Freshman U.S. Representative Yassamin Ansari, a Democrat representing Arizona’s 3rd district, puts climate at the top of her priority list. She joins us to reflect on her work with the UN on the Paris Climate Accord, discuss how extreme heat is affecting her constituents, and preview her climate aims in Congress. Also, in a landmark 6 to 1 decision, the Montana State Supreme Court upheld a ruling that found young people, and by extension all people in Montana, have a constitutional right to a livable climate that state officials can’t ignore. And the African American residents of Shiloh, Alabama whose homes were flooded by a state highway expansion say they are still waiting for the full measure of environmental justice promised by the outgoing Biden Administration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Underwater life has been a mystery to humans since the beginning of time. The Extreme Life of the Sea by Stephen and Anthony Palumbi is a book that sheds an entertaining and informative light on life for the ocean’s oddest creatures, making you think of fish as characters, not seafood. Also, animals like the American Bison, bald eagle, and giant panda are just a few of the charismatic species that have come dangerously close to extinction. But thanks to some visionaries, species like these have been saved from that fate. In her 2021 book Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction, science writer Michelle Nijhuis shares the stories of some conservation heroes. And from tarantulas in French Guinea to reclusive, aquarium-dwelling octopuses to the dogs and chickens in her own backyard, Sy Montgomery has connected with creatures all over the globe. They are her friends, her family, and especially her teachers. Sy shares valuable life lessons she has learned from them and captured in her book, “How To Be A Good Creature.” -- The Living on Earth newsletter now features new in-depth analysis and commentary! Sign up at loe.org/newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Irish harpist Aine Minogue shares stories of mid-winter traditions like visiting friends, decorating with evergreens, and summoning longer days. She also plays traditional tunes of the season and sings about a creature from the Land Beneath the Sea. Slaves in the American South sang and shared stories to keep their sense of hope alive. Husband and wife duo Sparky and Rhonda Rucker share stories of what slaves could expect at the holiday season, and a hog tale of the trickster High John the Conqueror, along with old-time spirituals. Noa Baum offers stories of hope from Eastern European, Pakistan. -- The Living on Earth newsletter now features new in-depth analysis and commentary! Sign up at loe.org/newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The carbon footprint of U.S. liquefied natural gas, or LNG exports is 33% higher than for coal, Cornell researchers report, showing the climate risks of a planned expansion of U.S. LNG exports. Also, the newest Popemobile for the Holy Father is an all-electric Mercedes-Benz, and most of the new U.S. Postal Service trucks are EVs, too. We talk about the shift to EVs among the Vatican, Post Offices, and everyday consumers. And India’s Yamuna River is considered sacred by some devout Hindus, who bathe in the river to cleanse their sins. But around New Delhi it has become polluted with raw sewage and a thick white foam linked to detergents flowing untreated from laundries and households. -- The Living on Earth newsletter now features new in-depth analysis and commentary! Sign up at loe.org/newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Major fossil fuel corporations including ExxonMobil are clearly stating they would prefer the U.S. remain in the Paris Climate Agreement, despite President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to take the country back out. We discuss oil majors’ long-term plans for an energy transition. Also, hormone-disrupting chemicals in plastics take a yearly economic toll in the hundreds of billions of dollars in the U.S. alone, according to a 2024 study. And PFAS, phthalates, BPA and flame retardants in plastics are barely regulated despite the risks. Plus: facing habitat loss, poaching and climate disruption, giraffes have declined more than 40 percent in the last thirty years, so US wildlife officials have proposed adding them to the Endangered Species List. -- The Living on Earth newsletter now features new in-depth analysis and commentary! Sign up at loe.org/newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The UN climate treaty summit known as COP29 teetered on the edge of collapse as less developed nations implored the rich countries of the global north to provide financial relief to help them cope with rising climate costs. Alden Meyer of E3G was at the COP and explains the frustrations with the process and the compromise delegates eventually reached. Also, astronomer Phil Plait wondered what it would be like to walk on Mars, fall into a black hole, or fly through a nebula, so he wrote a book, Under Alien Skies: A Sightseer’s Guide to the Universe. He reveals the strange colors of a sunset on Mars, what it’s like on a planet orbiting binary stars, the unique challenges of landing on an asteroid, and more. -- Join us on December 5 at 6:30 p.m. Eastern online or at the New England Aquarium for a conversation between Host Steve Curwood and Susan Casey about exploring the deep sea, home to otherworldly marine life, soaring mountains, and smoldering volcanoes. Find out more and register for this free event at loe.org/events. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President-elect Trump’s choices to run three of the federal departments critical for climate and environmental protection are drawing concern and criticism from climate and eco-activists. We discuss the mandates for regulatory rollbacks for the nominees, former US Rep. Lee Zeldin for EPA, Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright for Energy and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum for Interior. Also, given President-elect Trump’s vow to dismantle the Inflation Reduction Act, communities are concerned about their applications for climate and environmental justice funding. What’s on the line and why bipartisan support for the IRA may help preserve some federal support. And Braiding Sweetgrass author Robin Wall Kimmerer is back with a new book, The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World. How gift economies can offer an alternative to overconsumption. -- Join us on December 5 at 6:30 p.m. Eastern online or at the New England Aquarium for a conversation between Host Steve Curwood and Susan Casey about exploring the deep sea, home to otherworldly marine life, soaring mountains, and smoldering volcanoes. Find out more and register at loe.org/events. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Delegates from nearly 200 countries are meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’s 29th Conference of the Parties. Alden Meyer of the climate think tank E3G is a longtime observer of these meetings, and he shares his first impressions as these talks kick off. Although the global average temperature has been steadily increasing for decades, in 2023 there was a sudden jump of 0.2 degrees Celsius. Dr. Jennifer Francis, Senior Scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, joins us to discuss the temperature spike and its implications for the climate crisis. After Hurricane Maria destroyed Puerto Rico’s power grid in 2017, much of the island was left without electricity for up to a year, leaving vulnerable populations in the lurch. Many Puerto Ricans are pushing for a reliable, sustainable electricity system, but a proposed utility-scale solar project has sparked concerns, explains environmental attorney Ruth Santiago. -- Interested in gaining hands-on experience with producing a radio show and podcast? Apply to be a Living on Earth intern this spring! The deadline is November 20th. To learn more go to loe.org and click on the About Us tab at the top of the page. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The re-election of Donald Trump casts US climate action into doubt. President-elect Trump has vowed he will again pull the US out of the Paris Climate Agreement, cancel President Biden’s climate policies and unleash American fossil fuels. Our colleagues at Inside Climate News join us for a roundtable discussion about what’s next for the climate, environmental policy and journalism. Also, the latest summit for the UN’s biodiversity treaty to attempt to avert mass extinctions was recessed when it ran out of time to make major decisions. Vox journalist Benji Jones was at the meeting in Cali, Colombia and joins us to talk about what it did achieve and what is still unresolved. And eels play an important ecological role in many rivers and streams, but they’re so eel-usive that even eel scientists have been challenged to observe them mating in the wild. Ellen Ruppel Shell is author of the 2024 book Slippery Beast: A True Crime Natural History, with Eels, and she sheds light on the eel’s murky ecology and path through the seafood industry. -- Interested in gaining hands-on experience with producing a radio show and podcast? Apply to be a Living on Earth intern this spring! The deadline is November 20th. To learn more go to loe.org and click on the About Us tab at the top of the page. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The current plans of nations to reduce emissions would result in a destructive three degrees Celsius of warming above pre-industrial levels, far higher than the 1.5 C goal set by the Paris Climate Agreement. We discuss the widening gap between these plans and the ambition that’s needed to prevent catastrophic climate impacts. Also, research shows that public EV charging stations bring additional customers and income to nearby businesses. How businesses can take advantage of these benefits when installing EV charging. And author and naturalist Sy Montgomery has trekked across the world to write about pink dolphins in the Amazon and tigers in Asia. But for her latest book, What the Chicken Knows: A New Appreciation for the World’s Most Familiar Bird, she stayed right in her own New Hampshire backyard. Sy joins us to talk about the social intelligence of chickens, how to handle a feisty rooster and much more. -- Interested in gaining hands-on experience with producing a radio show and podcast? Apply to be a Living on Earth intern this spring! The deadline is November 20th. To learn more go to loe.org and click on the About Us tab at the top of the page. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices