Living on Earth

India's Farm Crisis and the Climate Emergency / Beyond the Headlines / Angry Birds and the People's Climate Vote / Bottlenose Whales in the Arctic / Modernizing Mobility / BirdNote®: Here Come the Barred Owls / In Honor of Black History Month: Harriet Tubman and the Barred Owl India is experiencing dramatic climate impacts that are hitting farmers especially hard. On top of that, the Indian government recently passed legislation that could make it harder for farmers to get a fair price for their crops, leading to massive protests. Also, games like Angry Birds meet climate policy through the work of the People's Climate Vote, a United Nations survey of more than a million people around the world. And in the United States transportation infrastructure is falling deep into disrepair with $2 trillion of deferred maintenance costs. President Joe Biden is seeking to modernize mobility infrastructure in a way that supports the broader overall goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. And as we celebrate Black History Month: Harriet Tubman was an unsung naturalist who used bird calls and her knowledge of woods and wetlands to lead some 70 people out of bondage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Biden's Pen and the Climate / Beyond the Headlines / GM in the EV Fast Lane / The COVID Biking Boom / An Owl-Inspired Hearing Test / Teddy Roosevelt's Conservation Legacy President Biden has signed detailed executive orders focused on protecting the environment and fighting against climate change, laying the groundwork for strong climate policy and green investment. And the private sector is already moving in that direction: General Motors recently announced a bold plan to phase out gas-powered cars by 2035, signaling a major step towards decarbonizing the economy and creating thousands of green jobs. Also, a look back at President Theodore Roosevelt's complicated legacy for conservation in a time when it's being reimagined with more diversity and inclusivity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Whole of Government For Climate Action / Resisting Line 3 Pipeline / COVID Risk for Tribal Cultures / Beyond the Headlines / Vista: A Break in the Storm / 'Becoming Wild' and Culture Among Animals The Biden Administration is making big and early moves to tackle the climate crisis and show the rest of the world and major investors that the U.S. is committed to decarbonization. Also, Native American communities have been hit especially hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, with nearly twice the mortality rate of white Americans. The deaths of tribal elders are also leading to losses of language and other cultural knowledge. And biologists are finding that many animal species from sperm whales to birds use language and other hallmarks of culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

U.S. Back in Paris Agreement / Biden Reverses Trump Rollbacks / Little Time Left to Save Right Whales / Beyond the Headlines / Ubuntu and Unity for Healing At his inauguration on January 20th President Biden called for unity at a time when America faces multiple crises. For a model of unity, Mr. Biden might look to the African concept of Ubuntu as a way to heal the many broken relationships in America. Also, hours after taking the oath of office, President Biden signed several executive orders to restore environmental protections removed by his predecessor, and recommitted the U.S. to the Paris Climate Agreement. The Executive Director of Greenpeace International joins us to talk about how the U.S. can get back on track with the rest of the world, after 4 years of turning its back on climate diplomacy. And the North Atlantic right whale is one of the world's most endangered species. With ship strikes and entanglement in fishing nets threatening its survival, environmental organizations have filed a lawsuit seeking expanded protections to save the whales before it's too late. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Merrick Garland and the Environment / Deb Haaland: 'Fierce for our Planet' / Interior's Next Frontiers / Beyond the Headlines / A Mayan Bee Guardian / Ice Visions President-elect Biden's Attorney General pick, Judge Merrick Garland, has ruled over many environmental rules and regulations while on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. What an AG Garland could mean for environmental policy and enforcement. Also, after four years in pursuit of extraction at the expense of conservation, the Department of the Interior is about to undergo a major change in how it manages federal public lands and relates to Native Americans. Biden's nominee for Secretary of the Interior, Congresswoman Deb Haaland, will be the first Native American to lead DOI if confirmed and would bring a strong conservation, climate action, and tribal rights perspective to the Department. And former Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell joins us to discuss how the Biden administration can pause oil and gas extraction on public lands, attract more renewable energy and restore the sacred Bears Ears National Monument. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Georgia's Green and Brown Voters / ANWR Oil Leasing / BirdNote®: The Oilbird's Lightless Life / Activism Cuts Plastic Waste in the Bahamas / Beyond the Headlines / Remembering Barry Lopez The Democratic victories for both of the Senate seats in Georgia's runoff elections are thanks in part to the state's environmental voters, who are more likely to be people of color and young, and to live in urban centers. Also, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge likely has billions of gallons of oil under it and for decades it's been one of the most high-profile environmental battles. Despite opposition from conservationists and native peoples, a judge allowed the Trump Administration to proceed with a last-minute auction of oil and gas drilling leases in the refuge. And the late Barry Lopez is being remembered as a beloved environmental writer who authored National Book Award-winning "Arctic Dreams" and many other works. We share a conversation with Barry Lopez from 2019, when his final book "Horizon" was published. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Care for the Common Critter / 'It Could Be the Last One': Stories of People Helping Rare Critters / Wildly Magical: Animal Encounters in the Galapagos / Native American Stories of Human and Animal Kinship From one woman's dream of swimming with marine iguanas, to uncommon encounters with common rabbits, to a Native American tale of how the dog came to be our loyal companion, and much more, this Living on Earth holiday storytelling special features stories of how other species on this Earth touch human lives. "Wildly Magical: Stories of Animal Encounters", a storytelling special from PRX. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Power Of Stories / Native American Tales / Stories of the Night Sky and an English Wassail Native American myths and tales help us endure or even enjoy the short days and long nights of winter. Living on Earth's annual celebration of stories helps connect people with the natural world, and includes an Iroquois explanation of why the constellation Pleiades twinkles overhead and an Abenaki custom that asks forgiveness for any wrongs of the previous year. Seasonal stories and more, in this holiday special from Living on Earth from PRX. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

UN Moves Forward with Paris Climate Agreement / China's Bold Climate Action Plan / Keeping Coal from Going to the Bank / Microfiber Pollution: Note on Emerging Science: Denim / Beyond the Headlines / The Reindeer Chronicles: Working with Nature to Heal the Earth / Story Time Environmental destruction and habitat loss can feel overwhelming, but the trend can be reversed, as people around the world reclaim land and help mother nature heal herself. That's the focus of a new book called "The Reindeer Chronicles." Also, the coronavirus pandemic has postponed important UN climate meetings, but the vital work of ramping up international ambition on climate must go on. The virtual "Climate Ambition Summit" recently showcased what nations are doing on that front, led by China. And French environmental activist Lucie Pinson, a 2020 Goldman Environmental Prize recipient, recognized that the most efficient way to stop new climate-damaging coal development wasn't tackling projects one by one. Instead, she went straight to the big banks and underwriters who fund and insure these projects, and convinced the financiers to divest. Those stories and more in this episode of Living on Earth from PRX. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Africa's Low Covid Fatality Rate / Beyond the Headlines / Journeys North: The Pacific Crest Trail / Produce and Microplastics / 'Tis the Season for Green Gifts Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Africa has shown a surprisingly low fatality rate. Underreporting may not fully account for the discrepancy, so scientists are looking further to see if there may be other factors. Also, every year, several hundred intrepid hikers walk all the way from Mexico to Canada, on the Pacific Crest Trail. Along their 2600-mile walk they encounter bears, trail magic, and the tight-knit community of the PCT. And microplastics are everywhere, including in farm soil. They can range in size from the width of a strand of spaghetti, to as small as a virus. How microplastics get into our soil and the risks they could pose for food. Those stories and more in this episode of Living on Earth from PRX. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices