Living on Earth

Threatened by draconian tariffs, the US solar industry has been largely frozen since April and laid off thousands of workers, stalling crucial progress towards climate goals. But on June 6th, President Biden signed executive orders temporarily suspending tariffs and boosting domestic solar panel production.Also, with the start of the Atlantic hurricane season June 1, Tropical Storm Alex has already flooded Cuba, the Bahamas, and South Florida. Wildfires are already ravaging parts of the western United States, deadly heat waves are predicted, and some scientists say summer in the United States is the 'danger season'.And the stories of real people living through the climate emergency can help us comprehend what a degree of temperature change or a foot of sea level rise actually means. “1,001 Voices on Climate Change” and more.--Our podcast is supported this week by:<a href=“https://getmaude.com/”>maude</a>. Get a treat from maude! Use the code EARTH to get $5 off your first order on all products.And also <a href=“http://getaway.house/”>getaway.house</a>. Use promo code EARTH to save $25 on your stay — and enjoy more free time in the great outdoors.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Australia is a leading coal and natural gas exporter and has stubbornly opposed major climate action for decades, even as climate disasters like fires, floods, and droughts have taken their toll. But now Australian voters have ushered in a more progressive Parliament in the recent elections that signal their country is heading in a new direction on climate.Also, we continue our conversations with this year’s recipients of the Goldman Environmental Prize with Julien Vincent, the winner for Islands and Island Nations who led a grassroots campaign that had people cutting up their credit cards in a bid to convince Australia’s biggest banks and insurers to stop funding coal.And take the A Train: Gateway National Recreation Area offers green spaces, beaches and recreation just a quick transit ride from New York City.Plus, with inflation driving up food prices, we share some gardening tips to help you save some green with your green thumb.--Our podcast is supported this week by:<a href=“https://www.wren.co/start/loe”>Wren</a>, where you can calculate and offset your carbon footprint.And by <a href=“https://getmaude.com/”>maude</a>. Get a treat from maude! Use the code EARTH to get $5 off your first order on all products.And also <a href=“http://getaway.house/”>getaway.house</a>. Use promo code EARTH to save $25 on your stay — and enjoy more free time in the great outdoors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the past decade, the EPA has received over 98,000 reports of harm and over 2500 reports of pet deaths connected to the Seresto brand of pesticide-containing flea collars. But the EPA has never issued any warnings or recalls of these collars.Also, the 2022 Goldman Environmental Prize recipient for Africa is Chima Williams, an environmental lawyer who worked with two communities to hold Royal Dutch Shell accountable for disastrous oil spills in Nigeria. We talk about why Chima and his colleagues brought the case all the way to the Hague in the Netherlands to pursue justice. And in the coming weeks we’ll feature more stories of this year’s intrepid Goldman Prize winners.And after dozens of missions to Mars over nearly five decades, NASA has finally captured the first ever audio recorded on the surface of the red planet, and we listen in.--Support for Living on Earth comes from <a href=“ https://www.bio.org/podcast”>the I Am Bio podcast</a>, with powerful stories of biotech breakthroughs, the people they help, and the global problems they solve.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 6-3 conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to constrain climate action by the Environmental Protection Agency in a decision before the end of the SCOTUS term in June. Why a loss for EPA in this one case, West Virginia v. EPA, could limit climate policies across multiple agencies.Also, on Earth Day April 22, Wynn Bruce, a Buddhist and environmental activist, set himself on fire on the steps of the Supreme Court to protest inaction on climate change. A conversation about the urgent message behind this extreme action and moving beyond climate despair.And the suspect of the recent mass murder of Blacks in Buffalo is a self-proclaimed white supremacist and eco-fascist. What the environmental movement must do to delegitimize the eco-fascist movement’s use of violence and racist ideology.--Support for Living on Earth comes from <a href=“https://www.wren.co/start/loe”>Wren</a>, where you can calculate and offset your carbon footprint.