Energy Powers Democratic Wins, Earth’s Cryosphere On Thin Ice, Rights of Nature for Stingless Bees and more.
November’s elections brought victories across the country for state and local Democratic candidates who pledged to address rising energy costs. The challenges of meeting those promises the incoming Governors of Virginia and New Jersey, and Mayor of New York, will likely face.
Also, a recent report warns that the European Alps, Rockies of the Western U.S. and Canada, Iceland, and Scandinavia would lose nearly all ice at 2°Celsius of warming – a threshold we’re currently on track to exceed.
And in the Peruvian Amazon, the Asháninka people have developed a symbiotic relationship with the local bees, which often lack stingers, and their honey. A new and innovative law in Peru has granted these bees legal rights to help protect them and the indigenous people living with them.
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If you’re already an LoE supporter, thank you! And if you’ve been considering supporting LoE, now is a great time to give during our fall fundraiser. Visit LoE dot org and click donate. And thank you for supporting Living on Earth!
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51:39
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51:39
UN Climate Talks Kick Off in Brazil, Pope and King Share a Prayer for Creation, Hurricane Melissa Recovery Effort and more.
The biggest climate negotiations of the year, COP30, are kicking off in Belem in the Brazilian Amazon. Longtime COP observer Jennifer Morgan joins us to preview COP30 and discuss the focus on closing the gap between current greenhouse gas reduction policies and what’s needed to limit warming to a safer level.
Also, King Charles III, who leads the Anglican Church, and Pope Leo XIV, who leads the Roman Catholic Church, recently joined in a historic prayer in the Sistine Chapel. This act of unity by these two faith leaders who are also sovereign heads of state was embedded in their shared concern for the environment, or creation.
And as one of the strongest hurricanes ever documented in the Atlantic, Hurricane Melissa brought catastrophic damage to Jamaica and Cuba, and an extensive relief and recovery effort is now underway. We talk about the aid efforts, long road to recovery, and importance of building back better.
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Federal funding for public radio has ended. But support from listeners like you always helps us keep the lights on no matter what. Living on Earth needs listeners like you to keep our weekly environmental news coverage going strong.
If you’re already an LoE supporter, thank you! And if you’ve been considering supporting LoE, now is a great time to give during our fall fundraiser. Visit LoE dot org and click donate. And thank you for supporting Living on Earth!
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51:40
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51:40
Climate Monster in the Caribbean, Gwich’in People Resist Arctic Drilling, Serial Killers and Lead Exposure, and more.
Hurricane Melissa, the strongest storm to hit the Caribbean in modern times, left a wake of destruction in Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti that will take years to recover from. A Jamaican climate physics professor describes the toll of this climate catastrophe, and a meteorologist joins us to explain how the storm grew so ferocious in the blink of a hurricane’s eye.
Also, Gwich’in Alaska Natives, which consider the land of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge sacred and local Porcupine Caribou as relatives, are expressing alarm at how renewed prospects of drilling in this fragile environment could upend their world.
And the Pacific Northwest of the US harbored a serial killer hotspot of sorts in the 1970s, associated with the neurotoxin lead. Seattle-born author Caroline Fraser explores this link in her book Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers. She discusses how dangerously high lead exposure from smelters and gasoline may have led to the increase of violence and murders in the region.
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Federal funding for public radio has ended. But support from listeners like you always helps us keep the lights on no matter what. Living on Earth needs listeners like you to keep our weekly environmental news coverage going strong.
If you’re already an LoE supporter, thank you! And if you’ve been considering supporting LoE, now is a great time to give during our fall fundraiser. Visit LoE dot org and click donate. And thank you for supporting Living on Earth!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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51:30
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51:30
The Forest Cost of Beef, Media and the Meat Habit, Rebuilding Back Better After Wildfire and more.
A recent Human Rights Watch report found that illegal cattle ranching and clearing of the Amazon rainforest has led to the forced eviction of small farmers and indigenous people in the state of Pará, Brazil. We discuss the stakes for the planet and people, as well as possible solutions.
Also, meat is the biggest single source of carbon emissions from the food system, which is itself responsible for a third of global greenhouse gas emissions. We talk about the gap between reality and coverage of how meat contributes to global warming, as well as effective strategies for encouraging people to choose to eat less meat without trying to force them to do so.
And David Brancaccio of Marketplace lost his home in the devastating Los Angeles fires this past January only two months after moving in. We check back in with David to hear about his hopes to rebuild with fire-resistant material.
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Federal funding for public radio has ended. But support from listeners like you always helps us keep the lights on no matter what. Living on Earth needs listeners like you to keep our weekly environmental news coverage going strong.
If you’re already an LoE supporter, thank you! And if you’ve been considering supporting LoE, now is a great time to give during our fall fundraiser. Visit LoE dot org and click donate. And thank you for supporting Living on Earth!
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51:57
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51:57
Coalition Defends Solar for All, Taming the Monsters of Halloween Waste, Chicago River Restored to Health and more.
Facing lost jobs and higher energy prices after the Trump EPA canceled $7 billion in low-income solar grants, a coalition of labor, green and anti-poverty groups is teaming up to fight in court for clean energy jobs and save “Solar for All.”
Also, one of the most frightening aspects of Halloween is the monstrous amounts of waste it can generate. We share ideas for making Halloween a little more sustainable, from recycling candy wrappers, to composting pumpkins, to thrifting costumes.
And on September 21st, hundreds of people leapt into the Chicago River for the first public swimming event since 1927. We discuss how major projects including green infrastructure have helped clean up the river for both people and wildlife to enjoy.
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As the planet we call home faces a climate emergency, Living on Earth is your go-to source for the latest coverage of climate change, ecology, and human health. Hosted by Steve Curwood and brought to you by PRX.
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