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Journeys North: The Pacific Crest Trail
Every year, several hundred intrepid hikers walk all the way from Mexico to Canada, along the Pacific Crest Trail. At more than twenty-six hundred miles long, it covers some of the most challenging and spectacular terrain in North America. But it’s not just about the pretty scenery, writes Barney Scout Mann in his book Journeys North: The Pacific Crest Trail. He joins Host Bobby Bascomb to talk about braving blizzards, bears and blisters, and the tight-knit community he and his wife Sandy found on their PCT hike.
The Dark
As night falls many animals rely on sound to find each other and communicate. In the dark, sound is sight. Living on Earth’s Explorer-in-Residence Mark Seth Lender tells of a nighttime chorus in southern Colorado.
Sustainable Thanksgiving Fare from the Sea
Some like ‘em and others don’t but oysters can be eaten in many ways beyond the half-shell, and farmed correctly they nourish shallow waters. From his coastal Maine kitchen celebrity chef Barton Seaver joins Host Steve Curwood to talk about how oyster farming supports local economies and ecosystems, and whips up an oyster-flavored Thanksgiving stuffing.
Midtown Coyote
In an era of remote learning and spotty Zoom meetings, we humans still have it easier than many animals trying to raise their young. Writer Jennifer Berry Junghans on how a mother coyote manages to eke out a living in the heart of California’s capitol.
Green Questions on the 2020 Ballot
Despite so much uncertainty during the 2020 presidential election, there have been some concrete answers on key environmental ballot questions across the country. Dharna Noor, staff writer for Earther, tells Host Aynsley O'Neill about the outcomes of the green ballot measures in the 2020 election.
Tales of Two Planets: Stories of Climate Change and Inequality In A Divided World
While the climate crisis poses grave risks for all it also increases the gap between the privileged and the marginalized. A new anthology called Tales of Two Planets: Stories of Climate Change and Inequality in a Divided World is a collection of poems, short stories, essays, and reportage about the relationship between social inequality and the climate emergency. Host Aynsley O’Neill spoke with editor John Freeman about how fiction, nonfiction, and poetry are building a compelling literature on how climate change affects us all.
Cape Wind in Doubt
Wind turbines in the Irish Sea. The United States has yet to establish offshore wind, but countries in Europe have taken the plunge (photo: Andy Dingley)
Hummingbirds in the Canyon
Watching hummingbirds in Arizona's Madera Canyon gave Mark Seth Lender an up close view of their interactions, and a chance to take spectacular photos.
Beyond the Headlines
Peter Dykstra of the Daily Climate and Environmental Health News brings us some far-flung environmental stories from this past week that didn’t make the headlines. This week: salt intrusion in Bangladesh and rare earth mining in Greenland.
Africa's Low Covid Fatality Rate
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Africa has shown a surprisingly low fatality rate. Though the continent is home to 17% of the people on the planet, it only has reported 3.5% of the world's COVID deaths. Even with the knowledge that there may be underreporting, scientists are looking further to see if there may be other factors. Andrew Harding, Africa Reporter for the BBC, joins Host Aynsley O'Neill for more.
Journeys North: The Pacific Crest Trail
Every year, several hundred intrepid hikers walk all the way from Mexico to Canada, along the Pacific Crest Trail. At more than twenty-six hundred miles long, it covers some of the most challenging and spectacular terrain in North America. But it’s not just about the pretty scenery, writes Barney Scout Mann in his book Journeys North: The Pacific Crest Trail. He joins Host Bobby Bascomb to talk about braving blizzards, bears and blisters, and the tight-knit community he and his wife Sandy found on their PCT hike.
Produce and Microplastics
Degraded plastic is just about everywhere, including on farmland, and researchers are finding large amounts of microplastic particles in European and North American farm soil. They can range in size from five millimeters, about the width of a strand of spaghetti, to microscopic, the size of a virus. Freelance journalist Kate Petersen joins Host Bobby Bascomb to talk about how microplastics get into our soil and the risks they could pose for food.
This Week’s Show
December 11, 2020
listen / download
Africa's Low Covid Fatality Rate
listen / download
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Africa has shown a surprisingly low fatality rate. Though the continent is home to 17% of the people on the planet, it only has reported 3.5% of the world's COVID deaths. Even with the knowledge that there may be underreporting, scientists are looking further to see if there may be other factors. Andrew Harding, Africa Reporter for the BBC, joins Host Aynsley O'Neill for more.
Beyond the Headlines
listen / download
This week Host Aynsley O’Neill and Environmental Health News Editor Peter Dykstra go beyond the headlines with a partly solved murder mystery: a killer behind mass coho salmon die-offs in the Pacific Northwest. Next, they highlight some heroes who came to the rescue of a coral reef damaged by one of this year’s many Atlantic hurricanes. In the history vaults, it’s 20 years since the last operating reactor at Chernobyl was finally decommissioned long after the infamous explosion of a neighboring reactor.
Journeys North: The Pacific Crest Trail
listen / download
Every year, several hundred intrepid hikers walk all the way from Mexico to Canada, along the Pacific Crest Trail. At more than twenty-six hundred miles long, it covers some of the most challenging and spectacular terrain in North America. But it’s not just about the pretty scenery, writes Barney Scout Mann in his book Journeys North: The Pacific Crest Trail. He joins Host Bobby Bascomb to talk about braving blizzards, bears and blisters, and the tight-knit community he and his wife Sandy found on their PCT hike.
Produce and Microplastics
listen / download
Degraded plastic is just about everywhere, including on farmland, and researchers are finding large amounts of microplastic particles in European and North American farm soil. They can range in size from five millimeters, about the width of a strand of spaghetti, to microscopic, the size of a virus. Freelance journalist Kate Petersen joins Host Bobby Bascomb to talk about how microplastics get into our soil and the risks they could pose for food.
‘Tis the Season for Green Gifts
listen / download
The holidays look different this year and some of us may not be able to gather with friends and family. But we can still show our appreciation for our loved ones with the perfect gift. Whether it’s a book of essays on the climate crisis or a solar powered phone charger, the Living on Earth team has some eco-friendly gift suggestions for everyone.
Special Features
Field Note: The Road to Darwin
Living on Earth's Explorer-in-Residence Mark Seth Lender shares the backstory of an entirely unanticipated encounter with an elusive Australian black panther.
Blog Series: Mark Seth Lender Field Notes
Field Note: The Dark
Living on Earth's Explorer in Residence Mark Seth Lender considers how embracing the natural world at night opens up a whole new kind of connection to it.
Blog Series: Mark Seth Lender Field Notes
The LOE Newsletter
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...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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