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With record low water levels that threaten hydropower generation, the federal government has decided to retain water in Lake Powell and release less to Lake Mead and beyond. But the Colorado River basin still faces a long-term water shortage that imperils the future of cities and farms in the Southwest. Also, the sea ice that Inuit people rely on for travel and hunting is growing dangerously thin. Now, sensors and GPS technology along with Inuit traditional knowledge are helping to measure sea ice in real time.And as civilization hurtles toward climate disaster, the world continues to rely heavily on fossil fuels and drag its heels on transitioning to clean energy. Harvard University Professor of the History of Science Naomi Oreskes joins us to note climate change science is unequivocal and why the paths to solving the climate crisis are political and social. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Whistleblowers say EPA endangers public health by being too cozy with industry and approving cancer-causing and other unsafe chemicals.  Also, "No Mow May." The movement to leave our lawnmowers in the garage for the month of May and give pollinators a chance to access spring flowers.  And, in her new book, "The Hawks Way" author Sy Montgomery takes a deep dive into the world of hawks and falconry.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Electric vehicles are key to decarbonizing the transportation sector but most cars sold in the U.S. are still gas-powered. Even in Massachusetts, where a climate law requires net zero emissions by 2050, EV numbers are nowhere near where they need to be.  Also, the extraction of minerals on U.S. public lands is based on a 150-year-old law that doesn’t require royalty payments or adequate protection for the environment and local people. The antiquated law is impacting the future of renewable energy and electric vehicles as companies mine for lithium, an essential component for large battery storage. And for years Twin Metals Minnesota has sought to mine for copper and nickel just outside the pristine Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, but the Biden administration recently canceled two federal mining leases the company needs to begin operations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our Earth Day special examines this decisive moment for the human species and our challenging relationship with our planet.We meet people who envision a future reshaped by an emerging energy system and new power structures, as we wean off of fossil fuels.Next we take a big-picture view of Earth as a complex and sustaining organism known as Gaia. Over billions of years life has interacted with the elements of this planet in cycles of constant change and adaptation. With the help of deep ecologists, children, an astronaut and more, we survey our place on this ever-evolving living planet.And while science and policy are vital in building a more sustainable world, they can't convey the values we need as we strive for ecological harmony. Indigenous stories, holy scriptures, East Asian cosmologies, papal encyclicals and divine revelation all shed light on our duties and relationship to each other and to our common home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The new James Webb Space Telescope is by far the most powerful space telescope ever built, able to see up to a hundred galaxies at once and detect the light emitted from some of the universe's very first stars while also checking planets near and far for conditions compatible for life. Also, Wildlife Services, a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, killed 1.75 million animals in 2021, including bears, wolves and beavers among 400,000 native animals. USDA claims these exterminations protect agriculture and public health, but opponents say there are better ways to deal with animals that present problems for humans.And trillions of dollars of financial assets are at risk of losses related to the climate, so the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is now moving to require public companies to disclose their climate risk.The Living on Earth Book Club is back! Join us April 25th at 5:30 p.m. Eastern in Concord, New Hampshire or online from the comfort of your own home for a conversation with bestselling author Sy Montgomery about her new book, The Hawk’s Way: Encounters with Fierce Beauty. Register at loe.org/events.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. solar installation business has been frozen suddenly in its tracks by a U.S. Department of Commerce investigation into whether China is evading tariffs on solar cells and panels. So at a time when there is more demand than ever for solar power, the solar industry is now experiencing project delays, layoffs, and uncertainty. Also, as climate related disasters worsen, the people who help rebuild cities afterwards are more vital than ever. But advocates say these “resilience workers” are underpaid, overworked and lack the resources they need to be safe in hazardous working conditions. A new bill aims to change that. And for poetry month, a look at a collection of poems that peer deep into the past at species long gone to grapple with the extinctions unfolding today. The author of “Dear Specimen” on the role of poetry in revealing and consoling our anxieties about the climate and extinction crises.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices