Living on Earth

Gulf Orphans / Sexual Misconduct in the US Forest Service: One Woman's Story / BirdNote®: Blakiston's Fish Owl / Conch at the Edge / The Place Where You Live: Rose-Hill, Mauritius Western wildfires are growing more intense with global warming, and more women are joining the US Forest Service to help fight these fires. But a deep-seated macho culture in the agency means they often face hostility and harassment, and retribution if they complain.

Also, a team of rescuers wades through chilly northern waters to save "Gulf Stream orphans," tropical fish babies stranded up north by the Gulf Stream.

And down in the Bahamas, "conchservationists" work to save the Queen Conch, a marine mollusk that's in danger of being loved to death.

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

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Thousands of Lead-Poisoned Communities / Science Note: The Power of Dust / Obesity and House Dust / Bitcoin, The Energy Hog / Tamed and Untamed: Close Encounters of the Animal Kind Lead is a deadly neurotoxin that's especially harmful to children's brains, and though it's banned in paint and gasoline, it's still found at dangerous levels in many communities.

And another danger might be lurking under your bed - in dust bunnies. House dust can include chemicals that trigger the growth of mouse fat cells in the lab, and might be a factor in the obesity epidemic.

Also - what are animals thinking? Two best-selling writers muse on the thoughts and emotions of animals, and why some people believe chickens have names for their keepers.

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

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Flying Insects Crash / Emerging Science Note: Brazilian Peppertree / Trees On the Move / The Early Bird Breeds Fast / Baby Tern Goes Exploring / The Hidden Life of Trees / The Place Where You Live: Bear Creek, WI and St. Paul, MN Flying insects may plague us in the summer, but they're vital food sources for birds and bats, and they pollinate most of our crops. Yet 75% of them have vanished in the last quarter-century, with potentially disastrous consequences.

Also, the big old oak in your backyard may be rooted firmly in place- but its acorns can travel. Now as the planet warms and climates change, trees are on the move, and transforming the species mix in our forests.

We also take a look at how trees communicate via a "wood wide web" -- and a forester's conviction that they are far more sentient than we think.

The hidden life of trees and more, in this installment of Living on Earth from PRI.

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Greening the Military / Solar Eclipsing Coal in Jobs / India's Renewable Energy Revolution / Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right Renewable energy to the rescue: In the U.S. military, hybrid vehicles and innovations like 'solar blankets' can improve operations, and even save the lives of soldiers.

Also, in the U.S., coal still produces far more energy than solar. But solar already employs twice as many people as the coal industry does, and some former coal miners are becoming solar technicians.

And India is leading the world in slashing carbon emissions as it undertakes a renewable energy revolution.

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

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Global Warming to Worsen Southern Poverty / BirdNote: When the Amazon Floods / Linking Fracking and Radon / 100% Sun Power for Hampshire College / Fossil Fuel Freedom Fighters / Science Note: Nanowire Battery Breakthrough / The Telescope in the Ice: The Hunt for the Ghost Particle A new generation of nature writers is coming of age in America, and grappling with the loss of the pristine landscapes their parents and grandparents enjoyed.

Also, rising radon levels in Pennsylvania homes have been linked to fracking, but there's more to the story.

And one of the world's most sensitive telescopes is buried deep in Antarctic ice, searching for evidence of elusive neutrinos.

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

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GOP Tax On Global Warming Gases / What The Osprey Overheard: Mark Seth Lender / LED Impacts On Wildlife / Meet the Rare, Shy, and Hungry Humboldt Marten / Science Note: A Moonshot To Save Rhinos / DNA Technology For Rhino Protection / US Tries To Boost Infant Formula A new GOP carbon tax bill promises to fight climate change with a "tax swap" that would fund infrastructure and climate adaptation strategies.

Also, LED lights are energy-efficient, but they could be harming wildlife by leading sea turtles astray, and even perplexing the humble housefly.

And deep in the coastal forests of California and Oregon, the tiny and voracious Humboldt marten is threatened by habitat loss, trapping, and illegal cannabis farming.

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

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FEMA Unprepared To Help Puerto Rico / Repairing Puerto Rico's Corals / Combat Divers Restore Ocean Health / Beyond the Headlines / CRISPR Gene Tool Could Pinpoint Resilient Corals FEMA admits it failed to adequately prepare for Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, a disaster that cost thousands of human lives.

Maria devastated coral communities, too, so locals and combat diving veterans are coming to the rescue by putting healthy fragments back in place.

And as rising temperatures threaten corals across the globe, scientists are using CRISPR to identify which genes make some coral species more heat-tolerant.

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

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Pruitt Out, Wheeler In / Fracking On The Rachel Carson Trail / Judge Kavanaugh & Environmental Protection / Beyond The Headlines / BirdNote: Sparrow Sing In Arizona Monsoon / Hospital Farming For Better Health / The Place Where You Live: Anchorage, Alaska Scott Pruitt is gone and his deputy and former coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler, now acting administrator at the EPA, is expected to carry on Mr. Pruitt's legacy of regulatory rollbacks.

Change is also coming to the US Supreme Court , as Justice Kennedy steps down. Nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh has been tough on environmental regulations in past cases, and could shift the high Court further to the right.

And at a major trauma center and teaching hospital in Boston, a rooftop garden is helping patients heal by providing them with fresh, nutritious produce.

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

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Conservatives Join Climate Agenda / Beyond The Headlines / The Tide Keeps Rising / Ozone-destroying Chemicals Make A Comeback / An American Eden: The Lost Garden Underneath Rockefeller Center / Mark Seth Lender: Tern About As America celebrated Independence Day, we looked back to the legacy of the generation that followed the "founding fathers," and the pioneering physician who founded America's first botanical garden in the heart of what's now Rockefeller Center.

Also, a bipartisan carbon tax and dividend effort seeks to bring both sides of the aisle together for action on climate change, and looks past the 2018 midterm elections.

And as politicians work to find common ground on climate change, there's no time to waste in preparing for its impacts, suggests a study from NOAA that forecasts more frequent tidal flooding in the years ahead.

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

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Farm Bills Tough on Conservation and Food Stamps / US Relies on Imported Organic Foods / Climate Will Drive Corn Crop Failure / Beyond the Headlines / Central America's Climate Refugees / Audio Postcard: Sounds of São Paulo, Brazil Families say they are migrating from Central America in part because they are feeling climate disruption right now with disastrous storms and searing droughts.

And in this episode, we also focus on food. Congress is slashing farm conservation measures and US farmers can't seem to keep up with the growing demand for organic corn and soy.

Organic or not, corn seems to be heading for trouble as the world keeps warming, with a much higher risk of crop failures in the future.

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

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