Bill McKibben

64 appearances on Living on Earth, from 1995 to 2025.

December 12, 2025: Bill McKibben on Abundant Solar and the Waning Power of Fossil Fuels
Climate activist Bill McKibben, who authored The End of Nature nearly 40 years ago, is back with Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization. He joins us for a wide-ranging discussion on the stunning growth of renewable energy from the sun and wind, led in part by China, even as the fossil fuel industry digs in.
May 09, 2025: NY Climate Superfund
To help cover the rising costs of climate impacts like extreme floods and sea level rise, New York State has enacted a law that asks major fossil fuel companies to pay up, based on their historic sales of coal, gas and oil. Anne Louise Rabe is the former Environmental Policy Director at NY-PIRG, The New York Public Interest Research Group, and joins Host Aynsley O’Neill to explain how the revenues would fund climate adaptation and resilience.
April 18, 2025: Earth Day Celebration
Living on Earth is celebrating 55 years of Earth Day, kicking off with a conversation with Grammy nominated singer and Earth Day ambassador Antonique Smith. Her work uses the art of storytelling and music to promote environmental justice and climate action in communities of faith and color. Host Steve Curwood spoke to Antonique Smith about using culture and artistry to combat climate change.
March 07, 2025: NY Climate Superfund
To help cover the rising costs of climate impacts like extreme floods and sea level rise, New York State has enacted a law that asks major fossil fuel companies to pay up, based on their historic sales of coal, gas and oil. Anne Louise Rabe is the former Environmental Policy Director at NY-PIRG, The New York Public Interest Research Group, and joins Host Aynsley O’Neill to explain how the revenues would fund climate adaptation and resilience.
April 19, 2024: Greening the Economy
Our Earth Day special examines this decisive moment for the human species and our challenging relationship with our planet. Host Steve Curwood starts by meeting people who envision a future reshaped by an emerging energy system and new power structures, as we wean off of fossil fuels.
February 16, 2024: Exxon Sues Climate Investors
ExxonMobil recently sued activist investors in federal court in Texas for a repeated effort to bring a climate resolution to a vote at the company’s annual shareholder meeting. The giant oil company has persisted even though the activists have withdrawn the petition. Pat Parenteau of Vermont Law and Graduate School joins Host Paloma Beltran to explain the backstory and chilling effect Exxon’s actions could have on investor engagement.
October 27, 2023: Greening Maine's Grid?
On November 7th voters in the state of Maine will be able to choose if they want to replace the state’s two existing for-profit electric utilities with a non-profit utility largely governed by an elected board. Freelance reporter Annie Ropeik discusses with Host Steve Curwood how the new utility could help the state decarbonize its electricity sector.
April 22, 2022: Greening the Economy
Our Earth Day special examines this decisive moment for the human species and our challenging relationship with our planet. Host Steve Curwood starts by meeting people who envision a future reshaped by an emerging energy system and new power structures, as we wean off of fossil fuels.
March 18, 2022: Heat Pumps for Peace
Amid the war in Ukraine, Europe has vowed to quickly wean itself off Russian gas. Climate activist and writer Bill McKibben joins Host Bobby Bascomb to explain his idea to invoke the Defense Production Act to rapidly manufacture electric heat pumps and send them to European homes as a way to permanently weaken Vladimir Putin’s oil and gas fueled war machine while fighting climate change.
September 03, 2021: Greening the Economy
As we celebrate Living on Earth's 30th year on the air, we examine this decisive moment for the human species and our challenging relationship with our planet. Host Steve Curwood starts by meeting people who envision a future reshaped by an emerging energy system and new power structures, as we wean off of fossil fuels.
May 07, 2021: Young Climate Activists
Teens and kids will be more impacted by global warming compared to older generations, and climate disruption is already bringing shorter winters with less snow and rising seas that threaten coastal areas. Annie Ropeik of New Hampshire Public Radio reports on the young climate activists in the Granite State who are organizing and speaking up for a livable future.
April 23, 2021: Greening the Economy
As we celebrate Living on Earth's 30th year on the air, we're offering an Earth Day special that examines this decisive moment for the human species and our challenging relationship with our planet. Host Steve Curwood starts by meeting people who envision a future reshaped by an emerging energy system and new power structures, as we wean off of fossil fuels.
July 03, 2020: Siberian Heat Wave
Siberia hit a record-high temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit on June 20, 2020 in the town of Verkhoyansk, though it is well north of the Arctic Circle. Dr. Susan Natali, Arctic Program Director at Woods Hole Research Center, discusses with Host Bobby Bascomb why the Far North is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet, and the implications for the rest of the world.
June 26, 2020: Bill McKibben on the Divestment Movement
Harvard is one of the latest in a series of wealthy institutions around the world announcing steps towards pulling their investments in the fossil fuel industry. But Harvard’s announcement has been called too little, too late. Bill McKibben, author of “The End of Nature” and cofounder of 350.org, joins Host Steve Curwood to discuss Harvard’s announcement, and what the divestment movement has achieved so far. Also, why racial justice goes hand in hand with the fight for a cleaner environment, and the big takeaways that the coronavirus pandemic has for the climate crisis.
April 24, 2020: Celebrating 30 Years of ‘Living on Earth’
In April 1990, with a growing awareness of the potentially catastrophic impacts of global warming, Steve Curwood launched four pilot shows of “Living on Earth”. The weekly radio program has run continuously for nearly 30 years, and Host and Executive Producer Steve Curwood reflects on the challenges and rewards of carrying on the unceasing work of covering environmental news.
January 10, 2020: Jane Fonda and Climate Civil Disobedience
Jane Fonda has been a Hollywood icon for a half-century, is a two-time Academy Award winner, and is currently starring in a hit Netflix show. But in 2019 she wants you talking about the climate. She’s spearheading the “Fire Drill Fridays” protests and, at 81 years old, even spent a night in jail for acts of civil disobedience in these efforts. Famous friends from Ted Danson to Sam Waterston to Diane Lane have joined her in risking arrest and using their celebrity to focus attention on the climate crisis. Jane Fonda joins Host Steve Curwood to discuss her activism and her call for more acts of civil disobedience to confront the planet’s warming.
December 13, 2019: Jane Fonda and Climate Civil Disobedience
Jane Fonda has been a Hollywood icon for a half-century, is a two-time Academy Award winner, and is currently starring in a hit Netflix show. But in 2019 she wants you talking about the climate. She’s spearheading the “Fire Drill Fridays” protests and, at 81 years old, even spent a night in jail for acts of civil disobedience in these efforts. Famous friends from Ted Danson to Sam Waterston to Diane Lane have joined her in risking arrest and using their celebrity to focus attention on the climate crisis. Jane Fonda joins Host Steve Curwood to discuss her activism and her call for more acts of civil disobedience to confront the planet’s warming.
June 21, 2019: Rating the Climate Promises of 2020 Prexy Candidates
Although climate wasn’t discussed much in the 2016 presidential election, this time around it’s turning out to be a much hotter topic. With over twenty Democratic candidates on the playing field, it can be hard to keep track of where they all stand on the climate crisis. So to sort it all out, Greenpeace put together a climate scorecard, grading each candidate on their commitment to a Green New Deal and to phasing out fossil fuels. There are a couple of standout candidates, but not a single presidential hopeful earned a Greenpeace A+. To hear about the scorecard, Host Steve Curwood speaks with Janet Redman, Climate Campaign Director for Greenpeace USA.
June 07, 2019: Solid Seasons: The Friendship of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson
In the mid-nineteenth century, the nature writers and transcendentalists Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson shared a rich and fulfilling friendship, but it wasn’t always smooth sailing. A new book, "Solid Seasons: The Friendship of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson", traces this complex relationship through the two writers’ journals and letters. Author Jeffrey S. Cramer is the curator of collections at the Walden Woods Project in Concord, Massachusetts, and sat down with Living on Earth’s Jenni Doering to discuss how the two helped each other grow as writers.
April 19, 2019: Beyond The Headlines
Looking beyond the headlines, Peter Dykstra takes Host Steve Curwood to Norway, where the government has decided against investing in drilling in the oil-rich Lofoten Islands. The opposite may happen in Florida, as President Trump moves towards developing offshore oil and gas drilling. They then talk about President Trump’s attempts to weaken the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and look back on President Richard Nixon’s environmental policies, including the birth of NEPA.
October 26, 2018: Acquitted For Climate Convictions
Annette Klapstein and Emily Johnston knew they could face felony charges when they temporarily shut down two Enbridge tar sands oil pipelines in October of 2016. But these two ‘valve turners’ say they were compelled to engage in civil disobedience by the dire circumstances of our warming planet. In a conversation with Host Steve Curwood, they discuss their mixed feelings upon being acquitted of felony charges for damaging the pipelines without having the chance to present a climate necessity defense.
August 03, 2018: Fossil Fuel Freedom Fighters
A new generation of nature writers is coming of age in America, and understanding how much of the pristine landscape their parents and grandparents enjoyed has gone. These new writers’ work is collected in the book Coming of Age at the End of Nature. Activist Bonnie Frye Hemphill reads and discusses part of her essay “Fossil Fuel Freedom Fighters”, and explains why, despite difficult odds, her generation is working towards a transition away from fossil fuels.
August 03, 2018: High Tech Rain
For the millennial generation, nature is not the pristine grand wilderness it was for writers like John Muir. But they are relating to the natural world in new ways, and in this essay from Coming of Age at the End of Nature, writer Megan Kimble dissects her growing concern about the efficacy and ethics of creating “artificial rain,” through a process known as cloud seeding.
August 03, 2018: Urban Foraging at the End of Nature
Many of today’s environmental writers grew up in urban landscapes, during economic recessions. But urban nature can also offer riches for those who are willing to look. University of New Mexico professor Amaris Ketcham reads and discusses her essay “Urban Foraging,” featured in a new collection, Coming of Age at the End of Nature.
March 10, 2017: Fossil Fuel Freedom Fighters
A new generation of nature writers is coming of age in America, and understanding how much of the pristine landscape their parents and grandparents enjoyed has gone. These new writers’ work is collected in the book Coming of Age at the End of Nature. Activist Bonnie Frye Hemphill reads and discusses part of her essay “Fossil Fuel Freedom Fighters”, and explains why, despite difficult odds, her generation is working towards a transition away from fossil fuels.
March 10, 2017: High Tech Rain
For the millennial generation, nature is not the pristine grand wilderness it was for writers like John Muir. But they are relating to the natural world in new ways, and in this essay from Coming of Age at the End of Nature, writer Megan Kimble dissects her growing concern about the efficacy and ethics of creating “artificial rain,” through a process known as cloud seeding.
March 10, 2017: Urban Foraging at the End of Nature
Many of today’s environmental writers grew up in urban landscapes, during economic recessions. But urban nature can also offer riches for those who are willing to look. University of New Mexico professor Amaris Ketcham reads and discusses her essay “Urban Foraging,” featured in a new collection, Coming of Age at the End of Nature.
March 10, 2017: Why I Wear Jordans in the Great Outdoors
Though Bill McKibben wrote “The End of Nature” in 1989, several younger nature writers of the penned essays for the anthology “Coming of Age at the End Of Nature. But the millenial generation experiences a different nature from the pristine wilderness that inspired authors like John Muir. In an extract from his essay, environmental educator CJ Goulding explains how his Jordan sneakers help link youngsters of color to the great outdoors.
April 18, 2014: Fossil Fuel Divestment Gains New Supporters
A growing movement across the country is demanding that institutions pull their investments out of fossil fuel companies. Living on Earth’s Bobby Bascomb reports that in Massachusetts, pensioners, professors, and students all urge divestment from the corporations most responsible for climate change.
April 04, 2014: Exxon: The Economy Is Stronger Than the Environment
ExxonMobil has responded to a shareholders’ resolution with a detailed analysis of climate risks to the company's business future. The report acknowledges the seriousness of global warming, yet Exxon VP Ken Cohen tells host Steve Curwood that he does not expect carbon regulation to disrupt the company's core businesses.
March 07, 2014: Beyond the Headlines
In this week's trip Beyond the Headlines, Peter Dykstra, published on ehn dot org notes that the green mountain state, Vermont, is not wholly friendly to green energy, and federal safety inspectors are so overworked their job is impossible.
September 27, 2013: Humans Change the Climate
A landmark report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says scientists are 95% certain that humans are responsible for global warming. Harvard scientist James J. McCarthy tells host Steve Curwood that arctic ice continues to melt and sea levels are rising faster than earlier predictions, as almost all of the planetary warming is being absorbed by the oceans.
September 20, 2013: Oil and Honey
Bill McKibben is the closest thing the grassroots climate movement has to a leader, organizing opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline and persuading institutions to divest their holdings from fossil fuels. He sits down with host Steve Curwood to discuss his new book, 'Oil and Honey' — an activist memoir and a meditation on beekeeping in Vermont.
June 28, 2013: Obama’s Grand Climate Plan
President Obama has laid out a comprehensive and ambitious plan to reduce US carbon dioxide emissions from sources like power plants and expand the use of renewables and natural gas. Host Steve Curwood gets reactions from David Hawkins Director of Climate Programs at NRDC, Sierra Club’s executive director Michael Brune, and a student activist.
March 01, 2013: Senate Climate Bill
President Obama promises executive action on global warming, if Congress fails to enact climate legislation. Now Senator Barbara Boxer of California and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont have introduced a climate bill that includes, among other measures, a tax on carbon emissions. Senator Bernie Sanders discusses the legislation with host Steve Curwood.
February 01, 2013: Turning up the Heat on Coal
Activists concerned about the climate and the land in coal country are raising the stakes by putting their bodies in the path of coal – blocking mine sites, coal power plants and the companies that finance them. Incidents of civil disobedience aimed at coal power and coal mining are on the rise. Living on Earth's Jeff Young takes a look at who's doing it and whether it will work.
January 25, 2013: Obama Cites Religious Commandments to Act on Climate Change
In calling for action on climate change, President Obama's speech claimed God has commanded us to care for the planet. Steve Curwood talks about how Obama’s religious rhetoric fits into climate change and politics with Richard Cizik, President of the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good.
December 07, 2012: Moving for Divestment
Bill McKibben maybe the closest thing the environmental movement has to a rock star. In November he took to the road, urging colleges to pull their endowments out of fossil fuel stocks, to pressure the industry to address climate change. Living on Earth's Emmett FitzGerald reports from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
October 26, 2012: Students Demand Fossil Fuel Divestment
Some 25 yrs ago, students demanded their universities pull investments out of South Africa to fight Apartheid. Now, activists want to fight climate change emissions using the same tactic. Host Steve Curwood talks to Harvard students who are asking the college to pull investment from all fossil fuel stocks.
August 03, 2012: Global Warming’s Terrifying New Math
Humanity can survive if we can keep the climate from warming less than two degrees Celsius, and emit less than 565 Gigatons of carbon dioxide. The problem: energy companies have 2,795 Gigatons of carbon left to burn. Environmentalist and writer Bill McKibben talks about his recent Rolling Stone article, “Global Warming’s Terrifying New Math” with host Steve Curwood.
July 06, 2012: Home Grown
It’s summer and that means it’s the season for farmers’ markets. In city parking lots and along back roads, green thumb growers are showing off the fruits of their labors, local produce grown with care and pride. It’s a season New Englanders cherish, especially writer Bill McKibben.
January 20, 2012: Keystone Pipeline Rejected, For Now
The Obama administration decides against building the controversial Keystone XL pipeline extension. Environmentalists celebrate while the oil industry plans their appeal. Host Bruce Gellerman talks with environmental activist Bill McKibben, and spokesperson for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers Travis Davies about the decision.
June 04, 2010: A Clean Energy Wake-up Call from the Gulf
Environmentalist Bill McKibben has long called Americans’ use of fossil fuels a dangerous addiction, and he says the disaster in the Gulf is just a reminder of the damage we do to the planet every day. With oil continuing to gush into the Gulf of Mexico, McKibben tells host Jeff Young it’s time the Obama administration seize the moment as a rallying point for public support of clean energy.
March 06, 2009: Turning up the Heat on Coal
Activists concerned about the climate and the land in coal country are raising the stakes by putting their bodies in the path of coal – blocking mine sites, coal power plants and the companies that finance them. Incidents of civil disobedience aimed at coal power and coal mining are on the rise. Living on Earth's Jeff Young takes a look at who's doing it and whether it will work.
November 23, 2007: Hot Book Picks
From climate solutions to climbing trees....Outside magazine contributing editor Bruce Barcott tells us what’s on his list of the best environmental books of 2007.
August 24, 2007: The 11th Hour
Tobin Hack, arts critic for Plenty Magazine, reviews the new film The 11th Hour. It’s Leonardo DiCaprio’s call to action on the environment, and it’s way more than a powerpoint for tree huggers.
March 02, 2007: Step It Up 2007
Author and environmentalist Bill McKibben and a small team of recent college graduates have launched a grassroots movement via cyberspace to combat climate change. They’re organizing a nationwide day of rallies on April 14th to urge Congress to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050. Host Steve Curwood talks with McKibben and his web director, Jon Warnow, about their call for climate action.
September 01, 2006: When Two Won’t Do
Commentator Bonnie Auslander weighs in on the trend in increasing family size.
August 04, 2006: The Long Walk
Bill McKibben spent three weeks backpacking from Vermont to New York, and along the way, discovered the people who lived on the land had very different ways of life, depending on which side of Lake Champlain they lived. Host Steve Curwood talks with McKibben about his new book, "Wandering Home: A Long Walk Across America's Most Hopeful Landscape."
July 07, 2006: Home Grown
Writer Bill McKibben takes on a bet that he can make it through a winter eating food grown only in his native Vermont.

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