The thousands of homes that burned in Los Angeles this January included the home of Marketplace Morning Report Host David Brancaccio. He shares what he’s learning about the challenges of rebuilding with a limited supply and huge demand for contractors. David says there’s an opportunity to rebuild a more wildfire-resistant Altadena, and to heal the community itself. 

Also, sea otters were hunted out from Oregon and Northern California more than a century ago amid the fur trade, but the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians and conservation partners are now working to bring them back. How reintroducing sea otters can help revive the kelp ecosystem and restore a vital cultural connection for Native people.

And major fossil fuel projects like LNG terminals could become harder to oppose on environmental grounds because of a Trump executive order that tries to weaken agency compliance with NEPA, the National Environmental Policy Act. Environmental concerns may take a backseat under the new project review process.

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The Trump EPA is trying to cancel $20 billion dollars of funding in what’s known as the “Green Bank”, which provides loans for local clean energy, energy efficiency upgrades and more. Without providing evidence, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin accused the program of being rife with fraud and waste.

Also, as costly climate disasters multiply around the planet, some financial experts are raising alarms that proceeding with business as usual without sharply reducing emissions could cut global GDP in half as soon as 2070. How human civilization can steer towards a more stable future.

And for Black History Month, civil rights leader Rev. Benjamin Chavis connects the dots between the civil rights and environmental justice movements. He reflects on the first EJ battle, how he coined the term “environmental racism,” and the path forward for the EJ movement during a Trump administration that refuses to acknowledge environmental injustice.

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The Trump administration’s attempt to freeze all foreign assistance and bid to lay off nearly all USAID staffers are bringing disastrous consequences for millions of acutely hungry people, including those in war-torn Sudan. A Sudanese climate activist describes the desperate situation and sends a warning to the US about the perils of isolationism.

Also, global warming is increasing the frequency and severity of “climate whiplash” events, which are rapid transitions between very wet and very dry conditions. One such event set the stage for the devastating L.A. wildfires in January 2025. How climate whiplash works and what societies need to do to prepare.

And a new bipartisan law aims to help people of all abilities explore the outdoors. The founder of the nonprofit Disabled Hikers shares insights about the challenges people with disabilities face visiting America’s public lands and how the new law could help.

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Black, Brown and low-income communities pushing back against industrial pollution have always had an uphill battle. But now those environmental justice fights may get even harder, as the Trump administration shutters federal EJ programs.

Also, one of the many Biden Administration rules the Trump EPA has nixed is one that would have limited the amount of toxic PFAS that petrochemical and other plants can release into waterways. We explain this setback for regulating “forever chemicals” that cause cancer, immune deficiencies and other harms. 

And finding the last remaining old growth in the vast forests of Maine is like finding a needle in a haystack, but LiDAR technology is helping pinpoint these biodiversity hotspots so they can be protected. How it works and why it’s bringing the timber industry and conservationists together.

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So far avian flu hasn’t been seen spreading from human to human, but recent mutations indicate some variants are becoming better adapted to infecting humans.

Also, around a thousand of the firefighters who battled blazes around southern California in January 2025 were incarcerated. A formerly incarcerated firefighter shares what it was like and how the experience helped him forge a new life after prison as a professional firefighter.

And as the water supply in Athens, Greece dwindles and demand surges from residents and tourists alike, the city is looking to antiquity for solutions. One that’s attracting attention is an ancient aqueduct that runs beneath Athens.

Plus: in his last days in office President Biden designated a new national monument in the southern California desert called Chuckwalla. A Native tale of how Coyote gave the “painted canyon” in Chuckwalla its name, this week on Living on Earth.

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Back in power, President Trump immediately took aim at climate and environmental protection with a flurry of executive orders such as blocking the Paris Climate Accord and boosting fossil fuel sales. The President may have over-reached but could still do lasting damage to the climate and environment.

Also, one of President Trump’s Day One executive orders commands a reversal of the Biden Administration’s goal for half of vehicles sold in America by 2030 to be electric. Getting rid of the $7,500 EV tax credit and federal funding for charging stations may take acts of Congress, but already this effort to shift EVs into reverse is making for uncertainty in the US auto industry.

And not all conventionally grown fruits and vegetables are loaded with high levels of harmful pesticides. Consulting the “Dirty Dozen” and the “Clean Fifteen” lists can help consumers make efficient choices in the produce aisle.

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Facing huge costs for climate adaptation and disaster recovery, some states and localities are suing fossil fuel companies for damages. The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined an attempt to block these lawsuits, and we explain the significance of some of them proceeding to trial.

Also, nearly all the tall coast redwoods in California’s Big Basin Redwoods State Park burned in a 2020 wildfire. But within a few months the charred trunks had grown a fuzz of healthy green shoots. A paper documents how the trees were able to regenerate using energy reserves stored for many decades.

 And the many millions of miles of roads that crisscross our planet block everything from bears to beetles from safely moving through habitats. How new wildlife crossings like overpasses and underpasses are helping reconnect animals with the landscape.

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Wildfires like those hitting southern California take an enormous social and psychological toll on victims and observers alike. We hear how people and communities can heal from the “climate trauma” brought by wildfires and other disasters linked to the climate crisis.

Also, President-elect Trump’s stated plans to again remove the U.S. from the Paris Accord would be just the latest whiplash in a decades-long trend of U.S. inconsistency on the climate. What’s ahead for global and domestic climate policy over the next four years.

And the Carter Presidency left a legacy of environmental action, ranging from major habitat protection to trying to address the then largely unrecognized threat of fossil fuels to climate stability. Gus Speth chaired the White House Council on Environmental Quality under Jimmy Carter and joins us to recall pivotal moments and ponder what might have been if the solar-panel-loving President had won a second term.

This episode of Living on Earth is sponsored in part by AirDoctor – the air purifier that is designed to filter out 99.99 percent of dangerous contaminants so your lungs don’t have to – including allergens, pollen, pet dander, dust mites, mold spores – even bacteria and viruses – To get your AirDoctor, go to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code EARTH 

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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