Living on Earth

World Media Foundation

As the planet we call home faces a climate emergency, Living on Earth is your go-to source for the latest coverage of climate change, ecology, and human health. Hosted by Steve Curwood and brought to you by PRX. read less

Our Editor's Take

The Living on Earth podcast is all about climate change. Steve Curwood, the host, focuses on the health of humanity and the earth. After all, everyone could learn a little more about ecology and biodiversity. The podcast promotes sustainability and attempts to raise awareness for the future. Emission reduction and chemical recycling are not the only important topics coming up. Curwood also talks to experts about environmental news. Moreover, he dissects specific issues linked to climate change.

Listeners of Living on Earth will hear about "Cancer Alley" in Louisiana and the lawsuits connected to it. It follows Jane Goodall and her desire to protect ecosystems and habitats globally. The podcast also examines the Biden administration and its efforts toward reducing fossil fuels. But it also questions the broken promises toward climate reform. It also discusses the negative impacts of the fossil fuel industry.

The Living on Earth podcast helps people stay informed on public health and the EPA. Is drinking water clean? What companies are guilty of greenwashing? What are the risks involved with PFAS chemicals? These are some of many questions listeners have about the present environmental crisis.

Living on Earth puts science at the center of the discussion. It's a stimulating mix of good news and hard truths. The podcast talks about realistic adaptations the world could make to fight devastation. It emphasizes the importance of bringing carbon emissions to zero and educating people. By showing listeners what they can do to make a difference, this podcast is for those hoping for a better future.

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Beirut’s Deadly Air, Queer Brown Vegan, Roots of Black Hair Care, and more.

Beirut’s Deadly Air, Queer Brown Vegan, Roots of Black Hair Care, and more.

Clouds of diesel fumes clog the air in Beirut, Lebanon where the virtual collapse of the power grid has led residents to rely on diesel generators. The city’s air is now so badly polluted researchers at the American University of Beirut are linking it to a startling 30% spike in cancer cases. Also, Isaias Hernandez is an environmental activist and social media creative who uses the handle @QueerBrownVegan on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. His topics include environmental racism, mushroom foraging, and queer ecology. Isaias joined us during Pride Month to talk about intersectionality, “rainbow-washing”, and more. And hair care products marketed to Black women today often include cancer-causing formaldehyde and hormone disrupting chemicals. But back in the early 1900s, an enterprising Black woman named Madam C. J. Walker used mostly natural ingredients in her hair products to empower Black women and become the first female American self-made millionaire. Her great-great granddaughter shares Madam Walker’s story. -- What issues are you most interested in having Living on Earth cover in the 2024 election season? Let us know by sending us a written or audio message at comments@loe.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episodes

Beirut’s Deadly Air, Queer Brown Vegan, Roots of Black Hair Care, and more.

Beirut’s Deadly Air, Queer Brown Vegan, Roots of Black Hair Care, and more.

Clouds of diesel fumes clog the air in Beirut, Lebanon where the virtual collapse of the power grid has led residents to rely on diesel generators. The city’s air is now so badly polluted researchers at the American University of Beirut are linking it to a startling 30% spike in cancer cases. Also, Isaias Hernandez is an environmental activist and social media creative who uses the handle @QueerBrownVegan on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. His topics include environmental racism, mushroom foraging, and queer ecology. Isaias joined us during Pride Month to talk about intersectionality, “rainbow-washing”, and more. And hair care products marketed to Black women today often include cancer-causing formaldehyde and hormone disrupting chemicals. But back in the early 1900s, an enterprising Black woman named Madam C. J. Walker used mostly natural ingredients in her hair products to empower Black women and become the first female American self-made millionaire. Her great-great granddaughter shares Madam Walker’s story. -- What issues are you most interested in having Living on Earth cover in the 2024 election season? Let us know by sending us a written or audio message at comments@loe.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alaska’s Rusting Rivers, ‘No Place to Hide’ in Pakistan, Mexico’s ‘Presidenta’ and Climate, and more.

Alaska’s Rusting Rivers, ‘No Place to Hide’ in Pakistan, Mexico’s ‘Presidenta’ and Climate, and more.

Streams in northern Alaska are turning a cloudy orange, and scientists think the cause is metals like iron leaching from melting permafrost as the Arctic rapidly warms. Also, summer has barely begun in the Northern Hemisphere but extreme heat is already baking Pakistan, where climate disruption is also bringing frequent catastrophic floods. What it’s like to be in Lahore right now, how people are trying to cope and why these climate disasters are compounding Pakistan’s economic and security challenges. And Claudia Sheinbaum, the first woman to be elected President of Mexico, has a background in climate and energy, having co-authored two IPCC climate reports and later implemented clean transportation projects while mayor of Mexico City. She has pledged to boost renewable energy in Mexico but her political links with the current oil-friendly administration could present challenges to reaching green goals. -- One of the best ways you can support our journalism is by sharing Living on Earth with a friend! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

US-Mexico Water Crisis, Hot Battery Tech, Saving the Wild Coast of South Africa, and more

US-Mexico Water Crisis, Hot Battery Tech, Saving the Wild Coast of South Africa, and more

Amid extreme drought affecting Rio Grande tributaries, Mexico is struggling to make water deliveries to Texas as required by a treaty. How the situation is linked to climate change and farmer livelihoods in both the US and Mexico. Also, carbon-intensive industries like steel and chemical manufacturing require a lot of heat to operate, most of which comes from burning fossil fuels. Now engineers are working on turning electricity from renewable sources into heat with something called a thermal battery. And in 2021 the “Wild Coast” of eastern South Africa was targeted by Shell for oil exploration, raising concerns for the local Mpondo people about impacts to wildlife and possible contamination of land and water. Environmental activists Nonhle Mbuthuma and Sinegugu Zukulu mounted a campaign and secured a victory from the High Court revoking Shell’s permit. They shared the 2024 Goldman Environmental Prize for Africa. -- We rely on support from listeners like you to keep our journalism strong. You can donate at loe.org – any amount is appreciated! – and thank you for your support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vermont’s “Climate Superfund” Bill, A “Little Sea” With a Big Champion, The Sounds of Soil and more.

Vermont’s “Climate Superfund” Bill, A “Little Sea” With a Big Champion, The Sounds of Soil and more.

Facing costly climate impacts such as the billion-dollar flood disaster of July 2023, Vermont is seeking to make fossil fuel companies pay for some of those costs with a new “Climate Superfund” bill. Also, the Mar Menor or “little sea” lagoon on the coast of Spain faces impacts from mining, agriculture, and a booming tourist industry. Teresa Vicente helped pass a 2022 law granting the lagoon legal personhood to give it greater protection. She recently received the 2024 Goldman Environmental Prize for Europe and shares how she led a grassroots movement to protect this beloved lagoon. Plus, sounds like the overlapping songs of birds can speak volumes about the biodiversity in an ecosystem, and now scientists are looking to use the tiny sounds made by earthworms, ants, and voles to study the health of soils. An ecologist explains why more complex sounds appear to indicate healthier soils, and the potential applications of listening for these sounds in the earth. -- We rely on support from listeners like you to keep our journalism strong. You can donate at loe.org – any amount is appreciated! – and thank you for your support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eco Grief Among Scientists, Phantom Carbon Credits, Animal Self-Medicating, Nature and the Beat, and more.

Eco Grief Among Scientists, Phantom Carbon Credits, Animal Self-Medicating, Nature and the Beat, and more.

