Living on Earth: PRI’s Environmental News Magazine

American Climate Action Goes Local listen / download President Trump is ending U.S. participation in the Paris climate Agreement, but a coalition of over 1,000 U.S. governors, mayors, businesses, and universities says Not so fast. Their We Are Still In declaration pledges that the US will still meet its commitments to the Paris agreement.

Flint Water Homicide Indictments listen / download Five Michigan state officials have been indicted for involuntary manslaughter related to their alleged failure to act in the Flint Water Crisis. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette claims the lead-contaminated water in Flint led to a deadly outbreak of Legionnaires Disease that the state employees failed to warn the public about.

Industrial Air Pollution as Unhealthful as Second Hand Tobacco Smoke listen / download Children living near sources of pollution have virtually the same risk of developing asthma as those exposed to secondhand tobacco smoke, according to early results of a study in Western Pennsylvania. Carnegie Mellon researchers surveyed 1200 children living near the Pittsburgh areas biggest polluters.

Beyond The Headlines listen / download A heat waves no-fly zone, relaxed rules for reducing smog pollution, and a furry new product from Alaska feature in this weeks trip beyond the headlines. We also look back a hundred and ten years to a decision that tarnishes Teddy Roosevelts conservation legacy.

BirdNote: The Whiskered Auklet listen / download Alaskas Whiskered Auklet nests deep inside rock crevices each spring, and BirdNotes Michael Stein explains how its extraordinarily long white whiskers come in handy.

Seasteading: New Societies on the Floating Frontier listen / download Californias Seasteading Institute has an audacious claim: establishing floating societies will restore the environment, enrich the poor, cure the sick, and liberate humanity from politicians. Seavangelist Joe Quirk, author of the new book Seasteading, describes this bold vision.

A River Town in Transition listen / download Wrangell, Alaska is a small, isolated town at the mouth of the mighty Stikine River and a former a timber capital. But since the saw mills shut down in the 90s, the small town has reinvented itself as a tourist destination and a commercial fishing hub. Since both of these industries are dependent on the Stikine, some locals worry that a mining development upriver could put the whole towns livelihood at risk. Blog Series: Alaskan River Riches

Cowee, North Carolina listen / download Living on Earth is giving a voice to Orion magazines longtime feature in which people write about the place they call home. In this weeks edition, songwriter Angela-Faye Martin uses her words and music to picture her North Carolina valley on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains. Blog Series: The Place Where You Live

Read the rest here:

Living on Earth: PRI's Environmental News Magazine