Living on Earth

Ethane Crackers Spark Pollution Concerns / BirdNote®: Red-Necked Phalaropes, Spinners On The Sea / Living Near The Coast Could Boost Mental Health / Oyster Shell Recycling / Nobel Prize in Chemistry Recognizes Lithium Battery Discoveries / Beyond the Headlines / 'Largest YouTube Collaboration Ever' Aims to Plant 20 Million Trees A glut of cheap natural gas has petrochemical companies turning to ethane, a component of natural gas, to make plastic. But the process comes with massive carbon emissions and health concerns for host communities.

Also, the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry commemorates the work of three scientists who helped develop the lithium ion battery, which revolutionized electronics. We speak with one of those pioneering chemists.

And influencers on YouTube and other platforms are asking their billion subscribers to help plant 20 million trees.

"Team Trees" and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRI.

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10,000 Farmers Want a Green New Deal / BirdNote®: Who Likes Suet? / Beyond the Headlines / The Economic Value of the National Parks / Exploring the Parks: Great Smoky Mountains / Arctic Fox Hunting More than 10,000 farmers and ranchers from across the country have signed on to a letter that urges Congress to support a Green New Deal. They're asking for a massive overhaul of food and farming policy in order to address the climate crisis while providing economic security for independent family farms.

Also, the National Parks have been famously called "America's Best Idea," but they may also be "America's Best Investment", thanks to the valuable services they provide such as recreation, carbon storage, and educational programs.

And the latest in Living on Earth's series on public lands takes us to the most remote spot in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a biodiversity hotspot.

Exploring the parks and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRI.

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Youth Mental Health Problems From Pollution / Beyond the Headlines / Whistleblowers on Trump Science / The 2019 Fat Bear Week Champion / Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast This week on the podcast, the type of air pollution known as PM 2.5 is all around us from the burning of fossil fuels, and it's linked to strokes and heart attacks. Now there is mounting evidence that it may also be harming the mental health of children by worsening depression, anxiety, suicidality and more.

Also, Jonathan Safran Foer's new book explores the opportunity that reducing our meat consumption presents for reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions.

And the 2019 Alaskan fat bear tournament is over and we have a winner! Fat Bear Week is a yearly competition organized by Katmai National Park and Preserve in southern Alaska to honor its fattest, and healthiest, brown bears.

All that and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRI.

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Trump Fights California / Beyond the Headlines / Success of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative / DNA Barcoding for Quick Species ID / Bison and Sustainable Land Management The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, RGGI, has lowered carbon emissions in participating states by roughly fifty percent while at the same time lower electricity rates for consumers.

Some 30 million bison once roamed the Great Plains of North America, by the turn of the century there were less than 600. One ranch in Mexico is breeding bison to help the species recover and sustainably manage their land.

Just a tiny fraction of earth's species have been documented by science but a new technology, known as DNA barcoding, promises to rapidly increase our understanding of the life on earth.

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Silencing Spring / BirdNote®: Snowy Egrets - Killer Hats / Kids Versus the Climate Crisis / Fat Bear Week! / Beyond the Headlines / Container Farming in the City Scientists have documented a staggering decline in North America's birds in recent decades. As many as 3 billion birds have disappeared since 1970, and grassland birds and shorebirds have been hit especially hard.

Also, Fat Bear Week is a yearly competition to celebrate the fattest, healthiest brown bears in Katmai National Park.

And modern industrial agriculture is a resource-intensive endeavor, requiring massive amounts of land, water, and energy. Some urban farmers are thinking outside the box by bringing their farms inside the box in the form of shipping containers.

All that and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRI.

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UN Climate Action Summit / Beyond the Headlines / Clean Water Rollbacks / Rebooting Puerto Rican Power / Naomi Klein's Case for a Green New Deal When Hurricane Maria swept through Puerto Rico in 2017, it crippled the island's fossil fuel-dependent electrical grid. To improve resiliency, the territory is aiming for a 100%-renewable grid by 2050.

Also, stronger hurricanes are a sign that the world is on fire - but so is the movement that's calling for action. In her new book "On Fire", Naomi Klein lays out a case for a Green New Deal.

And kicking off Climate Week NYC is the 2019 United Nations' Climate Action Summit, an opportunity for nations to ramp up their greenhouse gas reduction commitments under the Paris Agreement.

All that and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRI.

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Coal Ash Cleanup Allegedly Deadly for Tennessee Workers / Andrew Yang's Climate Plan / Beyond the Headlines / Pronghorn Antelope / How the Border Wall Could Harm Wildlife Dozens of workers who helped clean up a 2008 coal ash spill in Tennessee have died and hundreds more fallen ill from diseases linked to the disaster. Now a fight for justice for these workers has won a round in the courts.

Also, how President Trump's border wall could sever habitats and migratory paths for wildlife in the borderlands, including birds.

And Democratic Presidential candidate Andrew Yang says his proposed "Freedom Dividend" of a thousand dollars a month to every American over 18 could help kickstart the fight against climate change.

All that and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRI.

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Amazon Tipping Point / Democratic Candidates Talk Solutions at Climate Town Hall / Reviewing the Climate Crisis Town Hall / Beyond The Headlines / Underland: A Deep Time Journey The fires in the Amazon rainforest are illuminating the alarming speed of deforestation in one of the most biodiverse places on Earth - and bringing it closer to a "tipping point" transition into dry savannah.

Also, Democratic presidential hopefuls spell out their plans to address the climate emergency at town halls hosted by CNN, and a Harvard economist reviews their schemes.

And author Robert Macfarlane ventures into ice caves, braves underwater rivers, and crawls through catacombs to discover the "deep time" running beneath our feet.

Those stories and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRI.

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Saltwater Beavers Bring Life Back to Estuaries / Everglades National Park, a "River of Grass" / Drilling in the Everglades / Fly-fishing Saved From Pollution / Gaza Water Crisis In the Gaza Strip, where every three out of four people are refugees, clean water is scarce and there's a worsening health crisis for Gaza's children.

Also, it turns out that beavers, a keystone species in some freshwater ecosystems, could hold the key to help restore degraded coastal habitats, too.

And Everglades National Park provides a place of sanctuary in nature for those looking for peace and quiet, as well as a front-row-seat view of wildlife like alligators.

The "River of Grass" and more, this week on Living on Earth from PRI.

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Toxicants in Diapers and Sanitary Pads / 'Romeo and Juliet' Frogs' First Steamy Date / Exploring The Parks: North Cascades National Park / Refugees Cultivate Healing Through Gardening / Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm's Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land A recent study finds that single-use diapers and sanitary pads contain phthalates and volatile organic compounds, chemicals that are known to cause a variety of health complications including birth defects and endocrine disruption.

Also, meet the farmers who are working to cultivate justice and root out racism, by reconnecting people of color to the earth.

And Sehuencas water frogs, like other amphibians, have been devastated by the chytrid fungus, and a frog that scientists named "Romeo" was the last known frog of his kind and had stopped singing for a mate. But recently scientists discovered "Juliet" hiding in the Bolivian cloud forest, and now Romeo's song is back.

All that and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRI.

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