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. Also Shell’s flagship carbon capture and storage 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. And a paper 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. — We rely on support from listeners like you to keep our journalism strong. You can donate at loe.org – any amount is appreciated! – and thank you for your support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New Power Plant Rules, Protecting India’s Forests, Fighting Pollution Linked to Online Shopping and Plastic Pollution Treaty Talks

New Power Plant Rules, Protecting India’s Forests, Fighting Pollution Linked to Online Shopping and Plastic Pollution Treaty Talks

To replace the Clean Power plan the Obama Administration failed to get past the courts the EPA published new rules for existing coal plants and new gas power plants that tighten standards for mercury emissions, wastewater, and coal ash and also curb coal plant CO2 emissions over time. Also how 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. As well as how 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. And the fourth meeting of UN talks aimed to address plastic pollution took place this April in Ottawa, Canada. The goal is to have a legally binding international agreement on plastics pollution by the end of 2024. — We rely on support from listeners like you to keep our journalism strong. You can donate at loe.org – any amount is appreciated! – and thank you for your support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

U.S. Funding Fossil Fuels Abroad, EPA Finally Bans Asbestos, New Era for Nuclear Power? and more.

U.S. Funding Fossil Fuels Abroad, EPA Finally Bans Asbestos, New Era for Nuclear Power? and more.

The Biden Administration is helping finance advanced nuclear power reactors and refurbishment of traditional nuclear power stations to promote the generation of zero-emission electricity. Some designs offer more flexibility in power output to an electrical grid where renewable energy is intermittent. Also after years congressional battles the EPA is finally banning all uses of asbestos, a highly toxic substance. Maria Doa of the Environmental Defense Fund discusses why it took so long and the anticipated public health benefits of the phaseout. And despite an international agreement to phase out financing for fossil fuel projects abroad, the Biden administration recently approved a $500 million dollar loan guarantee for an oil and gas drilling project in Bahrain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Uncle Sam Wants YOU for Climate Corps, Pushback Against ‘Chemical Recycling’, Lithium from Deep Underground and more.

Uncle Sam Wants YOU for Climate Corps, Pushback Against ‘Chemical Recycling’, Lithium from Deep Underground and more.

On Earth Day President Biden announced the official launch of his new climate-focused jobs program, the American Climate Corps. Special Assistant to the President on Climate Maggie Thomas discusses the thousands of jobs the Corps offers in community outreach, biological surveys, invasive species removal and more. Also, small towns in Appalachia are being targeted for so-called chemical recycling plants, but residents are pushing back and citing concerns about chemical fires, air pollution, and toxic wastewater polluting local rivers. Opponents in Point Township, Pennsylvania succeeded in canceling a project there, and we discuss two other proposed chemical recycling plants in Ohio and West Virginia. And lithium is used in electric vehicle batteries and plays a key role in the global shift towards clean transportation, but current extraction methods come with environmental costs. Some companies are exploring an alternative that taps brine water deep in the Earth. We explore how it works and what questions about its impacts remain. -- We rely on support from listeners like you to keep our journalism strong. You can donate at loe.org – any amount is appreciated! – and thank you for your support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Way Forward For People And Our Planet: An Earth Day Special

The Way Forward For People And Our Planet: An Earth Day Special

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

Supercharged Hurricane Season, Big Cash for Clean Energy, Poetry in the Time of Climate Troubles and more.

Supercharged Hurricane Season, Big Cash for Clean Energy, Poetry in the Time of Climate Troubles and more.

Some scientists are predicting this year’s Atlantic hurricane season will be extremely active as a La Niña develops amid ocean warmth linked to global warming. We discuss the science behind these factors and how people along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts can stay safe. Also, the Biden Administration EPA recently awarded $20 billion to organizations who will turn around and offer low-interest loans to help communities participate in the clean energy transition. The program is catalyzing far more private capital and will help fund projects like insulating homes and replacing gas heating and cooking with heat pumps and induction stoves. And in her poems, Catherine Pierce grapples with unfolding climate disaster and other 21st century perils, and the ways they reframe parenting. She shares poems from her books Danger Days and The Tornado Is the World and reflects on finding beauty and calls to action during the Anthropocene. -- We rely on support from listeners like you to keep our journalism strong. You can donate at loe.org – any amount is appreciated! – and thank you for your support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio Senate Race and Climate, Land Back for the Yurok Tribe, Migrations: A Powerful Novel About a World Losing Life and more.

Ohio Senate Race and Climate, Land Back for the Yurok Tribe, Migrations: A Powerful Novel About a World Losing Life and more.

The razor-thin majority Democrats hold in the Senate could be crucial to passing more climate legislation under a second term for President Biden, and in the event former President Trump is re-elected, could prevent the total unraveling of President Biden’s climate agenda. One of the key Senate races to watch in 2024 is the Ohio contest between incumbent Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown and Trump-endorsed Republican Bernie Moreno. Also, on the northern California coast the Yurok tribe is getting 125 acres of its stolen land back thanks to an historic partnership between the National Park Service, California State Parks, and Save the Redwoods League. Chairman of the Yurok Tribe Joseph L James describes how the land will help nurture Yurok cultural traditions. And in the 2020 novel Migrations set in the future, polar bears are extinct. So are chimpanzees and wolves and big cats. For the novel’s protagonist, this mass extinction is personal. So, she does the first thing that comes to mind: she makes her way onto a fishing boat to follow what might be the very last migration of the Arctic Tern from pole to pole. -- We rely on support from listeners like you to keep our journalism strong. You can donate at loe.org – any amount is appreciated! – and thank you for your support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Charging Up U.S. EV Market, Sewage Sludge Danger, Black Hole Breakthrough and more.

Charging Up U.S. EV Market, Sewage Sludge Danger, Black Hole Breakthrough and more.

China’s electric car sales are in the fast lane and lead the world while the U.S. EV industry lags. Although Biden administration policies are designed to jumpstart EVs, a partisan divide on EVs is slowing adoption. What’s going on with the U.S. EV industry and why the future looks bright. Also, millions of acres of cropland in the U.S. may be contaminated from PFAS-tainted sewage sludge spread on fields as fertilizer. These “forever chemicals” are taken up by plants and then consumed by livestock and people, making them sick. And some say EPA has failed its mission to protect the public. Plus, an international team of astronomers recently reported the discovery of a 13 billion-year-old black hole, the oldest ever observed, thanks to the powerful James Webb Space Telescope. Lead author Dr. Roberto Maiolino explores new questions about how these mysterious, extremely dense objects form and grow. -- Check out the full transcript we provide for every show, with pictures and links to more information, at the Living on Earth website, loe dot org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Personal Care Products and IVF Miscarriage, Investment Risks from Climate, Orbital: An Earth-Centric Novel Set in Space, and more.

Personal Care Products and IVF Miscarriage, Investment Risks from Climate, Orbital: An Earth-Centric Novel Set in Space, and more.

A recent study of 1500 women in China found links between personal care product use and in-vitro fertilization problems, including slower embryo development and miscarriage. We discuss the findings and the growing evidence linking hormone disrupting chemicals to pregnancy difficulties for people using IVF. Also, climate disasters, adaptation costs and market shifts threaten the value of public companies that are inadequately prepared for climate change. So, the Democratic majority US Securities and Exchange Commission recently approved a rule that will require public companies to inform investors about their greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks. But the rule was immediately met with pushback from industry and several Republican-led states. And the handful of astronauts and cosmonauts on board the International Space Station float in a strange paradox, with the Earth constantly in view, but always out of reach. A new novel called Orbital explores the splendor of planet Earth as seen from orbit through a day in the life of six astronauts up on the ISS. -- Check out the full transcript we provide for every show, with pictures and links to more information, at the Living on Earth website, loe dot org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Methane Tracking From Space, A Mars Testing Ground, Solar Eclipse Magic and more.

