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Eco Grief Among Scientists
2023 was the hottest year on record, at 1.48 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. That’s just below the 1.5 C increase that the UN says is the limit to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. As the summer of 2024 approaches in the Northern Hemisphere, climate scientists are raising the alarm on dangerous impacts of ongoing heat waves. We discuss ocean heat waves and profound grief among marine scientists.
Phantom Carbon Credits
Shell’s flagship carbon project in Canada generated millions of dollars in carbon credits based on greenhouse gas emission reductions that never took place. According to a study by Greenpeace Canada, the scheme was part of Shell’s billion-dollar Quest carbon capture project. While these phantom credits were legal from 2015 to 2021 under approved carbon tax rules, Shell’s actions raise questions about carbon capture practices in Canada’s lucrative fossil fuel industry. Researcher Keith Stewart describes the Greenpeace Canada probe.
Animal Self-Medication
Recently, a paper was published in the journal Scientific Reports describes the case study of an orangutan who treated and healed his own wound. Zoologists have long seen behaviors of self-medicating in the animal kingdom, but until now it has rarely if ever been documented in scientific literature. Michael Huffman, an ecologist who reviewed the paper, discusses how some animals heal themselves.
Nature and the Beat
From the chirp of a Katydid to the screech of a parrot, the sounds of nature are all around us and now can be used to help humans make music. Beast Box is a website that allows users to create their own unique songs using catchy beats and animal calls as the instruments.
New Power Plant Rules
To replace the Clean Power plan the Obama Administration failed to get past the courts the published new rules for existing coal plants and new gas power plants that tighten standards for the plants’ mercury emissions, wastewater, and coal ash. They also require coal power plants to curb their CO2 emissions over time.
Protecting India’s Forest
The 2024 Goldman environmental prize winner from Asia mobilized his community to protect the Hasdeo Aranya forests in the state of Chhattisgarh from coal mining. These forests are known as the “lungs of Chhattisgarh”, and a report from the Wildlife Institute of India estimated that around two-thirds of local annual income is tied to forest resources. Through a translator, Alok Shukla discusses his successful anti-mining campaign.
Fighting Pollution Linked to Online Shopping
The 2024 Goldman Environmental Prize recipient from North America, Andrea Vidaurre led a campaign that convinced the California Air Resources Board to make rules designed to decrease air pollution and lead to zero-emission trucking by 2036. These rules are aimed at reducing diesel pollution related to the online shopping industry. Andrea Vidaurre discusses her activism.
Celebrating 30 years of Living on Earth!
Host Steve Curwood in the Living on Earth studio
Join the Living on Earth Book Club on October 13th!
Bestselling science journalist Ed Yong joins us to talk about his new book. Click here to learn more and register!
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Eco Grief Among Scientists
2023 was the hottest year on record, at 1.48 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. That’s just below the 1.5 C increase that the UN says is the limit to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. As the summer of 2024 approaches in the Northern Hemisphere, climate scientists are raising the alarm on dangerous impacts of ongoing heat waves. We discuss ocean heat waves and profound grief among marine scientists.
Phantom Carbon Credits
Shell’s flagship carbon project in Canada generated millions of dollars in carbon credits based on greenhouse gas emission reductions that never took place. According to a study by Greenpeace Canada, the scheme was part of Shell’s billion-dollar Quest carbon capture project. While these phantom credits were legal from 2015 to 2021 under approved carbon tax rules, Shell’s actions raise questions about carbon capture practices in Canada’s lucrative fossil fuel industry. Researcher Keith Stewart describes the Greenpeace Canada probe.
Animal Self-Medication
Recently, a paper was published in the journal Scientific Reports describes the case study of an orangutan who treated and healed his own wound. Zoologists have long seen behaviors of self-medicating in the animal kingdom, but until now it has rarely if ever been documented in scientific literature. Michael Huffman, an ecologist who reviewed the paper, discusses how some animals heal themselves.
This Week’s Show
May 17, 2024
listen / download
Eco Grief Among Scientists
listen / download
2023 was the hottest year on record, at 1.48 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. That’s just below the 1.5 C increase that the UN says is the limit to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. As the summer of 2024 approaches in the Northern Hemisphere, climate scientists are raising the alarm on dangerous impacts of ongoing heat waves. We discuss ocean heat waves and profound grief among marine scientists.
Phantom Carbon Credits
listen / download
Shell’s flagship carbon project in Canada generated millions of dollars in carbon credits based on greenhouse gas emission reductions that never took place. According to a study by Greenpeace Canada, the scheme was part of Shell’s billion-dollar Quest carbon capture project. While these phantom credits were legal from 2015 to 2021 under approved carbon tax rules, Shell’s actions raise questions about carbon capture practices in Canada’s lucrative fossil fuel industry. Researcher Keith Stewart describes the Greenpeace Canada probe.
From the History Books
listen / download
Living on Earth contributor Peter Dykstra joins Host Aynsley O’Neill for a trip back in time to the creation of the Adirondack Forest Preserve, as well to Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s signing of the Tennessee Valley Authority Act.
Animal Self-Medication
listen / download
Recently, a paper was published in the journal Scientific Reports describes the case study of an orangutan who treated and healed his own wound. Zoologists have long seen behaviors of self-medicating in the animal kingdom, but until now it has rarely if ever been documented in scientific literature. Michael Huffman, an ecologist who reviewed the paper, discusses how some animals heal themselves.
Nature and the Beat
listen / download
From the chirp of a Katydid to the screech of a parrot, the sounds of nature are all around us and now can be used to help humans make music. Beast Box is a website that allows users to create their own unique songs using catchy beats and animal calls as the instruments.
Special Features
Field Note: "In Defense of Little Foxes"
Living on Earth Explorer-in-Residence Mark Seth Lender reflects on how experience and anthropocentrism color our perceptions of other species and how much we care about their well-being.
Blog Series: Mark Seth Lender Field Notes
Field Note: "Oh, Say Can You See?": Kingfisher on Long Island Sound
Living on Earth's Explorer in Residence Mark Seth Lender provides some context for his essay, "Oh, Say Can You See?" about a kingfisher on Long Island Sound.
Blog Series: Mark Seth Lender Field Notes
...Ultimately, if we are going prevent large parts of this Earth from becoming not only inhospitable but uninhabitable in our lifetimes, we are going to have to keep some fossil fuels in the ground rather than burn them...
-- President Barack Obama, November 6, 2015 on why he declined to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline.
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