Living on Earth

Mar 21 2025 1250 ep. 51 mins 5k

Living on Earth Podcast artwork

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.

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GOP and Clean Energy Tax Credits, EPA Drops Major Polluter Case, Fracking Waste Crisis, and more

Mar 21 2025 52 mins

As President Trump and the Republican-led Congress aim to shrink the federal government and renew major tax cuts, hundreds of billions of dollars in clean energy tax credits could be on the chopping board. Twenty-one House Republicans whose districts are benefiting from the tax credits are petitioning GOP leadership to keep them intact. Also, under President Biden the Department of

EPA Under Attack, Plastic Containers Linked to Heart Failure, Wild Girls, and more.

Mar 14 2025 52 mins

The Trump administration announced plans to roll back multiple environmental regulations, cut EPA spending and push back environmental justice programs. We cover how recent federal actions impact environmental policy as well as the role our guest Christine Todd Whitman played as the former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency during the Bush administration. Also, pl

NY Climate Superfund, US Ducks Intl Climate Meetings, Gaps in Greenland Ice Sheet, and more

Mar 07 2025 52 mins

To help cover the rising costs of climate impacts like extreme floods and sea level rise, New York State has enacted a climate superfund law that asks major fossil fuel companies to pay up, based on their historic sales of coal, gas and oil. We discuss how the revenues would fund climate adaptation and resilience. Also, the Trump Administration barred government scientists from at

David Brancaccio on Fire Recovery, Bringing Sea Otters Back, Trump to Limit Environmental Reviews and more.

Feb 28 2025 52 mins

The thousands of homes that burned in Los Angeles this January included the home of Marketplace Morning Report Host David Brancaccio. He shares what he’s learning about the challenges of rebuilding with a limited supply and huge demand for contractors. David says there’s an opportunity to rebuild a more wildfire-resistant Altadena, and to heal the community itself. Also, sea o

EPA Freezes “Green Bank”, Climate Disruption to Lose Trillions, Civil Rights and Env Justice and more.

Feb 21 2025 52 mins

The Trump EPA is trying to cancel $20 billion dollars of funding in what’s known as the “Green Bank”, which provides loans for local clean energy, energy efficiency upgrades and more. Without providing evidence, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin accused the program of being rife with fraud and waste. Also, as costly climate disasters multiply around the planet, some financial expe

No Help From America, “Climate Whiplash” Between Extreme Wet and Dry, Bipartisan ‘EXPLORE’ Act and Outdoor Accessibility and more.

Feb 14 2025 52 mins

The Trump administration’s attempt to freeze all foreign assistance and bid to lay off nearly all USAID staffers are bringing disastrous consequences for millions of acutely hungry people, including those in war-torn Sudan. A Sudanese climate activist describes the desperate situation and sends a warning to the US about the perils of isolationism. Also, global warming is increasi

Trump Dumps Environmental Justice, PFAS Rule Withdrawn, Searching for Old Growth Forest, and more.

Feb 07 2025 52 mins

Black, Brown and low-income communities pushing back against industrial pollution have always had an uphill battle. But now those environmental justice fights may get even harder, as the Trump administration shutters federal EJ programs. Also, one of the many Biden Administration rules the Trump EPA has nixed is one that would have limited the amount of toxic PFAS that petrochemica

Bird Flu Warning, Life as an Incarcerated Firefighter, An Ancient Climate Solution and more.

Jan 31 2025 52 mins

So far avian flu hasn’t been seen spreading from human to human, but recent mutations indicate some variants are becoming better adapted to infecting humans. Also, around a thousand of the firefighters who battled blazes around southern California in January 2025 were incarcerated. A formerly incarcerated firefighter shares what it was like and how the experience helped him forge

Trump Blocks Climate and Eco Action, EVs in the Trump Era, The “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean Fifteen” and more.

Jan 24 2025 52 mins

Back in power, President Trump immediately took aim at climate and environmental protection with a flurry of executive orders such as blocking the Paris Climate Accord and boosting fossil fuel sales. The President may have over-reached but could still do lasting damage to the climate and environment. Also, one of President Trump’s Day One executive orders commands a reversal of t

Green Light for State Climate Cases, Redwood Rebirth After Fire, Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of Our Planet, and more.

Jan 17 2025 52 mins

Facing huge costs for climate adaptation and disaster recovery, some states and localities are suing fossil fuel companies for damages. The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined an attempt to block these lawsuits, and we explain the significance of some of them proceeding to trial. Also, nearly all the tall coast redwoods in California’s Big Basin Redwoods State Park burned in a 2