Living on Earth

A punishing drought in the Horn of Africa linked to climate change has led to mass famine, and some 19 million people in Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya don’t have enough to eat.

Also, there are about 700 active oil and gas wells in the city of Los Angeles, mostly located in minority communities like the one where young activist Nalleli Cobo grew up, just 30 feet from a well. She and her neighbors have suffered for years from headaches, asthma, and cancer -- illnesses linked to the proximity of oil well sites. For her work fighting the oil companies operating those wells Nalleli was awarded the 2022 Goldman Environmental Prize.

And a baby giraffe at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park named Msituni, which means “in the forest” in Swahili, was born with a disability that gave her trouble walking. So her veterinary team found a creative way to help her heal.

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President Biden responds to a lack of Congressional action on climate change with new executive orders but stops short of declaring a national climate emergency, disappointing some. 

Also, painting tree trunks bright blue to raise awareness about deforestation.

And, The James Webb Space Telescope has sent back the first images of deep space and distant time. 

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President Biden recently invoked the Defense Production Act to stimulate domestic production of clean energy technology including solar panels and heat pumps.

And, how a seaweed supplement, currently in the experimental phase, may help reduce methane emissions from cattle.

Also, Admiral David Titley, former Chief Operating Officer for NOAA, shares his observations on how climate change is affecting the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem from his home in Grand Teton National Park. 

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To help curb the plastic pollution crisis, the US Department of Interior will phase out single-use plastic products sold and distributed in national parks and other federal public lands it oversees. 

Also, the first successful Mars lander was Viking 1 in 1976, and now, after dozens of missions NASA has finally captured the first ever audio recorded on the surface of the red planet. How sounds on Mars compare to how we experience them here on Earth.

And the new James Webb Space Telescope is by far the most powerful space telescope ever built, able to see up to a hundred galaxies at once and detect the light emitted from some of the universe's very first stars while also checking planets near and far for conditions compatible for life. 

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In a major 6 to 3 decision with sobering implications for climate policy, the Supreme Court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency overstepped its authority when it created guidelines for how utilities generate electricity.

Also, rising seas and temperatures are exacerbating the perennial problem of increasing salinity on both coastal and inland farmland.

And America’s aging prison facilities are largely unprepared for climate impacts and often lack air conditioning, wildfire evacuation plans, and hurricane strategies.

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Support for Living on Earth comes from:

maude. Get a treat from maude! Use the code EARTH to get $5 off your first order on all products.

And Getaway House. Use promo code EARTH to save $25 on your stay — and enjoy more free time in the great outdoors.

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Extreme heat events such as India and Pakistan recently endured are among the deadliest impacts of climate change, and pregnant women and fetuses are among the most vulnerable to heat stress. Extreme heat is linked to complications of pregnancy including eclampsia, preterm birth and stillbirth.

Also, to help revitalize coal country as the mines close, the United Mine Workers of America is teaming up with an electric vehicle battery company on a new factory in West Virginia.

And UN climate negotiators recently gathered in Bonn, Germany to prepare for the next climate summit this fall in Egypt, but these talks are not moving as fast as climate disruption itself.

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Support for Living on Earth comes from the I Am Bio podcast, with powerful stories of biotech breakthroughs, the people they help, and the global problems they solve.

And from maude. Get a treat from maude! Use the code EARTH to get $5 off your first order on all products.

And also getaway.house. Use promo code EARTH to save $25 on your stay — and enjoy more free time in the great outdoors.

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June 19th marks the holiday known as Juneteenth, when African Americans gather to celebrate emancipation of ancestors from slavery with picnics and cook outs. The voyage from Africa isn’t often on people’s minds, but it is in their stomachs, by way of the foodways from across the Atlantic.

Fast-forward to today, to the farmers who are working to cultivate justice, root out racism, and find liberation on the land, by reconnecting people of color to the earth.

And systemic racism has set Black Americans up for far greater exposure to deadly air pollution, and extreme heat brought by climate change. Both environmental concerns have been primarily caused and exacerbated by white Americans, yet it’s Black communities that bear the brunt of the harm.

Dismantling racism, celebrating Juneteenth, and more, this week on Living on Earth from PRX.

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Don’t miss our free, livestreamed Juneteenth celebration on Monday, June 20th at 6:30 p.m. Eastern! Sign up at loe.org/events

Our podcast is supported this week by:

maude. Get a treat from maude! Use the code EARTH to get $5 off your first order on all products.

And also getaway.house. Use promo code EARTH to save $25 on your stay — and enjoy more free time in the great outdoors.

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Threatened by draconian tariffs, the US solar industry has been largely frozen since April and laid off thousands of workers, stalling crucial progress towards climate goals. But on June 6th, President Biden signed executive orders temporarily suspending tariffs and boosting domestic solar panel production.

Also, with the start of the Atlantic hurricane season June 1, Tropical Storm Alex has already flooded Cuba, the Bahamas, and South Florida. Wildfires are already ravaging parts of the western United States, deadly heat waves are predicted, and some scientists say summer in the United States is the 'danger season'.

And the stories of real people living through the climate emergency can help us comprehend what a degree of temperature change or a foot of sea level rise actually means. “1,001 Voices on Climate Change” and more.

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Our podcast is supported this week by:

maude. Get a treat from maude! Use the code EARTH to get $5 off your first order on all products.

And also getaway.house. Use promo code EARTH to save $25 on your stay — and enjoy more free time in the great outdoors.

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Australia is a leading coal and natural gas exporter and has stubbornly opposed major climate action for decades, even as climate disasters like fires, floods, and droughts have taken their toll. But now Australian voters have ushered in a more progressive Parliament in the recent elections that signal their country is heading in a new direction on climate.

Also, we continue our conversations with this year’s recipients of the Goldman Environmental Prize with Julien Vincent, the winner for Islands and Island Nations who led a grassroots campaign that had people cutting up their credit cards in a bid to convince Australia’s biggest banks and insurers to stop funding coal.

And take the A Train: Gateway National Recreation Area offers green spaces, beaches and recreation just a quick transit ride from New York City.

Plus, with inflation driving up food prices, we share some gardening tips to help you save some green with your green thumb.

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Our podcast is supported this week by:

Wren, where you can calculate and offset your carbon footprint.

And by maude. Get a treat from maude! Use the code EARTH to get $5 off your first order on all products.

And also getaway.house. Use promo code EARTH to save $25 on your stay — and enjoy more free time in the great outdoors.

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In the past decade, the EPA has received over 98,000 reports of harm and over 2500 reports of pet deaths connected to the Seresto brand of pesticide-containing flea collars. But the EPA has never issued any warnings or recalls of these collars.

Also, the 2022 Goldman Environmental Prize recipient for Africa is Chima Williams, an environmental lawyer who worked with two communities to hold Royal Dutch Shell accountable for disastrous oil spills in Nigeria. We talk about why Chima and his colleagues brought the case all the way to the Hague in the Netherlands to pursue justice. And in the coming weeks we’ll feature more stories of this year’s intrepid Goldman Prize winners.

And after dozens of missions to Mars over nearly five decades, NASA has finally captured the first ever audio recorded on the surface of the red planet, and we listen in.

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Support for Living on Earth comes from the I Am Bio podcast, with powerful stories of biotech breakthroughs, the people they help, and the global problems they solve.

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