topic of financial assistance for poor nations.
Pregnancy and Heat Waves
Extreme heat events such as India and Pakistan recently endured are among the deadliest impacts of climate change, and pregnant women and fetuses are among the most vulnerable to heat stress. The risks include complications of pregnancy such as eclampsia, preterm birth and stillbirth.
Putting Coal Miners Back to Work
To help revitalize Appalachia as coal mining dries up, the United Mine Workers of America is teaming up with an electric vehicle battery company to bring the lithium-ion battery industry to West Virginia. Why unemployed coal workers and miners are looking forward to jobs in the clean energy transition.
Gotta Getta Fish!
Living on Earth's Explorer in Residence, Mark Seth Lender, shares the story of a juvenile osprey striking out on his own to find his first meal not delivered from his parents' beaks.
Solar Powered Ship
The world’s largest solar powered boat made history by circumnavigating the globe. The ship is now busy in the Atlantic collecting data about the Gulf Stream.
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.
White House Confronts Climate Deniers
Some skeptical pundits have used the recent deep cold snap to suggest that climate change isn’t real. White House Science Advisor John Holdren says not so fast.
Supreme Court Limits EPA Power
In a major 6 to 3 decision with sobering implications for climate policy, the conservative majority of the Supreme Court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency overstepped its authority when it created guidelines for how utilities generate electricity. Vermont Law School Professor Pat Parenteau discusses how the decision goes against precedent and hampers efforts to tackle climate change.
Saving the Mekong River
The Mekong River is a vital lifeline for more than 65 million people in Southeast Asia, so when a Thai man named Niwat Roykaew heard about a “rapids-blasting” project on the Mekong that would have detrimental effects on the river's health, he began to mobilize to stop the project. In 2020 the Thai government canceled part of the project and Niwat Roykaew was awarded the 2022 Goldman Prize for Asia, and he joins us to talk about his work in safeguarding the Mekong River's biodiversity.
Climate and Punishment
America’s aging prison facilities are largely unprepared for climate impacts and often lack air conditioning, wildfire evacuation plans, and hurricane strategies and some inmates have died from extreme heat. Journalist Alleen Brown talks about how U.S. prisons reveal the intersection of mass incarceration, systemic racism, and climate change.
This Week’s Show
July 1, 2022
listen / download
Supreme Court Limits EPA Power
listen / download
In a major 6 to 3 decision with sobering implications for climate policy, the conservative majority of the Supreme Court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency overstepped its authority when it created guidelines for how utilities generate electricity. Vermont Law School Professor Pat Parenteau discusses how the decision goes against precedent and hampers efforts to tackle climate change.
Beyond the Headlines
listen / download
Environmental Health News Editor Peter Dykstra and Host Steve Curwood discuss the statistic that less than 50% of our world’s annual grain production is eaten by humans, the innovative microplastic-removing “fishbots” coming out of a research group at Sichuan University, and the anniversary for the Hoover Dam, a massive source of water and hydropower approved for development 93 years ago.
Saving the Mekong River
listen / download
The Mekong River is a vital lifeline for more than 65 million people in Southeast Asia, so when a Thai man named Niwat Roykaew heard about a “rapids-blasting” project on the Mekong that would have detrimental effects on the river's health, he began to mobilize to stop the project. In 2020 the Thai government canceled part of the project and Niwat Roykaew was awarded the 2022 Goldman Prize for Asia, and he joins us to talk about his work in safeguarding the Mekong River's biodiversity.
Saltier Soils in a Warming World
listen / download
Rising seas and temperatures are exacerbating the perennial problem of increasing salinity on both coastal and inland farmland. Journalist Fred Pearce explains how this is affecting farmers from Vietnam to Bangladesh and talks about potential solutions.
Climate and Punishment
listen / download
America’s aging prison facilities are largely unprepared for climate impacts and often lack air conditioning, wildfire evacuation plans, and hurricane strategies and some inmates have died from extreme heat. Journalist Alleen Brown talks about how U.S. prisons reveal the intersection of mass incarceration, systemic racism, and climate change.
Special Features
Field Note: Gotta Getta Fish!
Living on Earth's Explorer-in-Residence Mark Seth Lender elaborates on the singular moment when a young osprey first leaves the nest.
Blog Series: Mark Seth Lender Field Notes
Field Note: "Trust" - Great Blue Heron
Living on Earth's Explorer-in-Residence muses on the importance of communication and trust between a great blue heron couple as they share equally the duties of raising their young.
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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