pollution

August 28, 2017

Producing, selling and using plastic bags is now illegal in Kenya. The East African nation joins 40 other countries worldwide in banning, partially banning or taxing single use plastic bags.

Global Politics

Plastic trash is a big problem. How much do you throw away? (QUIZ)

December 20, 2016

The consequences of plastic waste for humanity could be more severe than climate change.

Environment

It's not just about a pipeline. Native activists say Dakota battle is their biggest stand in decades.

November 04, 2016

Clashes over an oil pipeline slated to cross historic Native territory in North Dakota continue after more the 140 people were arrested in protests last week. The increasingly high-stakes face-off is one of the biggest actions by Native Americans in years.

Conflict

#NoDAPL has momentum, but will it drive Native Americans to vote?

November 03, 2016

Sacred-site preservation and civic engagement are not the same.

Arts, Culture & Media

Canaries in the Coal Smoke

Studio 360

November 03, 2016

An art historian and a biologist discovered a novel way to measure historical air pollution levels: looking soot caught in the feathers of birds from 140 years ago.

Education

Education and funding are critical issues facing native communities in the US

The Takeaway

November 02, 2016

On an Indian reservation in Nebraska, state and federal politics interfere with the effort to simply educate the kids.

Justice

Protesters say mass arrests won't stop their fight against a North Dakota oil pipeline

October 28, 2016

"One thing that I repeatedly heard," says Jenni Monet, a journalist on the scene, "is that this fight is not over."

Culture

The Standing Rock Sioux 'know what they're doing' in North Dakota

Business, Economics and Jobs

September 12, 2016

For weeks, members of the Standing Rock Sioux have gathered in Cannonball, North Dakota, standing against the Dakota Access pipeline. The government has now halted construction pending reassessment of the project.

Pages

Conflict & Justice

Chevron May Pay Big to Ecuador

The Takeaway

February 15, 2011

Chevron Corp., the U.S.'s second largest oil company, is the alleged culprit, and the company may have to pay at least $8 billion to repair damages after a ruling yesterday. To tell us more about the long fight is the BBC's Irene Caselli.

Chevron's legal battles in Ecuador

February 15, 2011

Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with the BBC's Irene Caselli about the latest in a long legal battle over the environmental legacy of oil drilling in the Ecuadorean Amazon. A court yesterday ordered the US company Chevron to pay damages of roughly $9 billion

Arts, Culture & Media

Zero emissions race

February 24, 2011

You need a pretty big battery to drive an electric car for hundreds of miles a day. That's what participants in the 'Zero Emissions Race' did. The race began last August and ended today in a Swiss city that we want you to name…

Arts, Culture & Media

Melting Permafrost

February 25, 2011

For today's Geo Quiz, we head to the frozen north. We have heard a lot about the problem of melting ice as climate change warms up the Arctic. But scientists are also worried about something else that is melting up there — permafrost.

Ecological footprints

November 09, 2007

A new study by Global Footprint Network compares the ecological footprints of 93 nations across the globe -- and finds that Cuba is the only one developing sustainably. Global Footprint Network Director Mathis Wackernagel tells host Bruce Gellerman why Cuba tops the list and other nations don't.

From toilet to tap

January 18, 2008

Orange County, CA has opened what is likely the largest sewage purification plant for drinking water in the world. The community is on board, and the idea is already being copied elsewhere in the U.S. and abroad. Living on Earth's Ingrid Lobet reports.

Carbon trading gets personal

March 07, 2008

Some say that limiting industry's greenhouse emissions isn't enough; individuals need to be put on a cap and trade plan, too. Guest: Richard Starkey, a researcher with the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research in the UK, about a number of personal CO2 trading schemes, and the challenges to putting limits on people's carbon emissions.

Smog standard still hazy

July 14, 2008

The Environmental Protection Agency has set a new standard for the chief component of smog - ozone pollution. But EPA's new standard is under attack from both industry, who wanted no change, and public health advocates who wanted a much stronger rule. Living on Earth's Jeff Young tells us what's behind the decision and what it means for air quality.

Ozone's harsh harvest

July 14, 2008

Ground-level ozone doesn't just hurt people, it's bad for plants, too. MIT researcher John Reilly tells host Steve Curwood about ozone's global and rural reach on crops.

Poverty and dirty diesel