The Economic Value of the National Parks
The National Parks have been famously called “America’s Best Idea,” but they may also be “America’s Best Investment”, thanks to the valuable services they provide such as recreation, carbon storage, and educational programs. In the new book "Valuing U.S. National Parks and Programs," John Loomis and Linda Bilmes attempt to sum up the vast value of the National Parks. Linda Bilmes teaches Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, and joins Steve Curwood in the Living on Earth studios.
Arctic Fox Hunting
Living on Earth's Explorer in Residence Mark Seth Lender reflects on the resilient attitude Arctic Foxes display in the cold North Pole environment.
The 2019 Fat Bear Week Champion
The 2019 Alaskan fat bear tournament is over and we have a winner! Fat Bear Week is a yearly competition organized by Katmai National Park and Preserve in southern Alaska to honor the fattest brown bear, since a fat bear has a better chance of staying healthy through the long winter months. Katmai Media Ranger Naomi Boak joined Bobby Bascomb to name this year’s corpulent champion.
Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast
More people than ever before now believe climate change is happening and is fueled by human activities, but translating that belief into actual greenhouse gas emissions reductions remains a challenge. Jonathan Safran Foer addresses this and more in his new book, We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast. He describes the power of collective actions to deal with the climate crisis, and points to our three meals a day as a great place to start. Jonathan Foer spoke with Steve Curwood at a recent live event in Boston.
Fat Bear Week!
Some people play fantasy football to unwind, some participate in March Madness, and others vote in Fat Bear Week. Organized by the Katmai National Park and Preserve in southern Alaska, Fat Bear Week is a yearly competition that invites the public to choose and celebrate the fattest among the brown bears that feast on salmon before hibernation. Katmai Natl Park Media Ranger Naomi Boak joined Bobby Bascomb to talk about why a fat bear is a healthy bear and how to join the fun.
Container Farming in the City
Modern industrial agriculture is a resource-intensive endeavor, requiring massive amounts of land, water, and energy. Some urban farmers are thinking outside the box by bringing their farms inside the box in the form of shipping containers. Living on Earth's Jay Feinstein and Aynsley O'Neill took a trip to Corner Stalk Farms, in East Boston, Massachusetts to find out more.
Nicaraguan Canal
The first ships sailed down the Panama Canal in 1914. Now, nearly one hundred years later, Nicaragua has an agreement with a Chinese company to build a canal of its own to link the Pacific and Atlantic. (photo: Tim Rogers)
Prairie Rattlesnake
A few months ago writer Mark Seth Lender met his first Prairie Rattlesnake up close and personal, and found the snake fascinating, and though venomous, not a threat.
Romance and Spring Harvest At Paradise Lot
For most gardeners, springtime means a few seedlings on a window sill. But for perennial gardeners spring is a time of harvest. The new book, Paradise Lot, is a personal and heartwarming account of finding romance and growing a permaculture food forest on a degraded backyard plot in a gritty neighborhood of Holyoke, MA.
10,000 Farmers Want a Green New Deal
A bipartisan coalition of over 10,000 farmers and ranchers from across the United States has signed on to a letter that urges Congress to support a Green New Deal. They’re asking for a massive overhaul of food and farming policy in order to address the climate crisis while providing economic security for independent family farms. Ronnie Cummins is a co-founder of Regeneration International, and an organizer of U.S. Farmers & Ranchers For a Green New Deal, and joins Jenni Doering to discuss.
The Economic Value of the National Parks
The National Parks have been famously called “America’s Best Idea,” but they may also be “America’s Best Investment”, thanks to the valuable services they provide such as recreation, carbon storage, and educational programs. In the new book "Valuing U.S. National Parks and Programs," John Loomis and Linda Bilmes attempt to sum up the vast value of the National Parks. Linda Bilmes teaches Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, and joins Steve Curwood in the Living on Earth studios.
Exploring the Parks: Great Smoky Mountains
The latest in Living on Earth’s series on public lands takes us to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which straddles the mountains of Eastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina. Jeremy Markovich, writer for Our State magazine and host of a podcast called Away Message, shares his segment on finding the most remote spot in the Great Smoky Mountains and chats with Host Steve Curwood about his time in one of the most biodiverse places in the United States.
This Week’s Show
October 18, 2019
listen / download
10,000 Farmers Want a Green New Deal
listen / download
A bipartisan coalition of over 10,000 farmers and ranchers from across the United States has signed on to a letter that urges Congress to support a Green New Deal. They’re asking for a massive overhaul of food and farming policy in order to address the climate crisis while providing economic security for independent family farms. Ronnie Cummins is a co-founder of Regeneration International, and an organizer of U.S. Farmers & Ranchers For a Green New Deal, and joins Jenni Doering to discuss.
BirdNote®: Who Likes Suet?
listen / download
If you’re looking to feed the birds, seeds aren’t the only snacks you can offer. There’s also suet, a type of fat that comes from cows and sheep and is packed with energy. BirdNote’s Mary McCann has more about which birds like suet best.
Beyond the Headlines
listen / download
This week, Peter Dykstra and Jenni Doering kick off the segment with a call for scientists to receive support in dealing with the grief of ecological loss. They also discuss the mounting pressure to take down four lower Snake River dams which have contributed to the steep decline of salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest. And in the history calendar, they look back to a victory in what some say was the first environmental justice battle.
The Economic Value of the National Parks
listen / download
The National Parks have been famously called “America’s Best Idea,” but they may also be “America’s Best Investment”, thanks to the valuable services they provide such as recreation, carbon storage, and educational programs. In the new book "Valuing U.S. National Parks and Programs," John Loomis and Linda Bilmes attempt to sum up the vast value of the National Parks. Linda Bilmes teaches Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, and joins Steve Curwood in the Living on Earth studios.
Exploring the Parks: Great Smoky Mountains
listen / download
The latest in Living on Earth’s series on public lands takes us to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which straddles the mountains of Eastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina. Jeremy Markovich, writer for Our State magazine and host of a podcast called Away Message, shares his segment on finding the most remote spot in the Great Smoky Mountains and chats with Host Steve Curwood about his time in one of the most biodiverse places in the United States.
Arctic Fox Hunting
listen / download
Living on Earth's Explorer in Residence Mark Seth Lender reflects on the resilient attitude Arctic Foxes display in the cold North Pole environment.
Special Features
Field Note: Arctic Fox Hunting
Living on Earth’s Explorer in Residence Mark Seth Lender reflects on his experience of watching an Arctic fox on the hunt.
Blog Series: Mark Seth Lender Field Notes
Free Event -- The Outlaw Ocean: Journeys Across the Last Untamed Frontier with LOE
This "Good Reads on Earth" event brings you a conversation with best-selling investigative reporter Ian Urbina about his new book, "The Outlaw Ocean: Journeys Across the Last Untamed Frontier."
Blog Series: LOE events
Part 1/5: “Pa’lante”: Puerto Rican Resilience After Maria
listen / download
Hurricane Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017, taking roughly 3,000 lives. Many died not from the storm itself but from morbidity linked to such causes as treatable infections, unsafe water and accidental electrocution. But as Living on Earth’s Bobby Bascomb reports, some communities are looking at Hurricane Maria as a call to be more resilient the next time around.
Blog Series: Our 5-part series: Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico
The LOE Newsletter
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...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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