
Radioactive Water Dilemma at Fukushima
Ten years after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster, millions of gallons of radioactive cooling water are about to overflow storage tanks. Japanese authorities are looking at the option of releasing it into the Pacific Ocean.. Arjun Makhijani, President of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, joins Host Bobby Bascomb to talk about the anniversary of the reactor core meltdowns and what the release of the contaminated water into the Ocean could mean for marine and human health.


The New Climate War
Despite rising global temperatures and an increase in climate change-related natural disasters, climate denial still runs rampant. As renowned climatologist Michael Mann describes in his latest book, The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back Our Planet, key major fossil fuel companies have spent decades deflecting blame and responsibility in order to delay action on climate change. As part of our LOE Book Club series, Professor Mann joins Host Steve Curwood to talk about the fight against climate denialism and inaction in all its forms.


Hard Times for Ginseng Farmers
Consumers in China and the U.S. prize American ginseng, most of which is grown in just one Wisconsin county, as a health food and traditional medicine. But demand has dried up in the midst of America’s ongoing trade war with China, economic impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic and anti-Asian rhetoric. Living on Earth’s Aaron Mok wrote about the crisis for Civil Eats and joins Host Bobby Bascomb to share the stories of ginseng farmers he interviewed.

This Weeks Show
March 5, 2021
listen / download

Radioactive Water Dilemma at Fukushima
listen / download
Ten years after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster, millions of gallons of radioactive cooling water are about to overflow storage tanks. Japanese authorities are looking at the option of releasing it into the Pacific Ocean.. Arjun Makhijani, President of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, joins Host Bobby Bascomb to talk about the anniversary of the reactor core meltdowns and what the release of the contaminated water into the Ocean could mean for marine and human health.

The New Climate War
listen / download
Despite rising global temperatures and an increase in climate change-related natural disasters, climate denial still runs rampant. As renowned climatologist Michael Mann describes in his latest book, The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back Our Planet, key major fossil fuel companies have spent decades deflecting blame and responsibility in order to delay action on climate change. As part of our LOE Book Club series, Professor Mann joins Host Steve Curwood to talk about the fight against climate denialism and inaction in all its forms.

Hard Times for Ginseng Farmers
listen / download
Consumers in China and the U.S. prize American ginseng, most of which is grown in just one Wisconsin county, as a health food and traditional medicine. But demand has dried up in the midst of America’s ongoing trade war with China, economic impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic and anti-Asian rhetoric. Living on Earth’s Aaron Mok wrote about the crisis for Civil Eats and joins Host Bobby Bascomb to share the stories of ginseng farmers he interviewed.

Beyond the Headlines
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In this week's Beyond the Headlines segment, Environmental Health News Editor Peter Dykstra and Host Steve Curwood learn about a group of rescued Bornean orangutans that were released back into the wild via helicopter to minimalize COVID risk. Next, they unravel an unexpected link between glyphosate use on banana plantations and the release of another pesticide stored in the soils. Finally, they travel back to the tragic 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, and the twenty-year legal battle that ensued between the State of Alaska and Exxon executives.

Nature and the Beat
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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. Thanks to the interactive website called Beast Box, curious kids can create their own unique songs using catchy beats and animal calls as the instruments.
Special Features
Field Note: Bottlenose Whales in the Arctic
Living on Earth's Explorer-in Residence Mark Seth Lender ponders the big questions that might be shared by species beyond our own.
Blog Series: Mark Seth Lender Field Notes
Field Note: Vista - A Break in the Storm
Living on Earth's Explorer-in-Residence Mark Seth Lender elaborates on the emotional impact of witnessing the dramatic light playing upon the Antarctic Peninsula as a storm breaks.
Blog Series: Mark Seth Lender Field Notes
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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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