Living on Earth

Vice President Kamala Harris has garnered more than enough delegates for the Democratic nomination for President. We review her record on the environment, which has included prosecuting cases against polluting oil companies, supporting a Green New Deal, and representing the US at UN climate meetings.

Also, the four years of the Trump Administration brought over a hundred regulatory rollbacks, the exit of the US from the Paris Climate Agreement, and a conservative dominated Supreme Court that is skeptical of environmental regulation. We hear insights from a former Trump EPA official, environmental policy experts and advocates about the environmental impacts of the Trump presidency and what a second one could bring. 

Plus: a scientist who rappels down cliffs to hand-pollinate endangered plants; a vine that mimics the leaves of nearby species; rice that crowds out strangers but leaves room for the roots of relatives. All of these are featured in the new book The Light Eaters, which tackles big questions of plant intelligence, consciousness, and communication.

--

What issues are you most interested in having Living on Earth cover in the 2024 election season? Let us know by sending us a written or audio message at [email protected].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump’s running mate, Ohio Senator J. D. Vance, once held moderate Republican stances on climate and clean energy. But he now echoes Trump on the “Green New Scam” and unleashing domestic fossil fuels.

Also, climate may not always top the list of voter concerns, but research suggests it can tip the scales in US presidential elections, including the 2020 election which came down to 44,000 votes. So the Environmental Voter Project is trying to mobilize nearly 5 million registered voters who rate environment or climate as a top concern but might not otherwise turn out this November.

And Republican Cliff Bentz represents Oregon’s second district in Congress, where he chairs the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife and is part of the Conservative Climate Caucus. He joins us to share his views on conservative approaches to climate adaptation, carbon capture and storage, wildfire prevention, public lands stewardship and more.

--

What issues are you most interested in having Living on Earth cover in the 2024 election season? Let us know by sending us a written or audio message at [email protected].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thirteen young plaintiffs who took the Hawaii Department of Transportation to court over its role in the climate crisis have won a settlement that requires the agency to fast-track public transit, new bike lanes, and electric vehicles.

Also, new technology reveals startling levels of cancer-causing ethylene oxide gas wafting from industrial sources in Cancer Alley, Louisiana. 

And Black residents of Cancer Alley who live next door to polluting industrial plants say they are the victims of environmental discrimination. But their attempts to seek justice through a key provision of the Civil Rights Act are being met with racist pushback.

--

What issues are you most interested in having Living on Earth cover in the 2024 election season? Let us know by sending us a written or audio message at [email protected].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a 6-3 decision the US Supreme Court struck down the longstanding Chevron deference doctrine, which allowed federal agencies to make rules relying on unclear statutes, provided their interpretation was reasonable. We parse the potentially disastrous consequences of this decision for environmental and other public protection regulations and what agencies and environmental lawyers will need to do to have a fighting chance in court.

Also, a powerful new NASA satellite called PACE can look at the ocean and clouds to distinguish between different kinds of microscopic phytoplankton and aerosols from an orbit 400 miles up. How the technology works, its value to scientific research on climate change, and the real-time data it provides about water and air quality worldwide.

And stargazing has profoundly shaped who we are as human beings, and gave rise to science, religion, and origin stories from diverse traditions. Roberto Trotta, the author of the new book Starborn: How the Stars Made Us (And Who We Would Be Without Them) joins us to discuss how studying the night sky shaped science and why satellites now threaten our connection to the stars.

--

What issues are you most interested in having Living on Earth cover in the 2024 election season? Let us know by sending us a written or audio message at [email protected].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the first debate of the 2024 presidential election, Joe Biden and Donald Trump had vastly different responses to the single question on climate change. We cover the highlights, what was left out of the debate and the stark contrast between what the two presidents have done on climate and environment during their times in office.

Also, heat waves can bring health problems and death for anyone but especially for the young, elderly, and people with conditions like heart disease and diabetes. And heat often coincides with other health-harming climate impacts like floods and wildfires. Dr. Ari Bernstein of the CDC talks about the public health risks posed by heat and shares tips for staying safe this summer.

And the 40 Acre Conservation League is an African-American grounded land trust that seeks to ease access to the outdoors for people of color, who have historically been excluded from green spaces. The nonprofit recently purchased its first piece of land, 650 acres bordering the Tahoe National Forest in northern California.

--

What issues are you most interested in having Living on Earth cover in the 2024 election season? Let us know by sending us a written or audio message at [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Generations of Black Americans have faced racism, redlining and environmental injustices, such as breathing 40 percent dirtier air and being twice as likely as white Americans to be hospitalized or die from climate-related health problems. So the quest for racial justice now must include addressing the climate emergency, writes Heather McTeer Toney in her book Before the Streetlights Come On: Black America’s Urgent Call for Climate Solutions.

Also, the incredible story of Robert Smalls, who commandeered a Confederate ship called The Planter in Charleston, South Carolina in 1862 and liberated himself and his family from enslavement. How his courage relates to the courageous action and leadership that is now urgently needed to deal with the climate emergency.

--

What issues are you most interested in having Living on Earth cover in the 2024 election season? Let us know by sending us a written or audio message at [email protected].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Clouds of diesel fumes clog the air in Beirut, Lebanon where the virtual collapse of the power grid has led residents to rely on diesel generators. The city’s air is now so badly polluted researchers at the American University of Beirut are linking it to a startling 30% spike in cancer cases.

Also, Isaias Hernandez is an environmental activist and social media creative who uses the handle @QueerBrownVegan on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. His topics include environmental racism, mushroom foraging, and queer ecology. Isaias joined us during Pride Month to talk about intersectionality, “rainbow-washing”, and more.

And hair care products marketed to Black women today often include cancer-causing formaldehyde and hormone disrupting chemicals. But back in the early 1900s, an enterprising Black woman named Madam C. J. Walker used mostly natural ingredients in her hair products to empower Black women and become the first female American self-made millionaire. Her great-great granddaughter shares Madam Walker’s story. 

--

What issues are you most interested in having Living on Earth cover in the 2024 election season? Let us know by sending us a written or audio message at [email protected].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Streams in northern Alaska are turning a cloudy orange, and scientists think the cause is metals like iron leaching from melting permafrost as the Arctic rapidly warms.

Also, summer has barely begun in the Northern Hemisphere but extreme heat is already baking Pakistan, where climate disruption is also bringing frequent catastrophic floods. What it’s like to be in Lahore right now, how people are trying to cope and why these climate disasters are compounding Pakistan’s economic and security challenges. 

And Claudia Sheinbaum, the first woman to be elected President of Mexico, has a background in climate and energy, having co-authored two IPCC climate reports and later implemented clean transportation projects while mayor of Mexico City. She has pledged to boost renewable energy in Mexico but her political links with the current oil-friendly administration could present challenges to reaching green goals.

-- 

One of the best ways you can support our journalism is by sharing Living on Earth with a friend!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amid extreme drought affecting Rio Grande tributaries, Mexico is struggling to make water deliveries to Texas as required by a treaty. How the situation is linked to climate change and farmer livelihoods in both the US and Mexico. 

Also, carbon-intensive industries like steel and chemical manufacturing require a lot of heat to operate, most of which comes from burning fossil fuels. Now engineers are working on turning electricity from renewable sources into heat with something called a thermal battery.

And in 2021 the “Wild Coast” of eastern South Africa was targeted by Shell for oil exploration, raising concerns for the local Mpondo people about impacts to wildlife and possible contamination of land and water. Environmental activists Nonhle Mbuthuma and Sinegugu Zukulu mounted a campaign and secured a victory from the High Court revoking Shell’s permit. They shared the 2024 Goldman Environmental Prize for Africa.

--

We rely on support from listeners like you to keep our journalism strong. You can donate at loe.org – any amount is appreciated! – and thank you for your support.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Facing costly climate impacts such as the billion-dollar flood disaster of July 2023, Vermont is seeking to make fossil fuel companies pay for some of those costs with a new “Climate Superfund” bill.

Also, the Mar Menor or “little sea” lagoon on the coast of Spain faces impacts from mining, agriculture, and a booming tourist industry. Teresa Vicente helped pass a 2022 law granting the lagoon legal personhood to give it greater protection. She recently received the 2024 Goldman Environmental Prize for Europe and shares how she led a grassroots movement to protect this beloved lagoon.

Plus, sounds like the overlapping songs of birds can speak volumes about the biodiversity in an ecosystem, and now scientists are looking to use the tiny sounds made by earthworms, ants, and voles to study the health of soils. An ecologist explains why more complex sounds appear to indicate healthier soils, and the potential applications of listening for these sounds in the earth.

 --

We rely on support from listeners like you to keep our journalism strong. You can donate at loe.org – any amount is appreciated! – and thank you for your support.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices