Public Radio's Environmental News Magazine (follow us on Google News)
The Problem with Plastic
Cheap and convenient plastic products are everywhere you turn, and the microplastics they break down to are now in our water, soil, air, and deep inside our bodies. Joining us to discuss her 2025 book The Problem with Plastic: How We Can Save Ourselves and Our Planet Before It’s Too Late is Judith Enck, a former EPA Regional Administrator and the founder and President of the advocacy group Beyond Plastics.
National Parks Magic
It’s peak summer travel season, and for many people traveling in the US that means a visit to a national park or monument. After all, "America's crown jewels” are ideal places to disconnect and reconnect with nature and our shared history. Will Shafroth, recently retired CEO of the National Park Foundation, takes a virtual road trip of sorts with us to share the magic of the national parks.
Loon in Fog
The iconic loon with its haunting, far-reaching call can be found in many lakes and wetlands throughout North America, including at the Seney National Wildlife Refuge in Michigan. That’s where Living on Earth Explorer in Residence, Mark Seth Lender spotted a pair one foggy morning.
Antarctic Ice Missing
Midsummer in the Northern hemisphere marks the dead of winter in Antarctica, usually a time when temperatures plunge and the surrounding ocean ices over, nearly doubling the continent’s size. But this June, scientists found Antarctica’s west coast was missing a chunk of sea ice the size of France. How unusually warm ocean water is affecting sea ice as well as massive Antarctic glaciers.
Arctic Peatlands Expanding
Recent findings that peatlands are expanding northward as the Arctic warms might sound like good news, since peat has powerful carbon storage capabilities. But it takes millennia for peat to sequester large amounts of carbon, while we are burning fossil fuels far more quickly than the Earth can absorb.
Nuts to Feed the World
Much of the world’s staple crops of corn, wheat, rice and soy are grown in huge monocultures that disrupt ecosystems and require massive amounts of fertilizer, pesticides, fossil fuels and water. The author of Feed Us with Trees: Nuts and the Future of Food offers a more sustainable vision of food production. She shares how nut trees can offer alternative sources of starch, protein and healthy fats that integrate well into local ecosystems and can help feed a growing population.
Exploring The Parks: North Cascades National Park
As we mark America’s 250th birthday, we celebrate parts of America’s enduring ecology, including our national parks. At the heart of one of Washington State’s most expansive wild ecosystems is North Cascades National Park, just a three-hour drive from Seattle yet one of the lesser-known parks.
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!
.png)
Extreme Heat and Tooth Decay
The extreme heat that’s becoming far more common in a warming world is now being linked to dental problems. As the body prioritizes sweat for cooling over saliva production, the resulting dry mouth can have devastating impacts on your teeth. That’s according to Dr. Zain Azhar, a dentist in Pakistan who is documenting a tooth decay trend among his patients who work outdoors in the heat for prolonged periods.
Melting Glaciers Trigger Earthquakes
A 2025 paper published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters documented a link between melting ice in the Alps caused by a heat wave, and an uptick in small earthquakes. In this note on emerging science written by El Wilson, Living on Earth’s Bella Smith explains this unexpected aspect of the warming planet.
National Parks Magic
It’s peak summer travel season, and for many people traveling in the US that means a visit to a national park or monument. After all, "America's crown jewels” are ideal places to disconnect and reconnect with nature and our shared history. Will Shafroth, recently retired CEO of the National Park Foundation, takes a virtual road trip of sorts with us to share the magic of the national parks.
This Week’s Show
July 17, 2026
listen / download
Extreme Heat and Tooth Decay
listen / download
The extreme heat that’s becoming far more common in a warming world is now being linked to dental problems. As the body prioritizes sweat for cooling over saliva production, the resulting dry mouth can have devastating impacts on your teeth. That’s according to Dr. Zain Azhar, a dentist in Pakistan who is documenting a tooth decay trend among his patients who work outdoors in the heat for prolonged periods.
Melting Glaciers Trigger Earthquakes
listen / download
A 2025 paper published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters documented a link between melting ice in the Alps caused by a heat wave, and an uptick in small earthquakes. In this note on emerging science written by El Wilson, Living on Earth’s Bella Smith explains this unexpected aspect of the warming planet.
The Problem with Plastic
listen / download
Cheap and convenient plastic products are everywhere you turn, and the microplastics they break down to are now in our water, soil, air, and deep inside our bodies. Joining us to discuss her 2025 book The Problem with Plastic: How We Can Save Ourselves and Our Planet Before It’s Too Late is Judith Enck, a former EPA Regional Administrator and the founder and President of the advocacy group Beyond Plastics.
National Parks Magic
listen / download
It’s peak summer travel season, and for many people traveling in the US that means a visit to a national park or monument. After all, "America's crown jewels” are ideal places to disconnect and reconnect with nature and our shared history. Will Shafroth, recently retired CEO of the National Park Foundation, takes a virtual road trip of sorts with us to share the magic of the national parks.
Loon in Fog
listen / download
The iconic loon with its haunting, far-reaching call can be found in many lakes and wetlands throughout North America, including at the Seney National Wildlife Refuge in Michigan. That’s where Living on Earth Explorer in Residence, Mark Seth Lender spotted a pair one foggy morning.
Special Features
Field Note: "After the Storm"
Living on Earth's Explorer-in-Residence, Mark Seth Lender, ruminates on the storm as it meets the shore.
Blog Series: Mark Seth Lender Field Notes
Field Note: "Countermeasures"
Living on Earth's Explorer-in-Residence, Mark Seth Lender, shares observations about shorebirds in flight.
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.
Donate to Living on Earth!
Living on Earth is an independent media program and relies entirely on contributions from listeners and institutions supporting public service. Please donate now to preserve an independent environmental voice.
NewsletterLiving on Earth offers a weekly delivery of the show's rundown to your mailbox. Sign up for our newsletter today!
Sailors For The Sea: Be the change you want to sea.
The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment: Committed to protecting and improving the health of the global environment.
Contribute to Living on Earth and receive, as our gift to you, an archival print of one of Mark Seth Lender's extraordinary wildlife photographs. Follow the link to see Mark's current collection of photographs.
Buy a signed copy of Mark Seth Lender's book Smeagull the Seagull & support Living on Earth
© Copyright World Media Foundation. All Rights Reserved
Home | Contact | RSS | Donate | Newsletter
