Living on Earth

The Congo Basin in Central Africa is a critical biodiversity hotspot and linchpin in the fight against climate disruption. But will the world make good on its promises to protect biodiversity in the Congo and around the world?Also, the hit Netflix movie “Don’t Look Up” uses humor and the metaphor of an impending, Earth-obliterating comet to satirize climate denial, the political obstacles to climate action and the false promises of future technological fixes.And in nature, some animals live far longer than humans, and some don’t appear to age at all. One species of jellyfish can continually revert back to a juvenile stage, making it essentially immortal. Unlocking nature’s secrets to longevity and how humans can live longer.--We offer a full transcript for each show along with photos and links to learn more. Check it out at loe.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The summer of 2023 has seen extreme heat waves around the world. From Texas, how heatwaves have proven particularly dangerous for inmates in prisons that lack air conditioning.Meanwhile the UAE has increased its climate ambition targets under the Paris Agreement following criticism around their choice of a top oil executive to lead this year’s UN climate talks.  But environmental activists say the UAE is unlikely to meet its climate targets given its plans to boost oil and gas production.Also. parts of the deep ocean floor are covered with manganese nodules that contain minerals that could be extremely useful for renewable energy resources. But scientists say that mining these nodules could prove hazardous for deep ocean biodiversity. --Our team works hard to bring you the most important and compelling environmental news every single week. And we’re counting on you to help! If you can, please pitch in to support the work we do here at Living on Earth. Just go to loe.org and click on Donate. Thank you for supporting nonprofit environmental media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earth is choked by too much carbon in the atmosphere and running a fever that is only bound to get worse if we fail to restore its balance. How soaking up that excess carbon with the help of trees and plants is vitally important to life on Earth as we know it.Meanwhile, the financial sector isn’t taking likely climate impacts like sea level rise into account when it calculates risks to assets, according to a report. That leaves retirement accounts and pensions vulnerable in a warming world.Also, the California legislature is considering measures that would require large businesses to publicly disclose carbon emissions and verify claimed offsets. How the bills could help California meet its ambitious climate goals. -- Our team works hard to bring you the most important and compelling environmental news every single week. And we’re counting on you to help! If you can, please pitch in to support the work we do here at Living on Earth. Just go to loe.org and click on Donate. Thank you for supporting nonprofit environmental media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The chasing arrow symbol that many consumers think means a plastic product is recyclable often doesn’t mean that in practice, since most plastics are of little to no economic value. Why revising the use of the recycling symbol could reduce consumer confusion.Meanwhile, so-called ‘chemical recycling’ of plastics is a highly inefficient process that releases large amounts of carbon emissions and hazardous pollutants. And at the Brightmark chemical recycling plant in Indiana, health and safety problems have kept the plant from operating at full capacity.Also, extensive draining and channeling of the Everglades ecosystem has led to toxic algae blooms and land loss in Florida, so now a huge restoration effort is attempting to reverse some of those human caused consequences. But environmental groups have raised concerns about the design of the sixteen square mile reservoir at the heart of the project.--Our team works hard to bring you the most important and compelling environmental news every single week. And we’re counting on you to help! If you can, please pitch in to support the work we do here at Living on Earth. Just go to loe.org and click on Donate. Thank you for supporting nonprofit environmental media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first constitutional climate suit in the U.S. has made it to trial. Sixteen youthful plaintiffs allege that the state of Montana has violated their constitutional right to a “clean and healthful environment” by promoting fossil fuel extraction in the face of intensifying climate disruption. Also, global warming is slowing deep ocean currents near Antarctica that transport heat, carbon, and nutrients around the globe. Why this may spell trouble for the entire climate system.With two thirds of all cancer cases linked to environmental factors, many are calling for stronger chemical regulations as a means of cancer prevention. Treatments for cancer are better than ever, but cases continue to rise and cancer is still the second leading cause of death in the US. -- We offer a full transcript for each show along with photos and links to learn more. Check it out at loe.org.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

PFAS “forever chemicals,” linked to cancer, liver problems and more, are leaching into cosmetics, household cleaners, and even food stored in plastic containers treated with fluorination. EPA is now going after a company that uses the fluorination process, but some advocates say the agency isn’t doing enough to protect the public.Also, Shell’s massive new ethane cracker plant in western Pennsylvania is sending polluted air and strange smells into the surrounding community. But a $10 million fine pales in comparison to the roughly $100 million a day that the company made in profits in the first quarter of 2023.And only a few dozen species have ever recovered enough to make it off the endangered species list, due to a lack of funding and political controversy. --We offer a full transcript for each show along with photos and links to learn more. Check it out at loe.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The European Union’s new deforestation-free regulation blocks certain products made from cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soya, and wood, from entering the European market if they have been produced on land deforested after 2020.In honor of pride month we look into the academic discipline known as “queer ecology” which looks at environmental politics through a queer lens, rejecting heterosexual and cisgender identities as the only norms. Also, author Kate Beacon shares her story of austerity and trauma when working in Canada’s oil sands in her 2022 graphic memoir Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Generations of Black Americans have faced racism, redlining and environmental injustices, such as breathing 40 percent dirtier air and being twice as likely as white Americans to be hospitalized or die from climate-related health problems. So the quest for racial justice now must include addressing the climate emergency, writes Heather McTeer Toney in her book Before the Streetlights Come On: Black America’s Urgent Call for Climate Solutions. Also, the incredible story of Robert Smalls, who commandeered a Confederate ship called The Planter in Charleston, South Carolina in 1862 and liberated himself and his family from enslavement. How his courage relates to the courageous action and leadership that is now urgently needed to deal with the climate emergency.--And thanks to our sponsor:“Nuclear Now”, a new documentary from award-winning director Oliver Stone. Visit NuclearNowFilm.com to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New research is showing that antimicrobial chemicals called quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs), which are widely used in disinfectants, pesticides and personal care products, are linked to numerous health concerns like asthma and infertility. But there are major gaps in regulation of these chemicals. Also, over seven years poet Camille Dungy gradually transformed her sterile Fort Collins, Colorado lawn into a pollinator haven teeming with native plants and the wildlife they attract. Her book “Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden” recounts that journey alongside a world in turmoil amid the coronavirus pandemic, police violence and wildfires. Camille talks about how all her hard work amending hard clay soil has yielded gifts of joy as well as metaphors.And 2,000 people from across the globe recently gathered in Paris to work towards a UN treaty to eliminate plastic pollution. We paint a picture of a world with far less plastic and how we can get there.--And thanks to our sponsors:“Nuclear Now”, a new documentary from award-winning director Oliver Stone. Visit NuclearNowFilm.com to learn more.Oregon State University. Find out more about how Oregon State is making a difference at oregonstate.edu/believe-it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a decision reversing five decades of legal precedent, the U.S. Supreme Court effectively stripped environmental protections from nearly half of the wetlands in the nation. Also, the new White House Office of Environmental Justice will coordinate EJ efforts across all federal agencies. EPA Region 4 Administrator Daniel Blackman discusses how the office can help address the disproportionate pollution and climate-related damages that environmental justice communities in the Southeast U.S. often suffer. And thirty years ago, a neighborhood group in Tucson started harvesting local rainwater by directing runoff into street-side basins filled with native, food-bearing plants. How “planting the rain” improves neighborhoods, builds climate resilience, and helps the desert bloom.--And thanks to our sponsor:Oregon State University. Find out more about how Oregon State is making a difference at oregonstate.edu/believe-it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices