Living on Earth

#BlackBirdersWeek / Beyond the Headlines / Border Wall Threatens Sacred Native Lands / Reopening National Parks / Poetry of "The Park" A group of Black scientists, birders, and nature enthusiasts recently convened on social media to create the first ever Black Birders Week. It's giving a voice to birders of color everywhere, who face prejudicial suspicion and policing while pursuing their passion. Also, the Tohono O'odham Nation has been confined to a tiny fraction of the lands it once held in the desert Southwest. Now the Trump Administration's border wall expansion threatens to further damage and restrict their access to sacred and archeological sites. And now more than ever, public parks are providing some relief for those self-isolating in cities. But some have been closed for fear of overcrowding and even without a pandemic, some public spaces may not be truly open to all. A new book of poetry called "The Park" uses the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris as a lens to peer into inequality and exclusion. Find this week's transcript here: https://loe.org/shows/shows.html?programID=20-P13-00023. . . . LEARN MORE about these stories and everything in our decades of archives at loe.org. We've got audio, transcripts, links, photos and more! . . . PITCH IN with your tax-deductible contribution at https://loe.org/about/donate.html. Thank you for your support! . . . FOLLOW US and join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. . . . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hurricanes and COVID-19 / Beyond the Headlines / Outdoor Learning Safer in the Pandemic / The Pear Tree / Climate and Marine Disease / Why Fish Don't Exist The year 2020 could be the warmest ever and its Atlantic hurricane season is predicted to be busier than average. The US may face three or more extremely dangerous storms at a time when FEMA is already swamped with pandemic relief and working through a backlog from other natural disasters throughout the country. Also, as some schools and pre-schools prepare to reopen, some educators are considering the health and educational benefits of outdoor learning to help lower the risk of Covid-19 transmission. And Lulu Miller of NPR's "Invisibilia" joins us to discuss her new book, "Why Fish Don't Exist", which follows the astonishing story of fish scientist David Starr Jordan. He discovered thousands of new fish species around 1900, and kept going even as he faced repeated disasters that threatened to obliterate his life's work. But his stubborn optimism had a dark side. Find this week's transcript here: https://loe.org/shows/shows.html?programID=20-P13-00022. . . . LEARN MORE about these stories and everything in our decades of archives at loe.org. We've got audio, transcripts, links, photos and more! . . . PITCH IN with your tax-deductible contribution at https://loe.org/about/donate.html. Thank you for your support! . . . FOLLOW US and join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. . . . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Democrats Launch Climate Change Task Force / Beyond the Headlines / Backyard Tigers in America / The Farmer The Grain The Miller The Sea / Animal City: The Domestication of America Former Vice President Joe Biden is the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee following Senator Bernie Sanders' April departure from the race. Despite stark ideological differences, the two have formed several unity task forces on topics ranging from immigration to climate change. Also, more tigers live in captivity in the United States than in the wild, and private ownership of big cats is often completely legal due to a lack of federal oversight. And American cities were once home to large numbers of livestock: cows grazing Boston Common, pigs roaming through what's now downtown Manhattan. Wild and domesticated animals in our past and present and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRX. Find this week's transcript here: https://loe.org/shows/shows.html?programID=20-P13-00021. . . . LEARN MORE about these stories and everything in our decades of archives at loe.org. We've got audio, transcripts, links, photos and more! . . . PITCH IN with your tax-deductible contribution at https://loe.org/about/donate.html. Thank you for your support! . . . FOLLOW US and join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. . . . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trump Stalls Clean Energy Loans / Beyond the Headlines / World's Largest Parrot: Note on Emerging Science / Food Waste Increase in the Pandemic / Tips for Low-Waste Living / The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis Paris Climate Agreement lead UN diplomat Christiana Figueres recently wrote the book "The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis" and speaks about how making the urgently needed transition away from fossil fuels could also help rebuild economies broken by Covid-19. Meanwhile, $43 billion in loans for clean energy innovators that was set aside by the Obama Administration has barely been touched. Representative Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ), Chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, discusses the holdup. And sustainable living can be as much about returning to old, thrifty traditions as it is about innovative technologies. How to make your own food scrap soup, orange peel cleaners and more, this week on Living on Earth from PRX. Find this week's transcript here: https://loe.org/shows/shows.html?programID=20-P13-00020. . . . LEARN MORE about these stories and everything in our decades of archives at loe.org. We've got audio, transcripts, links, photos and more! . . . PITCH IN with your tax-deductible contribution at https://loe.org/about/donate.html. Thank you for your support! . . . FOLLOW US and join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. . . . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Coronavirus Shocks US Food System / Beyond the Headlines / The Rule of Five: Making Climate History at the Supreme Court The coronavirus has disrupted the economy, with grocery shortages and news of massive food dumping some of the most visible effects. Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma and other books, on how the pandemic exposes the vulnerabilities in the American food supply. Also, the Supreme Court's 2007 landmark decision in Massachusetts v. EPA requires the government to regulate climate changing gases. The gripping behind-the-scenes story of Massachusetts v. EPA and the people who doggedly led the case to victory against the odds. That and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRX. Find this week's transcript here: https://loe.org/shows/shows.html?programID=20-P13-00019. . . . LEARN MORE about these stories and everything in our decades of archives at loe.org. We've got audio, transcripts, links, photos and more! . . . PITCH IN with your tax-deductible contribution at https://loe.org/about/donate.html. Thank you for your support! . . . FOLLOW US and join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. . . . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Farmworkers and the Virus / A Migrant Farmworker Shares COVID-19 Fears / Beyond the Headlines / Supreme Court Clean Water Win / Note on Emerging Science: The Days the Earth Stood Still / Zoos and Aquariums Online / Behind the Quarantine at the New England Aquarium / Sap-Iens: Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers Farmworkers are considered essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and without them there will be food shortages. Migrant farmworkers face special risks as more than half of them are undocumented and many lack access to healthcare. We'll hear from a longtime California farmworker about his fears and frustrations about working with little protection in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, in a key decision for environmental law, by a 6-3 vote the US Supreme Court has created a major precedent that strengthens the Clean Water Act. And while zoos, aquariums, and wildlife centers have had to close their doors during the COVID-19 pandemic, many have gone online to continue their mission with virtual visits and critter cams. All that and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRX. Find this week's transcript here: https://loe.org/shows/shows.html?programID=20-P13-00018. . . . LEARN MORE about these stories and everything in our decades of archives at loe.org. We've got audio, transcripts, links, photos and more! . . . PITCH IN with your tax-deductible contribution at https://loe.org/about/donate.html. Thank you for your support! . . . FOLLOW US and join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. . . . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reflecting on 50 Years of Earth Day / Celebrating 30 Years of 'Living on Earth' / Beyond the Headlines / 50 Years of Environmental Law / Stories and Poetry for Earth Day This year, Earth Day turns 50. And from humble beginnings Earth Day has grown into the world's largest secular holiday, celebrated around the world each year by more than a billion people. Activists, scientists, poets and pastors alike share their reflections for this special Earth Day. 1970 also saw the birth of major environmental laws including the Clean Air Act and NEPA. In the 50 years since, environmental law has brought improved air and water quality, but gaps in environmental protection remain. And this Earth Day also marks 30 years since the launch of the "Living on Earth" program! Host Steve Curwood reflects on the challenges and rewards of covering environmental news. Celebrating 50 years of Earth Day and 30 years of LOE, and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRX. Find this week's transcript here: https://loe.org/shows/shows.html?programID=20-P13-00017. . . . LEARN MORE about these stories and everything in our decades of archives at loe.org. We've got audio, transcripts, links, photos and more! . . . PITCH IN with your tax-deductible contribution at https://loe.org/about/donate.html. Thank you for your support! . . . FOLLOW US and join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. . . . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dangerous Heat in the Gulf of Mexico / Beyond the Headlines / Earth Day Turns Fifty / Springtime Birding with David Sibley April 22nd, 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day, when some 20 million Americans peacefully rallied for protecting the planet. Denis Hayes, coordinator of that very first Earth Day, discusses how this year's grand Earth Day plans have adapted to the coronavirus disruptions. Also, on Easter Sunday, dozens of tornados tore through the southeast United States, resulting in the deaths of over 30 people. These deadly storms came as water in the Gulf of Mexico was three degrees Fahrenheit hotter than the long-term average. Why warmer Gulf water fuels strong tornados, thunderstorms, and hurricanes. And now that the seasonal great avian migration is underway, wildlife refuges provide the perfect place to listen and watch for birds on a fine spring morning. Springtime birding with David Sibley and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRX. Find this week's transcript here: https://loe.org/shows/shows.html?programID=20-P13-00016. . . . LEARN MORE about these stories and everything in our decades of archives at loe.org. We've got audio, transcripts, links, photos and more! . . . PITCH IN with your tax-deductible contribution at https://loe.org/about/donate.html. Thank you for your support! . . . FOLLOW US and join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. . . . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Air Pollution Worsens COVID-19 / Beyond the Headlines / Poetry Month: "One Log Per Visit, Never The Same Log Twice" / A Backyard BioBlitz / Erosion: Essays of Undoing COVID-19 appears to be deadlier to people with years of exposure to high air pollution, strengthening the case for cleaning up dirty air that already kills millions around the world every year. Climate mitigation could be a big benefit of the solutions, since much of the pollution comes from the burning of fossil fuels. Also, writer Terry Tempest Williams' latest book grapples with the erosion of democracy, science, compassion, and trust, as her beloved Utah red rock landscape faces oil and gas extraction, and the planet faces destructive warming. And every year, citizen scientists around the world participate in brief, intensive surveys of biological diversity called BioBlitzes. A backyard BioBlitz in the era of social distancing and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRX. Find this week's transcript here: https://loe.org/shows/shows.html?programID=20-P13-00015. . . . LEARN MORE about these stories and everything in our decades of archives at loe.org. We've got audio, transcripts, links, photos and more! . . . PITCH IN with your tax-deductible contribution at https://loe.org/about/donate.html. Thank you for your support! . . . FOLLOW US and join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. . . . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Economic Recovery, the Virus and Climate / Beyond the Headlines / Science Denial and the Pandemic / BirdNote®: Trogons Nest with Wasps / Home Bound Gardening The world is now facing the coronavirus pandemic crisis as well as the climate crisis. And while COVID-19 has brought economic carnage, it also presents an opportunity to build back the U.S. economy cleaner than before, says Rep. Kathy Castor. The Chair of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis talks about how Congress can respond to the pandemic crisis with climate change in mind, and why the world's pandemic response gives her hope about addressing the climate crisis. Also, the coronavirus pandemic appears well-managed in countries that acted swiftly, with the science of epidemiology as their guide, while others have seen a spiking death rate. Why governments sometimes fail to follow the science when responding to major crises like pandemics and climate change. And the joys of tending a garden in the midst of a pandemic, from growing veggies to keeping chickens, plus advice about what to get in the ground now. All that and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRX. Find this week's transcript here: https://loe.org/shows/shows.html?programID=20-P13-00014. . . . LEARN MORE about these stories and everything in our decades of archives at loe.org. We've got audio, transcripts, links, photos and more! . . . PITCH IN with your tax-deductible contribution at https://loe.org/about/donate.html. Thank you for your support! . . . FOLLOW US and join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. . . . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices