Living on Earth

New Hampshire Fights PFAS Pollution / Youth Climate Suit Plea / Beyond the Headlines / Recomposing the Departed / Global Warming Clues from Henry David Thoreau / Solid Seasons: The Friendship of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson / BirdNote®: Henry David Thoreau and the Wood Thrush New Hampshire may be one of the smallest states in the US, but it's taking on some of the largest chemical companies in the world. The state wants DowDuPont, 3M and six other companies to take financial responsibility for allegedly knowingly polluting the environment with the persistent toxic class of chemicals called PFAS and PFOA while failing to disclose the risks to public health.

Also, for most of recent human history, we've laid our dearly departed to rest through burial and cremation. But these can bear an environmental burden linked to land use and greenhouse gas emissions. Now, Washington State residents have a new green option: human composting.

And the Nineteenth Century writings of naturalist and transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau are treasured not only by students of environmental literature, but also scientists today using his observations to track how a warming world is affecting trees and flowers. We dive into that research, then sit down with the author of a new book that traces the "Walden" author's rich and fulfilling friendship with fellow transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson.

The legacy of Henry David Thoreau and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRI.

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Green Wave Sweeps European Parliament / Beyond the Headlines / The Law of Languages / Misfit Produce at Your Doorstep / Our Planet / BirdNote®: Ruddy Duck Can binge-watching help save our stricken world? The producers of a new Netflix original series are hoping to move viewers enough to demand real action on climate change. Our Planet, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, is streaming majestic scenes of life on Earth -- through the sobering lens of climate change -- to millions of viewers.

In fact the public's growing concern about climate change just helped usher in a new wave of Green party members to the European Parliament. And thanks to the increasingly fragmented body, with its multiple competing parties, the Greens have some leverage despite still holding only about 10% of seats.

Also, every human language that's been tested follows a curious pattern called Zipf's law. Now researchers are looking to see if non-human languages, like the clicks and whistles used by dolphins and whales, follow a similar structure.

The law of languages and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRI.

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Global Warming Poor Tax / Beyond the Headlines / BirdNote®: Recycle Your Egg Shells to Help Nesting Birds / Saving West Africa's Last Rainforest / Grammy Goes A-Gatherin' When an oil palm development in the poor West African country of Liberia uprooted indigenous communities, destroying their religious shrines and burial grounds, and threatened the last major tropical rainforest in West Africa, lawyer Alfred Brownell jumped into action. He was able to get the company to back off, but was then forced to flee for his life.

And, as if the crop failures, infrastructure damage, and biodiversity loss linked to climate change weren't already enough, new research finds that global warming appeared to reduce the GDP of the world's poorer countries by 25 percent since 1961.

Also, dandelions can be the bane of some who care for lawns. But for 97-year-old Grammy, dandelions are a culinary delight.

Grammy goes a-gatherin' and more, this week on Living on Earth from PRI.

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Julián Castro Campaigns / Remembering the Legacy of Jim Fowler / Congestion Fee for NYC / Cutting Emissions From NYC Skyscrapers / BirdNote®: Unlikely Places to Go Birding / Beyond the Headlines / Leopard Seal Says Hello / Protecting the Cook Islands from Overfishing Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro is making climate change a key part of his campaign for president. At a recent meet and greet in New Hampshire, he laid his climate agenda and why a green economy can be a strong, job-creating economy.

Also, New York City just became the first in the nation to adopt a congestion pricing plan. It's expected to raise about a billion and a half dollars in revenue every year for its crumbling subway system and cut down on some of Manhattan's infamous traffic.

And NYC has taken another major step in the fight against climate change by putting big buildings on a low-carbon path, requiring them to reduce emissions 80% by 2050.

Greening NYC and more, this week on Living on Earth from PRI.

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Bipartisan House Vote For 'Climate Action Now' / Climate-Resilient Cities / A Grave Biodiversity Warning / Beyond The Headlines / Goldman Prizewinner Vanquishes Oil Terminal Project / Exploring The Parks: North Cascades National Park As climate disruption advances with rising sea levels and more intense storms, floods and wildfires, some people are thinking about safer places to live. Duluth, Minnesota and Buffalo, New York are already branding themselves as climate resilient, thanks to their cool climate and proximity to fresh water.

Also, the US House passes an historic climate action bill with bi-partisan votes.

And meet the hero who fought a massive oil terminal project slated for Vancouver, Washington.

