CA Clean Air Tool Revoked, Cuts to Clean Energy Tax Credits, Turbulence and Climate Change and More.
California’s car culture, trucking industry, and weather contribute to chronically bad air that it’s been gradually improving with its own laws and regulations and the blessing of the EPA. But now under President Trump, the EPA and Republican Congress are taking away California’s ability to clean up its air.
Also, the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" that passed through the House of Representatives on party lines guts multiple provisions from the Inflation Reduction Act, terminating or reducing tax credits for electric vehicles, clean hydrogen and advanced manufacturing.
Plus, at a former gravel mine in northwestern Pennsylvania, nonprofits are working to plant 70,000 trees as part of a larger project to reforest thousands of acres of degraded mine land in the region.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
--------
52:09
Public Lands Reprieve, Trump Ignores Social Cost of Carbon, Seagrass “Gardening” and more.
Last-minute changes in the House budget reconciliation bill included scrapping one of the more controversial amendments that would have sold off public lands in the southwest to private developers. But the overall bill isn’t a complete win for the environment, with even deeper cuts to clean energy tax credits added at the last minute.
Also, a new White House memo instructs federal agencies to disregard the economic impacts of climate change in their regulations and permitting decisions. This metric is known as the “social cost of carbon” and it has been used for decades to guide policy so that it considers the economic realities of our changing climate.
Plus, seagrass is a foundation of marine ecosystems and stores as much as 35 times more carbon than a tropical rainforest, but warming ocean temperatures and other threats are wiping seagrass out. There is hope, though, as a project to “garden” or cultivate more resilient varieties is making waves along the U.S. East Coast.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
--------
52:09
Pope Leo and Creation Care, Autism and Chemicals, Oystercatchers Bounce Back and more.
The new Pope, Leo XIV, has worked with interfaith environmental networks and there’s hope around the world that he may follow in the footsteps of his predecessor Pope Francis and bring issues of the environment and climate change to the forefront of his agenda.
Also, autism spectrum disorder is now diagnosed in about 1 in 31 children in the United States, a rise of 70 percent in just four years according to the CDC. In addition to better awareness and changing diagnostic tools, growing scientific evidence also points to the role of exposure to toxic chemicals especially during early development in the rising prevalence of autism.
And the American oystercatcher is a conservation success story thanks in part to efforts to educate the public and protect their ground nests from unaware beachgoers.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
--------
52:09
Trump Sues State Climate Action, Climate Wayfinding with Katharine Wilkinson, “Depaving” the Way to Greener Neighborhoods and more.
At the direction of President Trump the U.S. Department of Justice has sued four states -- Vermont, New York, Hawaii, and Michigan -- that are trying to recover some climate costs from major fossil fuel companies through climate superfund laws and litigation. The DOJ cases are seen by some as frivolous extensions of the other actions the Trump administration has taken to aid the fossil fuel industry.
Also, a project called Climate Wayfinding aims to tend to the deepest needs of climate activists by providing a space for reflection, connection, and clarity amid the chaos. Climate Wayfinding has its roots in the All We Can Save project, co-founded by Dr. Katharine Wilkinson, who shares her own story of moving from feeling lost to gaining clarity about her role in the climate movement.
And "depaving parties" of volunteers with sledgehammers are turning paved yards into pollinator havens and green space. That can help reduce climate impacts from extreme heat and flooding.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
--------
52:11
Air Gets Worse, NOAA Climate Science Cuts, Parrot Brains and Our Own and more.
The latest “State of the Air” report by the American Lung Association finds that nearly half of people living in the U.S. breathe unhealthy levels of air pollution. Soot and smog are on the rise in part because climate change is bringing more wildfires and ozone-forming conditions.
Also, a key climate modeling program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA is slated for near-elimination, according to a draft White House memo. That could have consequences for weather forecasting, disaster preparedness, agriculture, military operations and more.
Plus - parakeets have astounding vocal abilities and are able to mimic as many as 1700 human words. And their brains may provide insight into how we humans talk. In a recent study, researchers found human-like neural activity during vocalization. They hope this research may help shed light on communication disorders in humans such as autism.
***Join us on Zoom Thursday, May 8 at 8 p.m. Eastern for
the next Living on Earth Book Club event! Catherine Coleman Flowers, author of Holy
Ground, will talk with Host Steve Curwood about activism, environmental
justice, and finding hope.
Learn more and register at loe.org/events.***
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
As the planet we call home faces a climate emergency, Living on Earth is your go-to source for the latest coverage of climate change, ecology, and human health. Hosted by Steve Curwood and brought to you by PRX.
South Africa