Living on Earth

Wildfire smoke is fouling air quality across the US with increasing regularity, and it carries a heavy toll. A September 2025 study published in the journal Nature found that every year around 40,000 Americans are dying from wildfire smoke, with more on the way as the planet warms. Air filters, face masks and low-intensity prescribed burning can help protect the public from this growing threat. Also, around a third of the firefighters who battle wildfires in California are incarcerated, and until recently they were paid just $5 to $10 a day. Under a state law enacted in October 2025, incarcerated firefighters are now paid at least $7.25 per hour while actively fighting fires. And around the world, Indigenous people have been using fire on the landscape for thousands of years. One such practice comes from the Métis tradition in Western Canada. A Cree-Métis scientist shares with us how this low-intensity “good fire” helps rekindle cultural traditions and cultivate healthier ecosystems.  --- Do you have a story of recovery or rethinking your relationship with wildfire you’d like to share? Record and send us a voice memo at comments@loe.org, and we might feature your story on Living on Earth. To find out how, check out this week’s Living on Earth newsletter. Just go to the Newsletter tab at loe.org and click on “View previous newsletters.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the host of this year’s UN climate treaty negotiations and home to most of the Amazon tropical rainforest, Brazil led a major advance for forests and their indigenous inhabitants. The new $125 billion fund, with guarantees for investors, will send its profits to countries with documented forest preservation, including some cash going directly to indigenous and local populations.  Also, we now know about the severe health impacts of tiny airborne particles or PM2.5, thanks in large part to the groundbreaking “Six Cities” study that started in the 1970s. The leaders of that team were Doug Dockery and Arden Pope, and they’re co-authors of the 2025 book, Particles of Truth: A Story of Discovery, Controversy, and the Fight for Healthy Air. And members of the Living on Earth crew share a few laughs and our favorite Thanksgiving recipes, from pumpkin soup to chouriço stuffing to desserts made with leftover pie crust. ---  If you or someone you know might be interested in a Living on Earth internship, this is “last call” to apply for Spring 2026 by Wednesday, November 26th! Learn more at loe.org/about/jobs  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

November’s elections brought victories across the country for state and local Democratic candidates who pledged to address rising energy costs. The challenges of meeting those promises the incoming Governors of Virginia and New Jersey, and Mayor of New York, will likely face. Also, a recent report warns that the European Alps, Rockies of the Western U.S. and Canada, Iceland, and Scandinavia would lose nearly all ice at 2°Celsius of warming – a threshold we’re currently on track to exceed.  And in the Peruvian Amazon, the Asháninka people have developed a symbiotic relationship with the local bees, which often lack stingers, and their honey. A new and innovative law in Peru has granted these bees legal rights to help protect them and the indigenous people living with them. ---  Federal funding for public radio has ended. But support from listeners like you always helps us keep the lights on no matter what. Living on Earth needs listeners like you to keep our weekly environmental news coverage going strong. If you’re already an LoE supporter, thank you! And if you’ve been considering supporting LoE, now is a great time to give during our fall fundraiser. Visit LoE dot org and click donate. And thank you for supporting Living on Earth! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The biggest climate negotiations of the year, COP30, are kicking off in Belem in the Brazilian Amazon. Longtime COP observer Jennifer Morgan joins us to preview COP30 and discuss the focus on closing the gap between current greenhouse gas reduction policies and what’s needed to limit warming to a safer level. Also, King Charles III, who leads the Anglican Church, and Pope Leo XIV, who leads the Roman Catholic Church, recently joined in a historic prayer in the Sistine Chapel. This act of unity by these two faith leaders who are also sovereign heads of state was embedded in their shared concern for the environment, or creation.    And as one of the strongest hurricanes ever documented in the Atlantic, Hurricane Melissa brought catastrophic damage to Jamaica and Cuba, and an extensive relief and recovery effort is now underway. We talk about the aid efforts, long road to recovery, and importance of building back better.     ---    Federal funding for public radio has ended. But support from listeners like you always helps us keep the lights on no matter what. Living on Earth needs listeners like you to keep our weekly environmental news coverage going strong.   If you’re already an LoE supporter, thank you! And if you’ve been considering supporting LoE, now is a great time to give during our fall fundraiser. Visit LoE dot org and click donate. And thank you for supporting Living on Earth! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hurricane Melissa, the strongest storm to hit the Caribbean in modern times, left a wake of destruction in Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti that will take years to recover from. A Jamaican climate physics professor describes the toll of this climate catastrophe, and a meteorologist joins us to explain how the storm grew so ferocious in the blink of a hurricane’s eye.   Also, Gwich’in Alaska Natives, which consider the land of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge sacred and local Porcupine Caribou as relatives, are expressing alarm at how renewed prospects of drilling in this fragile environment could upend their world.  And the Pacific Northwest of the US harbored a serial killer hotspot of sorts in the 1970s, associated with the neurotoxin lead. Seattle-born author Caroline Fraser explores this link in her book Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers. She discusses how dangerously high lead exposure from smelters and gasoline may have led to the increase of violence and murders in the region. ---  Federal funding for public radio has ended. But support from listeners like you always helps us keep the lights on no matter what. Living on Earth needs listeners like you to keep our weekly environmental news coverage going strong. If you’re already an LoE supporter, thank you! And if you’ve been considering supporting LoE, now is a great time to give during our fall fundraiser. Visit LoE dot org and click donate. And thank you for supporting Living on Earth! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A recent Human Rights Watch report found that illegal cattle ranching and clearing of the Amazon rainforest has led to the forced eviction of small farmers and indigenous people in the state of Pará, Brazil. We discuss the stakes for the planet and people, as well as possible solutions.  Also, meat is the biggest single source of carbon emissions from the food system, which is itself responsible for a third of global greenhouse gas emissions. We talk about the gap between reality and coverage of how meat contributes to global warming, as well as effective strategies for encouraging people to choose to eat less meat without trying to force them to do so.  And David Brancaccio of Marketplace lost his home in the devastating Los Angeles fires this past January only two months after moving in. We check back in with David to hear about his hopes to rebuild with fire-resistant material. ---  Federal funding for public radio has ended. But support from listeners like you always helps us keep the lights on no matter what. Living on Earth needs listeners like you to keep our weekly environmental news coverage going strong. If you’re already an LoE supporter, thank you! And if you’ve been considering supporting LoE, now is a great time to give during our fall fundraiser. Visit LoE dot org and click donate. And thank you for supporting Living on Earth! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Facing lost jobs and higher energy prices after the Trump EPA canceled $7 billion in low-income solar grants, a coalition of labor, green and anti-poverty groups is teaming up to fight in court for clean energy jobs and save “Solar for All.”  Also, one of the most frightening aspects of Halloween is the monstrous amounts of waste it can generate. We share ideas for making Halloween a little more sustainable, from recycling candy wrappers, to composting pumpkins, to thrifting costumes. And on September 21st, hundreds of people leapt into the Chicago River for the first public swimming event since 1927. We discuss how major projects including green infrastructure have helped clean up the river for both people and wildlife to enjoy. ---  You can help support our free public radio show and podcast, for free, by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. It’s one of the best ways to help other listeners find Living on Earth!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

China has for the first time committed to an absolute target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, by 7 to 10 percent by 2035. We discuss China’s growing dominance in the global clean energy transition while the current US administration doubles down on fossil fuels. Also, compared to traditional rooftop solar, “balcony solar” offers renters, apartment dwellers and folks on a tighter budget a much less expensive solar energy starter kit. Balcony solar is already common in Europe and Asia, and now it’s getting a boost from state legislation in the US. And members of the late conservationist Jane Goodall’s Roots and Shoots youth organization and the Living on Earth crew share memories of her and gratitude for her enduring gifts to the world. --- You can help support our free public radio show and podcast, for free, by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. It’s one of the best ways to help other listeners find Living on Earth! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the federal youth climate case Lighthiser v. Trump, plaintiffs are seeking immediate relief from three executive orders and subsequent actions of the Trump administration that boost fossil fuels. But the federal government maintains that the Lighthiser plaintiffs, like those in the prior case Juliana v. United States, lack standing. Also, the champion of Fat Bear Week 2025 is officially number 32 - “Chunk”, a big male who overcame a broken jaw to take the prize. Mike Fitz, the resident naturalist at explore.org, launched Fat Bear Week as a ranger at Katmai National Park in Alaska. He explains how this year’s strong salmon run in the Brooks River helped the local grizzlies bulk up. And in lives full of screens and distraction, it can be hard to truly notice the natural world and the subtle ways that other creatures cross our paths. But author Brooke Williams believes these signs from nature can bring us important insights that are worth paying attention to. He explores these ideas in his book, Encountering Dragonfly: Notes on the Practice of Re-Enchantment. --- You can help support our free public radio show and podcast, for free, by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. It’s one of the best ways to help other listeners find Living on Earth! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaking to the UN, President Trump railed against climate science and clean energy, drawing sharp rebukes from other nations, rival politicians and business leaders. Meanwhile, China for the first time ever announced a specific target for reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. Also, the four-lane Great Highway used to run along the Pacific Ocean on the west side of San Francisco, where it was at risk of erosion from sea level rise. Now it’s been transformed into a park where visitors can bike, walk, skate, and play next to the water. And the new Vera C. Rubin observatory telescope in Chile features the largest camera ever built, at about the size of a small car, and will soon begin photographing the entire southern sky repeatedly for a full decade. Astronomers hope this new telescope will help advance our understanding of dark matter and reveal hard-to find interstellar objects. --- You can help support our free public radio show and podcast, for free, by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. It’s one of the best ways to help other listeners find Living on Earth! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices