Sandy Tolan

Sandy Tolan’s journey through the Columbia River system and its dams picks up in Lewiston, Idaho, an inland port for cargo ships that may have to make way for salmon.

Producer Sandy Tolan travels the Columbia and Snake Rivers for the story of the transformation of these rivers, with gigantic hydroelectric dams replacing dozens of salmon runs. There are now intense debates going on in Idaho and Oregon and Washington about what may have been lost as well as gained.

Our ongoing series on the nation’s oldest fishing port continues with a story of pollock and politics. Producer Sandy Tolan describes what happened when a Russian freighter came to port, and an anonymous tip to customs officials scuttled Gloucester’s plans to make fish fillets for McDonald’s.

Tree-sitters and raucous protests have long dominated the controversy over one of California’s last unprotected stands of virgin redwoods. But as Living On Earth’s Sandy Tolan reports from the tiny town of Scotia, it’s the growing concerns of long-time local residents who live amid the falling trees which could tip the balance against Pacific Lumber […]

Since its birth as the nation’s first fishing port in 1623, men from Gloucester, Massachusetts, have been going down to the sea in their ships, and many have never returned. Those who keep track say more than ten thousand lives have been lost over the years in the hunt and harvest for seafood. In an […]