For this Earth Day, we’re taking the planet’s pulse—and our own. Robert Gifford (University of Victoria) explains the dragons of inaction that keep us from changing our behaviors, even if we know they’re bad for the environment. And: Edward Maibach (George Mason University) is starting conversations about climate change in unexpected places: Facebook, the doctor’s office, and the TV weather report.

Later in the show: Coastal geologist Christopher Hein (Virginia Institute of Marine Science) says that due to climate change, east coast shorelines are shifting… fast. But, he says there may be a way we can help barrier islands preserve vital ecosystems throughout the accelerating changes. Also: Synthetic hormones are flooding the waterways, so biologist Sara O’Brien (Radford University) is conducting experiments to pinpoint the source of human-made hormones and to determine the consequences of exposure to them. The canary-in-the-coal-mine for O’Brien’s research is the ubiquitous “mosquito fish”.