Methane Tracking From Space, A Mars Testing Ground, Solar Eclipse Magic and more.

A new satellite recently blasted off into Earth orbit with the important mission of tracking methane emissions from oil and gas infrastructure across the globe. Free public access to the data from MethaneSAT is a game-changer for holding oil and gas companies accountable for climate pollution. Also, since 2001 the Mars Society has run over 270 simulated missions at a remote site in the high desert of Utah, to study the effect of extra-vehicular activity or EVA on the human body and mimic field research people might run on Mars one day, such as looking for fossilized life. What a day in the life of a participant looks like and why some believe we should send humans to Mars. And on April 8th millions across North America will have the opportunity to experience a total solar eclipse, when the moon briefly blocks out the sun. How our ancestors reacted to this strange, otherworldly phenomenon, and how you too can safely witness it. -- We rely on support from listeners like you to keep our journalism strong. You can donate at loe.org – any amount is appreciated! -- and thank you for your support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vital Ocean Current Threatens Collapse, Plastic Bag Bans and Pushback, Ross Gay’s Book of (More) Delights and more.

Vital Ocean Current Threatens Collapse, Plastic Bag Bans and Pushback, Ross Gay’s Book of (More) Delights and more.

As the climate crisis intensifies, a vital ocean current that includes the Gulf Stream seems to be falling apart, and thus could fail its mission to moderate the climate by bringing heat north from the tropics and cold back south. We explain the latest research and the potentially disastrous shutdown of this current. Also, a decade ago California became the first US state to ban single-use plastic bags, and eleven states followed suit. But some 18 other states have gone in the opposite direction and even blocked local cities and towns from prohibiting single use plastic bags. We cover successes and setbacks for efforts to minimize plastic bag waste. And poet and essayist Ross Gay is back with a follow up to his 2019 Book of Delights, loaded with moments of good that sprout amid our troubles. He shares readings from his new Book of (More) Delights celebrating simple joys such as clothes on a clothesline, garlic sprouting, and dandelion abundance. -- We rely on support from listeners like you to keep our journalism strong. You can donate at loe.org – any amount is appreciated! -- and thank you for your support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

States Challenge the Good Neighbor Rule, Gina McCarthy on Particulates, and Wild Girls: How the Outdoors Shaped the Women Who Challenged a Nation.

States Challenge the Good Neighbor Rule, Gina McCarthy on Particulates, and Wild Girls: How the Outdoors Shaped the Women Who Challenged a Nation.

Ohio, Indiana, and West Virginia have challenged the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Good Neighbor” rule in the Supreme Court. The regulation is designed to keep one state’s ozone emissions from spilling downwind and pushing another state out of compliance. Michael Burger from the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University explores what this challenge means for the environmental regulation landscape. Also, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced new measures to reduce the allowable amount of fine particulate pollution in the air. Former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy discusses these new standards, as well as the Inflation Reduction Act and the role of women in the environmental movement. To kick off Women’s History Month, we dive into the legacy of women outdoors in America. From abolitionist Harriet Tubman to novelist Louisa May Alcott, some of the country’s most important women trailblazers shared a connection with the natural world in their girlhood. Tiya Miles shares their stories in her book Wild Girls: How the Outdoors Shaped the Women Who Challenged a Nation. -- We rely on support from listeners like you to keep our journalism strong. You can donate at loe.org – any amount is appreciated! -- and thank you for your support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Black History Special: Flooded Out By Racism, One Step Further: The Story of Katherine Johnson, and Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden.

Black History Special: Flooded Out By Racism, One Step Further: The Story of Katherine Johnson, and Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden.

