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Bobby Bascomb

Bobby Bascomb is a freelance producer based in South Africa.

Bobby Bascomb is a freelance producer based in South Africa. Formerly she was a producer and reporter for the public radio program Living on Earth since 2006. With a background in environmental studies and geography, her reporting focuses on the often-complicated relationship between human development and environmental conservation. She has reported on critical environmental issues ranging from indigenous land rights to climate change.Bobby has collaborated on a series of reports focused on deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, including an hour-long documentary. That work explored a United Nations mechanism to mitigate climate change by reducing tropical deforestation. She also reported on the construction of a highly controversial dam installation on the Madeira River at the border between Brazil and Bolivia.

Fruits and vegetables are often wrapped in plastics containing chemicals harmful to human health

A new study highlights the urgent need to regulate phthalates in plastic

Health & Medicine

A new meta-study correlates phthalates in plastics with numerous health disorders, including obesity, male and female reproduction problems and mental health troubles.

A coal-fired power station in Witbank, South Africa

World leaders agree to help South Africa phase out coal

Climate Change
Cattle graze on land recently burned and deforested by cattle farmers near Novo Progresso, Para state, Brazil.

World leaders pledged to end forest loss. What will it take?

Climate Change
A female North Atlantic Right whale entangled in fishing gear

North Atlantic right whales are shrinking in size as they struggle to survive environmental havoc

Environment
Nancy Sharabarin hands money to a customer buying strawberries at the Saturday farmers market as business opens up with a successful vaccination campaign in Portland, Oregon, Saturday, June 5, 2021.

There’s still time for canning, preserving and freezing excess fruits and veggies

Food
Climate change activists show hands in support of climate action during a climate strike rally, as part of a global youth-led day of global action.

Study finds widespread climate anxiety among youth

Climate Change

A recent global survey illustrates the depth of anxiety many young people are feeling about climate change. Lise Van Susteren, a forensic psychologist, encourages adults to speak with children and youth about their doom to educate and alleviate anxiety.

Anna's hummingbird

‘The Hummingbirds’ Gift’ sings the praises of this ‘superlative’ bird

Environment

Writer Sy Montgomery had the opportunity to rehabilitate two orphaned hummingbirds. The experience reminded her that “miracles happen all the time” and that these fragile yet fierce birds are “a great symbol of hope.”

An adult cicada rests after shedding its nymphal skin, on the bark of an an oak tree early Wednesday, May 5, 2021, on the University of Maryland campus in College Park, Maryland.

17-year cicadas — noisy nuisance to some, delicacy to others

Food

Don’t like the deafening sound of 17-year cicadas? Try eating one. You may fall in love.

Adult cicadas cover a plant, Monday, May 17, 2021, at Woodend Sanctuary and Mansion, in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Have you seen the Brood X cicadas?

Environment

Trillions of cicadas, underground for the last 17 years, have emerged in numerous eastern and midwestern states to spend a few days above ground climbing onto trees and walls, mating and making a wonderful ruckus.

Humpback whales undergo one of the longest migrations of any mammal on Earth — over 6,000 miles.

A NatGeo documentary reveals ‘Secrets of the Whales’

Arts, Culture & Media

National Geographic has released “Secrets of the Whales,” a video documentary miniseries that seeks to unravel the secrets of whale behavior and understand whale cultures of orcas, humpbacks, narwhals, belugas and sperm whales.