How community organizing vanquished a fossil fuel project and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRI.

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A Refugee Camp Becomes a City / Tulsi Gabbard's Presidential Bid / No-Show Green Voters / Beyond the Headlines / Pioneer Warren Washington Wins Tyler Prize In Uganda's Bidibidi refugee camp, progressive policies enable South Sudanese refugees to live, farm, and work freely with locals, to foster the growth of small businesses and infrastructure. The goal: to attract outside investments and build an enduring future city.

Also, Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) is a Democratic candidate for the 2020 Presidential elections. Campaigning in New Hampshire Congresswoman Gabbard spoke about the importance of addressing climate change and reducing military spending.

And approximately 20 million registered voters in the US list the environment as one of their top two priorities. But many of these "super-environmentalists" stay home on Election Day.

Getting out the green vote and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRI.

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Klobuchar Goes Green / A Citizen Science BioBlitz / Beyond the Headlines / Microbeads in the Great Lakes / Microplastics Leading to Macro-Problems / A Season on the Wind: Inside the World of Spring Migration A handy smartphone app is all that's needed to participate in a citizen science "bioblitz", a brief, intensive survey of biological diversity over a set area and time. This year, thousands are expected to participate in the City Nature Challenge.

Also, microplastics are everywhere, and sewage treatment doesn't remove them from the water. So they end up in lakes and streams, posing a growing threat to freshwater and saltwater ecosystems.

And a veteran field guide author discusses the incredible phenomenon that happens every spring and fall, as a journey of thousands of miles begins with a single flap.

The wonders of migration and more, in this episode of Living on Earth from PRI.

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Exxon Sued Over Climate Risks of Storage / Beyond The Headlines / Earth Day Checkup / BirdNote®: What's Your State Bird? / Prepping for the City Nature Challenge / Exploring the Parks: Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve Since the first Earth Day in 1970, much has been done to clean up our air and water, here in the U.S. and elsewhere. But the world now faces the imminent threats of climate change and biodiversity loss, with a long way to go on curbing carbon emissions.

Also, our newest installment in Living on Earth's series exploring America's public lands takes us to the grizzlies and volcanism of Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve, deep in the remote Alaskan wilderness.

And as sea level rise and intensifying storms put coastal ecosystems, communities, and industrial facilities at risk, ExxonMobil faces a lawsuit over the alleged vulnerability of the company's Boston Harbor storage facility to climate disruption.

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

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'Mayor Pete' and the Climate / Beyond the Headlines / Fearsome Bull Elephant Musth / Science Note: Can Plants Hear? / Pesticide Risks Ignored at Trump Interior Dept. / BirdNote®: Sage Grouse Lek and Grasslands / The Sage Hen and the Sage Brush / Greater Peril for the Greater Sage Grouse Pete Buttigieg, the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is making climate change a focal point of his forward-looking campaign. That message resonates with those voters young and old who see "Mayor Pete" as uniquely qualified to talk about the future.

Also, over 84,000 pages of documents have surfaced alleging new Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt's interference with a U.S. Fish and Wildlife report on the risks the pesticides chlorpyrifos, malathion and diazinon may pose to endangered species.

And don't miss the marvelous sounds of the Greater Sage Grouse as it performs its traditional mating dance. Unfortunately, the Western sage brush ecosystem indicator species is now more vulnerable to grazing and oil and gas development, now that the Trump Administration has lifted Obama-era restrictions that were meant to protect the iconic bird.

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

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Idai Disaster Update / Beyond the Headlines / The Power of the Purse and 'Climate Action Now' / Youth Testify for Climate Action / 'Romeo and Juliet' Frogs' First Steamy Date / Everglades National Park, a "River of Grass" / Drilling in the Everglades / BirdNote®: Rivers of Birds In this episode, Cyclone Idai brought destruction for residents of Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. With the UN calling Idai one of the worst natural disasters to ever hit the Southern hemisphere, East Africans have a long road to recovery ahead.

Also, the newly introduced Climate Action Now bill, HR 9, aims to use Congress' "power of the purse" to keep the U.S. in the Paris Climate Agreement. The bill also calls for President Trump to make a plan to meet the U.S. commitments under the agreement.

And the sehuencas water frogs known as "Romeo" and "Juliet" have had their first steamy date in hopes of saving their dwindling species. Matchmaking to save a species and more, in this episode on Living on Earth from PRI.

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