In this Black History Month special, “father of environmental justice” Dr. Robert Bullard is calling for justice for the community of Shiloh, Alabama, which has suffered repeated flooding ever since a highway was widened and elevated in 2018, causing destruction to homes that Black landowners have proudly kept since the Reconstruction era. Also, Katherine Johnson was an African American trailblazer who while living under Jim Crow in the south worked at NASA as a mathematician and helped put a man on the moon. Her daughter Katherine Moore shares her mother's story. And poet Camille Dungy transformed her sterile lawn in white Fort Collins, Colorado 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. -- We rely on support from listeners like you to keep our journalism strong. You can donate at loe.org – any amount is appreciated! -- and thank you for your support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

$250 Billion in Costs from Plastics, Exxon Sues Climate Investors, The Crochet Coral Reef and more.

$250 Billion in Costs from Plastics, Exxon Sues Climate Investors, The Crochet Coral Reef and more.

Hormone-disrupting chemicals in plastics take a yearly economic toll in the hundreds of billions of dollars in the U.S. alone, according to a recent study. Pediatrician Leonardo Trasande discusses the research and explains why PFAS, phthalates, BPA and flame retardants in plastics are so harmful to human health. We also examine the lax regulations around chemicals and plastics and explore ways that people can individually and collectively reduce plastic use and exposure. Also, ExxonMobil recently sued activist investors in federal court in Texas for a repeated effort to bring a climate resolution to a vote at the company’s annual shareholder meeting. The company has persisted even though the activists have withdrawn the petition, raising concerns about a chilling effect on investor engagement. And to raise awareness about the threats facing coral reefs, crafters everywhere are picking up their crochet hooks and contributing to a worldwide “Crochet Coral Reef.” The curator of the Pittsburgh Satellite Reef at the Carnegie Museum of Art describes what it’s like to stand inside the exhibit and how it came together. -- We rely on support from listeners like you to keep our journalism strong. You can donate at loe.org – any amount is appreciated! -- and thank you for your support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Green Cooling and Heating for Public Housing, Ice Skating on the Rideau Canal, Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean and more.

Green Cooling and Heating for Public Housing, Ice Skating on the Rideau Canal, Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean and more.

To help address the climate crisis the city of Boston is piloting the replacement of natural gas with ground-source heat pumps in a public housing project. The technology also brings clean air, cooling and heating to historically disadvantaged tenants, advancing environmental justice. Also, the warmer winters of climate disruption are bringing shorter and shorter skating seasons on the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, Canada. We head into the Living on Earth archives for a taste of days gone by, when reporter Bob Carty hit the ice to meet locals enjoying the serenity of a skate along the canal. And the oceans cover 70 percent of our “blue planet” yet remain largely unexplored because of the intense pressures at depth. But there are some intrepid few who have descended into this “underworld” and lived to tell of its marvels. -- We rely on support from listeners like you to keep our journalism strong. You can donate at loe.org – any amount is appreciated! -- and thank you for your support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Biden Pumps Brakes on Gas Exports, Renewable Power Surge in China, Journey to a Melting Glacier in Antarctica and more

Biden Pumps Brakes on Gas Exports, Renewable Power Surge in China, Journey to a Melting Glacier in Antarctica and more

The Biden Administration has paused new export permits of liquefied natural gas over concerns that these enormous facilities would emit millions of tons of greenhouse gases every year. We discuss why LNG exports have been rising in recent years and the impact they are having on the Gulf Coast and the global climate. Also, China surged ahead of other countries in 2023 to add 66% more wind power than it had before and bringing online as much solar energy as the entire world had developed in 2022. We examine the geopolitical and economic implications of China’s dominance in the renewable energy sector. And Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica holds enough ice that its melting could raise sea levels worldwide by 2 feet, but it’s so remote that until recently no one had ever approached where it meets the sea. Elizabeth Rush was a writer-in-residence on board the first research icebreaker to visit Thwaites and chronicles the journey and witnessing the glacier’s unraveling in her new book The Quickening: Creation and Community at the Ends of the Earth. -- We rely on support from listeners like you to keep our journalism strong. You can donate at loe.org – any amount is appreciated! -- and thank you for your support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices