Living on Earth

Race and Environmental Justice / Beyond the Headlines / COVID-19 and Healthy Buildings / Red-Billed Oxpeckers and Black Rhinos / Coronavirus Reduces Rhino Poaching / Climate Liability Cases Seek Big Damages from Big Oil / Lyme Disease Risk is High in City Parks, Too

Environmental pollution and exposure to climate risks like heat waves are closely linked with systemic racism. Yet national environmental organizations have long sidelined Black organizers working for environmental justice.

Also, the pandemic continues to spread, with over 7 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide by June 12, and research has shown that much of this spread has happened indoors. What we can do in our own homes, buildings, and even cars to reduce the risk of transmitting the virus.

And several coastal counties and cities in California are suing Big Oil to seek compensation for the steep costs of adapting to sea level rise. Now the litigation is one step closer to trial.

Find this week's transcript here: https://loe.org/shows/shows.html?programID=20-P13-00024. . . .

LEARN MORE about these stories and everything in our decades of archives at loe.org. We've got audio, transcripts, links, photos and more! . . .

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Race and Environmental Justice / Beyond the Headlines / COVID-19 and Healthy Buildings / Red-Billed Oxpeckers and Black Rhinos / Coronavirus Reduces Rhino Poaching / Climate Liability Cases Seek Big Damages from Big Oil / Lyme Disease Risk is High in City Parks, Too

Environmental pollution and exposure to climate risks like heat waves are closely linked with systemic racism. Yet national environmental organizations have long sidelined Black organizers working for environmental justice.

Also, the pandemic continues to spread, with over 7 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide by June 12, and research has shown that much of this spread has happened indoors. What we can do in our own homes, buildings, and even cars to reduce the risk of transmitting the virus.

And several coastal counties and cities in California are suing Big Oil to seek compensation for the steep costs of adapting to sea level rise. Now the litigation is one step closer to trial.

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. . . .

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.

Also, during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, most National Parks closed their doors to visitors, allowing wildlife including bears, pronghorn, and desert tortoises to venture into usually-crowded areas of the parks. As parks gradually reopen for the summer season, NPS employees are working to keep animals and visitors safe.

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! . . .

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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.

Also, in the wake of a confrontation and false accusation against Black birder Christian Cooper by a white dog walker he confronted in New York City, a group of Black scientists, birders, and nature enthusiasts came together 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.

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! . . .

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#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

#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.

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. . . .

As some schools and pre-schools prepare to reopen, educators are considering the health and educational benefits of outdoor learning to help lower the risk of Covid-19 transmission. In Scotland, nature-based preschools were already popular before the pandemic.

Also, writer Jennifer Berry reflects on the wonders of a pear tree from her pre-pandemic life. Warblers, mockingbirds, and cedar waxwings are just a few of the creatures that find a feast in an old yet fruitful pear tree.

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! . . .

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Lulu Miller of NPR's "Invisibilia" joins Host Steve Curwood 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.

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. . . .

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

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.

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. . . .