The new Pope, Leo XIV, has worked with interfaith environmental networks and there’s hope around the world that he may follow in the footsteps of his predecessor Pope Francis and bring issues of the environment and climate change to the forefront of his agenda.

Also, autism spectrum disorder is now diagnosed in about 1 in 31 children in the United States, a rise of 70 percent in just four years according to the CDC. In addition to better awareness and changing diagnostic tools, growing scientific evidence also points to the role of exposure to toxic chemicals especially during early development in the rising prevalence of autism.

And the American oystercatcher is a conservation success story thanks in part to efforts to educate the public and protect their ground nests from unaware beachgoers.

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At the direction of President Trump the U.S. Department of Justice has sued four states -- Vermont, New York, Hawaii, and Michigan -- that are trying to recover some climate costs from major fossil fuel companies through climate superfund laws and litigation. The DOJ cases are seen by some as frivolous extensions of the other actions the Trump administration has taken to aid the fossil fuel industry.

Also, a project called Climate Wayfinding aims to tend to the deepest needs of climate activists by providing a space for reflection, connection, and clarity amid the chaos. Climate Wayfinding has its roots in the All We Can Save project, co-founded by Dr. Katharine Wilkinson, who shares her own story of moving from feeling lost to gaining clarity about her role in the climate movement.

And "depaving parties" of volunteers with sledgehammers are turning paved yards into pollinator havens and green space. That can help reduce climate impacts from extreme heat and flooding.

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The latest “State of the Air” report by the American Lung Association finds that nearly half of people living in the U.S. breathe unhealthy levels of air pollution. Soot and smog are on the rise in part because climate change is bringing more wildfires and ozone-forming conditions.

Also, a key climate modeling program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA is slated for near-elimination, according to a draft White House memo. That could have consequences for weather forecasting, disaster preparedness, agriculture, military operations and more.

Plus - parakeets have astounding vocal abilities and are able to mimic as many as 1700 human words. And their brains may provide insight into how we humans talk. In a recent study, researchers found human-like neural activity during vocalization. They hope this research may help shed light on communication disorders in humans such as autism.

***Join us on Zoom Thursday, May 8 at 8 p.m. Eastern for

Learn more and register at loe.org/events.***

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As the world remembers the legacy of Pope Francis we return to his groundbreaking writings on climate and environment that called for a fundamental shift in our economic system, and a rethinking of our relationship with God's creation: the natural world.

Also, a 2025 Goldman Environmental Prize recipient was repeatedly told there was nothing to worry about when it came to PFAS “forever chemicals” linked to illnesses in her community. But she did not back down, and her persistence paid off.

And as Poetry Month ends, we turn to poet Dorianne Laux, whose latest collection is titled Life on Earth. Her poem “Evening” from a few years ago simultaneously expresses her grief at her recent loss of her mother and the waning of the whole biosphere in the face of climate disruption.

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Living on Earth is celebrating 55 years of Earth Day with a solution-based broadcast. Grammy nominated singer and Earth Day ambassador Antonique Smith uses the art of storytelling and music to promote environmental justice and climate action in communities of faith and color.

Nalleli Cobo is a young activist who was awarded the 2022 Goldman Prize for North America after fighting an oil company whose wells were making her community sick.

Also, how shallow geothermal energy networks are presenting signs of hope for the climate crisis.

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President Trump has issued an executive order that directs the U.S. attorney general to identify and block state laws that deal with climate change, environmental justice, and carbon emissions.

A study from Johns Hopkins researchers found that residents near or on the fence line of polluting enterprises are at higher risk for multiple health problems because of the toxic mix of air they breathe. The lead researcher explains the study.

In terms of physics, global warming comes down to an energy imbalance as Earth is taking in more energy than it is releasing. An atmospheric scientist explains how a shrinking cloud cover is contributing to climate change.

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Experts are still trying to piece together how tornado patterns have changed in the last century and are likely to keep changing as the world gets hotter. A meteorologist explains the eastward shift of tornadoes in the US and how newly vulnerable populations can stay safe.

Also, the Trump administration is slashing personnel and research grants at two dozen federal agencies, including those conducting critical science. Science has long played a key role in the federal government, and government research catalyzed major innovations that led to the Internet and the space program, laying the groundwork for the private sector to move in.

And, for Poetry Month -- the songbirds called vireos have increased in number by more than 50 percent in recent decades, while birds overall are struggling. That was the inspiration for Catherine Pierce’s poem, “What I Want to Believe About the Vireos.”

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 A North Dakota jury found in favor of pipeline company Energy Transfer and ordered Greenpeace to pay more than $600 million in damages over its role in helping protest the Dakota Access Pipeline. Some legal experts call the case a classic SLAPP or Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation suit and a threat to free speech.

Also, a program funded by the 2021 bipartisan Infrastructure Law sought to install many more electric vehicle chargers. But now the Trump administration has stalled this funding.

And the world can be an awfully noisy place. Ed Jahn of Oregon Public Broadcasting took a journey in search of silence and found what could be the quietest place in Oregon.

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As President Trump and the Republican-led Congress aim to shrink the federal government and renew major tax cuts, hundreds of billions of dollars in clean energy tax credits could be on the chopping board. Twenty-one House Republicans whose districts are benefiting from the tax credits are petitioning GOP leadership to keep them intact.

Also, under President Biden the Department of Justice and EPA sued petrochemical manufacturer Denka, alleging that its Reserve, Louisiana plant posed unacceptable cancer risks. But the Trump administration abruptly dropped the case just weeks before the scheduled start of a trial.

And the expansion of fracking or hydraulic fracturing for natural gas is generating large amounts of waste contaminated with heavy metals and radiation. Some of it gets sent to landfills like one in the small town of Yukon, Pennsylvania – where EPA has documented unacceptable levels of pollution draining from the landfill into a local creek.

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The Trump administration announced plans to roll back multiple environmental regulations, cut EPA spending and push back environmental justice programs. We cover how recent federal actions impact environmental policy as well as the role our guest Christine Todd Whitman played as the former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency during the Bush administration.

Also, plastics can contain thousands of chemicals like phthalates and PFAS which are harmful to human and animal health. A new study published in the journal Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, found that higher exposure to disposable takeout containers, was linked to a higher risk of congestive heart failure in both humans and animals. We discuss this study, and others related to plastics and health.

And From abolitionist Harriet Tubman to novelist Louisa May Alcott, some of the country’s most important women trailblazers shared a connection with the natural world in their girlhood. Tiya Miles shares their stories in her book Wild Girls: How the Outdoors Shaped the Women Who Challenged a Nation.

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