Living on Earth

So far avian flu hasn’t been seen spreading from human to human, but recent mutations indicate some variants are becoming better adapted to infecting humans.Also, around a thousand of the firefighters who battled blazes around southern California in January 2025 were incarcerated. A formerly incarcerated firefighter shares what it was like and how the experience helped him forge a new life after prison as a professional firefighter.And as the water supply in Athens, Greece dwindles and demand surges from residents and tourists alike, the city is looking to antiquity for solutions. One that’s attracting attention is an ancient aqueduct that runs beneath Athens.Plus: in his last days in office President Biden designated a new national monument in the southern California desert called Chuckwalla. A Native tale of how Coyote gave the “painted canyon” in Chuckwalla its name, this week on Living on Earth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back in power, President Trump immediately took aim at climate and environmental protection with a flurry of executive orders such as blocking the Paris Climate Accord and boosting fossil fuel sales. The President may have over-reached but could still do lasting damage to the climate and environment.Also, one of President Trump’s Day One executive orders commands a reversal of the Biden Administration’s goal for half of vehicles sold in America by 2030 to be electric. Getting rid of the $7,500 EV tax credit and federal funding for charging stations may take acts of Congress, but already this effort to shift EVs into reverse is making for uncertainty in the US auto industry.And not all conventionally grown fruits and vegetables are loaded with high levels of harmful pesticides. Consulting the “Dirty Dozen” and the “Clean Fifteen” lists can help consumers make efficient choices in the produce aisle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Facing huge costs for climate adaptation and disaster recovery, some states and localities are suing fossil fuel companies for damages. The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined an attempt to block these lawsuits, and we explain the significance of some of them proceeding to trial.Also, nearly all the tall coast redwoods in California’s Big Basin Redwoods State Park burned in a 2020 wildfire. But within a few months the charred trunks had grown a fuzz of healthy green shoots. A paper documents how the trees were able to regenerate using energy reserves stored for many decades. And the many millions of miles of roads that crisscross our planet block everything from bears to beetles from safely moving through habitats. How new wildlife crossings like overpasses and underpasses are helping reconnect animals with the landscape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wildfires like those hitting southern California take an enormous social and psychological toll on victims and observers alike. We hear how people and communities can heal from the “climate trauma” brought by wildfires and other disasters linked to the climate crisis.Also, President-elect Trump’s stated plans to again remove the U.S. from the Paris Accord would be just the latest whiplash in a decades-long trend of U.S. inconsistency on the climate. What’s ahead for global and domestic climate policy over the next four years.And the Carter Presidency left a legacy of environmental action, ranging from major habitat protection to trying to address the then largely unrecognized threat of fossil fuels to climate stability. Gus Speth chaired the White House Council on Environmental Quality under Jimmy Carter and joins us to recall pivotal moments and ponder what might have been if the solar-panel-loving President had won a second term.This episode of Living on Earth is sponsored in part by AirDoctor – the air purifier that is designed to filter out 99.99 percent of dangerous contaminants so your lungs don’t have to – including allergens, pollen, pet dander, dust mites, mold spores – even bacteria and viruses – To get your AirDoctor, go to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code EARTH  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Freshman U.S. Representative Yassamin Ansari, a Democrat representing Arizona’s 3rd district, puts climate at the top of her priority list. She joins us to reflect on her work with the UN on the Paris Climate Accord, discuss how extreme heat is affecting her constituents, and preview her climate aims in Congress. Also, in a landmark 6 to 1 decision, the Montana State Supreme Court upheld a ruling that found young people, and by extension all people in Montana, have a constitutional right to a livable climate that state officials can’t ignore. And the African American residents of Shiloh, Alabama whose homes were flooded by a state highway expansion say they are still waiting for the full measure of environmental justice promised by the outgoing Biden Administration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Underwater life has been a mystery to humans since the beginning of time. The Extreme Life of the Sea by Stephen and Anthony Palumbi is a book that sheds an entertaining and informative light on life for the ocean’s oddest creatures, making you think of fish as characters, not seafood.Also, animals like the American Bison, bald eagle, and giant panda are just a few of the charismatic species that have come dangerously close to extinction. But thanks to some visionaries, species like these have been saved from that fate. In her 2021 book Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction, science writer Michelle Nijhuis shares the stories of some conservation heroes.And from tarantulas in French Guinea to reclusive, aquarium-dwelling octopuses to the dogs and chickens in her own backyard, Sy Montgomery has connected with creatures all over the globe. They are her friends, her family, and especially her teachers. Sy shares valuable life lessons she has learned from them and captured in her book, “How To Be A Good Creature.”--The Living on Earth newsletter now features new in-depth analysis and commentary! Sign up at loe.org/newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Irish harpist Aine Minogue shares stories of mid-winter traditions like visiting friends, decorating with evergreens, and summoning longer days. She also plays traditional tunes of the season and sings about a creature from the Land Beneath the Sea.Slaves in the American South sang and shared stories to keep their sense of hope alive. Husband and wife duo Sparky and Rhonda Rucker share stories of what slaves could expect at the holiday season, and a hog tale of the trickster High John the Conqueror, along with old-time spirituals.Noa Baum offers stories of hope from Eastern European, Pakistan.--The Living on Earth newsletter now features new in-depth analysis and commentary! Sign up at loe.org/newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The carbon footprint of U.S. liquefied natural gas, or LNG exports is 33% higher than for coal, Cornell researchers report, showing the climate risks of a planned expansion of U.S. LNG exports.Also, the newest Popemobile for the Holy Father is an all-electric Mercedes-Benz, and most of the new U.S. Postal Service trucks are EVs, too. We talk about the shift to EVs among the Vatican, Post Offices, and everyday consumers.And India’s Yamuna River is considered sacred by some devout Hindus, who bathe in the river to cleanse their sins. But around New Delhi it has become polluted with raw sewage and a thick white foam linked to detergents flowing untreated from laundries and households.--The Living on Earth newsletter now features new in-depth analysis and commentary! Sign up at loe.org/newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Major fossil fuel corporations including ExxonMobil are clearly stating they would prefer the U.S. remain in the Paris Climate Agreement, despite President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to take the country back out. We discuss oil majors’ long-term plans for an energy transition.Also, hormone-disrupting chemicals in plastics take a yearly economic toll in the hundreds of billions of dollars in the U.S. alone, according to a 2024 study. And PFAS, phthalates, BPA and flame retardants in plastics are barely regulated despite the risks.Plus: facing habitat loss, poaching and climate disruption, giraffes have declined more than 40 percent in the last thirty years, so US wildlife officials have proposed adding them to the Endangered Species List. --The Living on Earth newsletter now features new in-depth analysis and commentary! Sign up at loe.org/newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The UN climate treaty summit known as COP29 teetered on the edge of collapse as less developed nations implored the rich countries of the global north to provide financial relief to help them cope with rising climate costs. Alden Meyer of E3G was at the COP and explains the frustrations with the process and the compromise delegates eventually reached. Also, astronomer Phil Plait wondered what it would be like to walk on Mars, fall into a black hole, or fly through a nebula, so he wrote a book, Under Alien Skies: A Sightseer’s Guide to the Universe. He reveals the strange colors of a sunset on Mars, what it’s like on a planet orbiting binary stars, the unique challenges of landing on an asteroid, and more.-- Join us on December 5 at 6:30 p.m. Eastern online or at the New England Aquarium for a conversation between Host Steve Curwood and Susan Casey about exploring the deep sea, home to otherworldly marine life, soaring mountains, and smoldering volcanoes. Find out more and register for this free event at loe.org/events. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices