Living on Earth

Private ownership of big cats is completely legal in several US states. In fact, experts estimate more tigers live in captivity in the United States than remain in the wild. Bobby Bascomb speaks with investigative journalist Rachel Nuwer, host of the podcast "Cat People", about the exotic predators living in roadside zoos and backyards.

Also, America is a nation of cat-lovers, but the reality is that they don't always bother to love us back. They don't need to, as we provide for them anyway, according to the book, The Lion in the Living Room. Author Abigail Tucker shares with Steve Curwood how house cats came to thrive in a human-dominated world, and how we didn't tame them -- they tamed us.

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American cities were once home to large numbers of livestock: cows grazing Boston Common, pigs roaming through what's now downtown Manhattan. Then the nineteenth century brought cultural change and reform, and a new relationship with animals. The history of this transformation is the focus of Animal City: The Domestication of America by environmental historian Andrew Robichaud, who spoke with Living on Earth's Jenni Doering.

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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Democrats Launch Climate Change Task Force / Beyond the Headlines / Backyard Tigers in America / The Farmer The Grain The Miller The Sea / Animal City: The Domestication of America

Former Vice President Joe Biden is the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee following Senator Bernie Sanders' April departure from the race. Despite stark ideological differences, the two have formed several unity task forces on topics ranging from immigration to climate change.

Also, more tigers live in captivity in the United States than in the wild, and private ownership of big cats is often completely legal due to a lack of federal oversight.

And American cities were once home to large numbers of livestock: cows grazing Boston Common, pigs roaming through what's now downtown Manhattan.

Wild and domesticated animals in our past and present and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRX.

Find this week's transcript here: https://loe.org/shows/shows.html?programID=20-P13-00021. . . .

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

Democrats Launch Climate Change Task Force / Beyond the Headlines / Backyard Tigers in America / The Farmer The Grain The Miller The Sea / Animal City: The Domestication of America

Former Vice President Joe Biden is the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee following Senator Bernie Sanders' April departure from the race. Despite stark ideological differences, the two have formed several unity task forces on topics ranging from immigration to climate change.

Also, more tigers live in captivity in the United States than in the wild, and private ownership of big cats is often completely legal due to a lack of federal oversight.

And American cities were once home to large numbers of livestock: cows grazing Boston Common, pigs roaming through what's now downtown Manhattan.

Wild and domesticated animals in our past and present and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRX.

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. . . .

Long before the COVID-19 disruptions forced dairy farmers to dump swimming pool quantities of milk into fields, a third of all food produced was going to waste. That waste has huge consequences for hunger and the climate, but it's also a major opportunity to reduce food waste, feed the hungry, save money and reduce carbon emissions.

Also, sustainable living can be as much about returning to old, thrifty traditions as it is about innovative technologies. How to make your own food scrap soup, orange peel cleaners and more.

And a team of paleontologists in New Zealand has discovered fossils of the largest known parrot to ever exist, estimated to be a whopping 3 feet tall and 14 pounds.

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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The success of the Paris Climate Agreement took the thoughtful cooperation of all nations of the world and coordination by the UN team led by Christiana Figueres. In her new book "The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis", Figueres shares her personal experience of leading the 2015 Paris talks and outlines key strategies for moving our society towards ecological responsibility. Figueres joined Steve Curwood at a recent "Good Reads on Earth" virtual event to discuss the urgent need to kick fossil fuels, the current pandemic crisis, and more.

Also, climate disruption is wreaking havoc on the oceans of the world and the creatures that live there, including sea stars and salmon. Kori Suzuki reports.

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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Trump Stalls Clean Energy Loans / Beyond the Headlines / World's Largest Parrot: Note on Emerging Science / Food Waste Increase in the Pandemic / Tips for Low-Waste Living / The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis

Paris Climate Agreement lead UN diplomat Christiana Figueres recently wrote the book "The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis" and speaks about how making the urgently needed transition away from fossil fuels could also help rebuild economies broken by Covid-19.

Meanwhile, $43 billion in loans for clean energy innovators that was set aside by the Obama Administration has barely been touched. Representative Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ), Chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, discusses the holdup.

And sustainable living can be as much about returning to old, thrifty traditions as it is about innovative technologies. How to make your own food scrap soup, orange peel cleaners and more, this week on Living on Earth from PRX.

Find this week's transcript here: https://loe.org/shows/shows.html?programID=20-P13-00020. . . .

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

Trump Stalls Clean Energy Loans / Beyond the Headlines / World's Largest Parrot: Note on Emerging Science / Food Waste Increase in the Pandemic / Tips for Low-Waste Living / The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis

Paris Climate Agreement lead UN diplomat Christiana Figueres recently wrote the book "The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis" and speaks about how making the urgently needed transition away from fossil fuels could also help rebuild economies broken by Covid-19.

Meanwhile, $43 billion in loans for clean energy innovators that was set aside by the Obama Administration has barely been touched. Representative Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ), Chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, discusses the holdup.

And sustainable living can be as much about returning to old, thrifty traditions as it is about innovative technologies. How to make your own food scrap soup, orange peel cleaners and more, this week on Living on Earth from PRX.

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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Against long odds, in 2007 the United States Supreme Court decided the case Massachusetts v. EPA in favor of the states and environmental groups that had sought regulation of climate disrupting emissions. The case had enormous implications for environmental law, and it laid the legal groundwork for the Obama administration's climate change policies as well as the global Paris Climate Accord.

Harvard Law Professor Richard Lazarus, the author of the new book "The Rule of Five: Making Climate History at the Supreme Court," discusses with Steve Curwood the gripping behind-the-scenes story of how Massachusetts v. EPA made it all the way to the Supreme Court.

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

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Spring is in the air, and as insects face sharp declines, it's a great time to plant a pollinator-friendly garden.

Also, it's dandelion season and that means Grammy is on the prowl. At age 97 Virginia Dobell relishes picking the lawn-choking weeds and cooking them up for her family.

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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