Living on Earth

Some scientists predict that without emergency conservation measures, Great Salt Lake will dry up completely in the next five years, devastating migratory bird populations and creating a public health crisis linked to toxic dust in the lakebed.Also, the bipartisan infrastructure law signed by President Biden in 2021 allots $5 billion over five years for low-income communities to replace diesel school buses with clean electric ones. But an unintended consequence of the measure’s terms prevents some of the neediest communities from benefiting from the program.And George Washington Carver was born into slavery but went on to become a famous agronomist and helped poor people in the South improve their lives and soils by planting peanuts and other legumes. This week, he comes back from the past in the form of actor and playwright Paxton Williams to talk about intersections between racial dynamics and agricultural development.--Announcing our next Living on Earth Book Club event! KOALA: A Natural History and an Uncertain Future on March 2nd. Sign up for this free, virtual event at loe.org/events.Thanks to our sponsor, Four Sigmatic:Don’t miss our special offer to get 30% off your monthly order of premium organic coffee blended with superfood mushrooms. Visit go.foursigmatic.com/earth and use code EARTH at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The births of at least 11 North Atlantic Right Whales this season is a bright spot for a species on the brink of extinction. And safer lobstering gear is being designed to prevent human-caused whale deaths.Also, despite inflation automakers including Tesla, Ford and General Motors are now in a price war for electric vehicles. The lowered stickers also bring some models under the $55,000 price cap required to qualify for federal tax credits.And examining the dark history of the nutmeg trade reveals the origins of our current climate crisis in the violent extractive economies pioneered by colonial powers centuries ago.--Get a sneak peek at every episode by signing up for our newsletter at loe.org/newsletter.Thanks to our sponsor, Four Sigmatic:Don’t miss our special offer to get 30% off your order of premium organic coffee blended with superfood mushrooms. Visit go.foursigmatic.com/earth and use code EARTH at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Municipalities in Puerto Rico sue the biggest fossil fuel companies for damages from category 5 Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The cities and towns allege the fossil fuel companies knew their products would change the climate and intensify storms and colluded to lie about it to the public.And following the devastation of Hurricane Maria many communities in Puerto Rico were isolated for months so they looked to each other for solace and sustenance.Also, Coquí frogs were heavily affected by Hurricane Maria, but within months of the storm, they could once again be heard making their iconic calls across the island.--Thanks to our sponsor, Four Sigmatic:Don’t miss our special offer to get 30% off your order of premium organic coffee blended with superfood mushrooms. Visit go.foursigmatic.com/earth and use code EARTH at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Activists are outraged by the United Arab Emirates’ decision to appoint a high-ranking oil executive to lead the 2023 UN climate treaty negotiations in Dubai. It’s the latest example of how fossil fuel interests are deflecting progress in the treaty process. Also, some Florida sugarcane growers near the Everglades still burn their fields to make harvesting easier, and people of color downwind claim adverse health effects from the smoke and ash. And in addition to the devastating human toll of Russia’s war on Ukraine, marine scientists have documented recent mass strandings of dolphins and porpoises in the Black Sea. A key suspect is military sonar, which can disorient cetaceans that use sound to navigate.--Thanks to our sponsor, Four Sigmatic:Don’t miss our special offer to get 30% off your order of premium organic coffee blended with superfood mushrooms. Visit go.foursigmatic.com/earth and use code EARTH at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pink snow, also known as “watermelon snow” or “glacier blood,” is the result of a late summer bloom of pink colored algae that flourish in melting snow. And although snow algae are still very understudied, scientists are worried that darker snow will absorb more of the sun’s heat than white snow and cause the snowpack to melt more quickly, amplifying climate change.Also, weather records are routinely being shattered across the United States, with recent severe rainstorms in California, freezing temperatures in Texas, and a warm January thaw for the northeast. A climate scientist explains why a climate change-disrupted jet stream is behind much of this extreme weather.And in Texas, the wild weather delivered an unusual cold snap that some wildlife just couldn’t deal with. So local wildlife rehabilitators sprang into action to save around 1600 tiny Mexican free-tailed bats from hypothermic shock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cases like West Virginia v. EPA and legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act made 2022 a landmark year for environmental law, and now as 2023 gets underway there are even more legal actions and decisions on the horizon including on clean water, environmental justice, and climate racketeering. Also, to learn what alligators in Florida’s Everglades eat, a team of scientists ventures out in the dead of night to catch them and pump their stomachs. And many non-human animals call cities home or take advantage of their abundant resources, creating an “accidental ecosystem.” Being more intentional about how we design and use our cities in the future may bring benefits for both humans and the wildlife we share these spaces with. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From one woman’s dream of swimming with marine iguanas, to uncommon encounters with common rabbits, to a Native American tale of how the dog came to be our loyal companion, and much more, this Living on Earth holiday storytelling special features stories of how other species on this Earth touch human lives. “Wildly Magical: Stories of Animal Encounters”, a storytelling special from PRX. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Power Of Stories / Native American Tales / Stories of the Night Sky and an English WassailNative American myths and tales help us endure or even enjoy the short days and long nights of winter. Living on Earth's annual celebration of stories helps connect people with the natural world, and includes an Iroquois explanation of why the constellation Pleiades twinkles overhead and an Abenaki custom that asks forgiveness for any wrongs of the previous year. Seasonal stories and more, in this holiday special from Living on Earth from PRX. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To try to address the biodiversity crisis that threatens as many as 1 million species with extinction, thousands of delegates from around the world are meeting in Montreal with a goal of updating the United Nations treaty on biological diversity. The stakes are high for places like Palawan in the Philippines, which is one of the most biodiverse places on Earth and has been protected by the Indigenous Batak people for thousands of years.Also, cloud forest ecosystems are biodiversity hotspots but they’re quickly becoming warmer and drier with the climate crisis. So each fall researchers in the cloud forest of Monteverde, Costa Rica conduct a bird census to see what migrant and resident birds are using the forest and how that’s changing with time.And Living on Earth’s gardening guru, Michael Weishan, joins us to share some tips on how to craft festive holiday wreaths, garlands, and Christmas trees with natural materials from your own backyard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The United Nations is working towards creating a treaty to tackle the plastic crisis all the way from production to disposal – its full “life cycle”. Also, as the Biden Administration moves forward with plans for offshore wind, in Congress there is a bipartisan effort called the Breeze Act that would update offshore revenue sharing rules dating back to the early days of oil and gas production. And the seas are rising because of climate change, but this isn’t the first global sea level rise humans have lived through. In fact, some Indigenous peoples have stories of sea level rise that they’ve passed down over thousands of years. How oral traditions reflect the environmental changes our ancestors lived through. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices