Tag: #arctic-polar — 27 segments on Living on Earth
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February 20, 2026:
Ice Skating on the Rideau Canal
The warmer winters of climate disruption are bringing shorter and shorter skating seasons on the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, Canada. We head into the Living on Earth archives for a taste of days gone by, when reporter Bob Carty hit the ice to meet locals enjoying the serenity of a skate along the canal.
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January 23, 2026:
Ice Visions
As winter settles in over the northern hemisphere people find creative ways to get outside and enjoy nature. For environmental journalist and photographer Erik Hoffner, winter is a time for ice skating, a passion which gave rise to some unusual art, now 20 years in the making.
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September 12, 2025:
Huge Danger from Permafrost Loss
With the Arctic warming four times as fast as the rest of the globe, and fires now routinely burning large swaths of northern forests, carbon stored in permafrost is rapidly escaping into the atmosphere where it can warm the planet even faster. Edward Alexander, Senior Arctic Lead at the Woodwell Climate Research Center and a Co-Chair of the Gwich’in Council International, speaks with Host Jenni Doering about the enormous climate risks of permafrost loss and how Indigenous cultural practices can help protect this vital resource.
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July 25, 2025:
Zombie Fires in Canada
Wildfire season has scorched nearly 14 million acres in Canada this year, degrading air quality as far downwind as Montreal, Detroit and Philadelphia. A particularly dangerous kind of wildfire, known as “zombie fire”, can survive through the winter months by smoldering underground. Professor of Earth Sciences at The Ohio State University Patrick Louchouarn joined Living on Earth’s executive producer Steve Curwood to discuss this phenomenon.
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March 07, 2025:
On the Greenland Ice
With its staggering volume of ice, the Greenland ice sheet is surely a sight to behold, and Living on Earth’s Explorer in Residence Mark Seth Lender brought back this memory from a visit to that otherworldly place.
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February 21, 2025:
The Bog in Winter
Just under the ice at Pine Hole Bog north of Boston, diverse forms of life from dragonfly nymphs to turtles and frogs await the spring thaw. Living on Earth’s Don Lyman shares a reflection from a winter walk through this beloved place.
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February 14, 2025:
The Silence"- Lava Tubes of Iceland
Escaping the noise of the world can be hard these days, but not impossible. Living on Earth’s Explorer in Residence Mark Seth Lender has stumbled upon silent sanctuaries in Iceland and beyond.
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January 24, 2025:
Ice Visions
As winter settles in over the northern hemisphere people find creative ways to get outside and enjoy nature. For environmental journalist and photographer Erik Hoffner, winter is a time for ice skating, a passion which gave rise to some unusual art, now 20 years in the making.
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January 03, 2025:
A Call to Cool the Earth
Earth is choked by too much carbon in the atmosphere and running a fever that is only bound to get worse if we fail to restore its balance. Biologist Dr. George Woodwell explains to Host Steve Curwood why soaking up some of that carbon with the help of trees and plants is vitally important to life on Earth as we know it.
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October 25, 2024:
BirdNote®: Rivers of Birds
Along the four major North American flyways, huge “rivers” of Arctic Terns and other migrating birds are now making their way south again. BirdNote®’s Mary McCann describes their incredible journey.
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October 18, 2024:
Journey to a Melting Glacier in Antarctica
Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica holds enough ice that its melting could raise sea levels worldwide by 2 feet, but it’s so remote that until recently no one had ever approached where it meets the sea. Elizabeth Rush was a writer-in-residence on board the first research icebreaker to visit Thwaites and chronicles the journey in her book The Quickening: Creation and Community at the Ends of the Earth. She joined Living on Earth Host Steve Curwood to share the experience of witnessing the glacier’s unraveling and the crucial data the scientists on board unearthed.
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October 04, 2024:
Birdnote®: Here Come the Merlins
The Merlin is one of the world’s smallest falcons yet it’s something of a trailblazer. Rising global temperatures are forcing many species to head north, but as BirdNote®’s Mary McCann reports, these adaptive predators have begun to move south to occupy the abandoned homes of other avian migrants.
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September 20, 2024:
Chaos in the Climate System
Catastrophic flooding in Africa, Europe and Asia is linked to changes in the jet stream and warming of the Arctic. University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann joins Host Steve Curwood for a discussion about why climate disruption is making extreme weather events much more likely, and how the world can still avert the worst outcomes of runaway climate change.
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June 07, 2024:
Alaska's Rusting Rivers
Streams in northern Alaska are turning a cloudy orange, and scientists think the cause is metals like iron leaching from melting permafrost as the Arctic rapidly warms. Jon O’Donnell is an ecologist for the Arctic Inventory and Monitoring Network at the National Park Service and discusses the research and potential consequences of these changes with Host Jenni Doering.
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February 09, 2024:
Ice Skating on the Rideau Canal
The warmer winters of climate disruption is bringing shorter and shorter skating seasons on the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, Canada. We head into the Living on Earth archives for a taste of days gone by, when reporter Bob Carty hit the ice to meet locals enjoying the serenity of a skate along the canal.
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February 02, 2024:
Journey to a Melting Glacier in Antarctica
Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica holds enough ice that its melting could raise sea levels worldwide by 2 feet, but it’s so remote that until recently no one had ever approached where it meets the sea. Elizabeth Rush was a writer-in-residence on board the first research icebreaker to visit Thwaites and she chronicles the journey in her new book The Quickening: Creation and Community at the Ends of the Earth. She joined Living on Earth Host Steve Curwood to share the experience of witnessing the glacier’s unraveling and the crucial data the scientists on board unearthed.
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January 12, 2024:
Wolverines at Risk
Fierce and fuzzy wolverines are in decline, especially in the Lower 48 states where the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently designated them as a Threatened species. Wildlife biologist Doris Hausleitner joins Host Jenni Doering to discuss how disappearing snow and habitat is affecting wolverines and share the creative techniques needed to study these elusive creatures.
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December 01, 2023:
Bacon Bear
Smell is an ancient and powerful sense, and for Living on Earth’s Explorer in Residence Mark Seth Lender, it evokes potent memories and an encounter with a hungry polar bear.
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October 13, 2023:
Beyond the Headlines
This week, Living on Earth Contributor Peter Dykstra joins Host Paloma Beltran with a couple of warnings from scientists about how the warming planet is affecting species, from brook trout that may get wiped out from streams in the Great Lakes region to mother polar bears who can’t make enough milk because of shrinking Arctic sea ice. In history, they look back to 1988, when three gray whales stuck in the ice captured the world’s attention.
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August 25, 2023:
Methane Supercharges Climate Change
Scientists are sounding the alarm about a recent uptick in methane emissions. Methane is roughly 85 times more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas when it’s first emitted and reducing methane releases now may be one of the fastest ways to slow down climate change. Kristofer Covey, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies and Sciences at Skidmore College, talks with Host Steve Curwood about the sources of this surge and how they can be addressed.
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July 21, 2023:
A Call to Cool the Earth
Earth is choked by too much carbon in the atmosphere and running a fever that is only bound to get worse if we fail to restore its balance. Biologist Dr. George Woodwell explains to Host Steve Curwood why soaking up some of that carbon with the help of trees and plants is vitally important to life on Earth as we know it.
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July 07, 2023:
Antarctic Deep Ocean Currents Slowing
Climate disruption is showing up in the slowing of deep ocean currents that transport heat, carbon, and nutrients around the globe. Researchers found that deep ocean circulation around Antarctica has slowed by almost a third in the last 30 years, faster than predicted by climate models. Physical oceanographer Kathy Gunn joins Host Steve Curwood to explain what’s happening and why it may spell trouble for the entire climate system.
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June 30, 2023:
Beyond the Headlines
This week, Peter Dykstra joins Host Aynsley O’Neill to share news of the “Atlantification” of the Arctic Ocean, as species more accustomed to warmer waters find safe harbor in the warming Arctic. They also cover the $10 billion settlement deal with 3M over contamination from the PFAS chemicals it manufactures. And in history, a look back to the delisting of the bald eagle, which had recovered following a few decades on the endangered species list.
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March 17, 2023:
Broken Promise for the Arctic
A massive new oil drilling project in the Arctic just got the green light from President Biden despite his promises for no new drilling on federal lands. Environmental law expert Pat Parenteau joins Host Steve Curwood to explain the climate contradictions within the White House and what could happen next.
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March 03, 2023:
Beyond the Headlines
In this week’s trip beyond the headlines, contributor Peter Dykstra and Host Jenni Doering discuss the impressive clean energy achievement of a small town in France. Next, they consider a study about growing threats to narwhals from shrinking Arctic sea ice before going back in history for a look at the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899.
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February 17, 2023:
Beyond the Headlines
Journalist Peter Dykstra joins Host Steve Curwood this week to discuss the recent Ohio train derailment, which sent 50 cars carrying toxic chemicals including vinyl chloride careening off their tracks. They also discuss the proposed more efficient energy standards for washing machines, refrigerators, and freezers. For a history lesson, they dive into a prescient 1969 paper warning that the Arctic pack ice is thinning and the summertime ocean at the North Pole would soon become open water.
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January 13, 2023:
Extreme Weather and the Jet Stream
Weather records are now routinely getting shattered across the United States, with recent severe rainstorms in California, freezing temperatures in Texas, and a warm January thaw for the northeast. Jennifer Francis, Senior Scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, joins Host Steve Curwood to explain why a climate disrupted jet stream is behind much of this extreme weather.
