Dr. Fred Stolle from the World Resources Institute tells host Jeff Young that Southeast Asia’s rainforest could be flattened to provide palm oil for bio-diesel.

Some powerful members of Congress say a liquid form of coal is the cure for America’s oil addiction. But there are serious environmental concerns. Living on Earth’s Jeff Young looks at the curious history and possible future of liquid coal.

What if someone took your DNA, cloned it in a lab and then claimed it as their rightful property? Sounds like science fiction but it’s already happened. Rapid advances in biotechnology raise concerns about the ownership of genetic material. Living on Earth re-airs our 1995 award-winning piece “Who Owns Life? Patenting Human Genes” by reporter Bob Carty. Host Jeff Young then follows up with Pat Mooney, a source in the piece. Mooney is the executive director of ETC (Etcetera) Group, a Canadian watchdog organization that tracks international issues of property rights of genetic material.

The call of cicadas, butterflies winging, and a nighttime canoe ride on a hushed lake in Peru inspired composer Meira Warshauer to write the symphony “Living, Breathing Earth.” The piece just debuted with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. Aileen LeBlanc spoke with Warshauer and produced this sound portrait.

Honeybee populations are on the decline and scientists are racing to find the reason. They recently gathered to discuss the mysterious phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder. Entomologist Keith Delaplane tells host Jeff Young about the possible causes of the pollinator problems.

Alaskan writer Eva Saulitis fills us in on the term “tidal bore.” Her essay is included in the book “Home Ground: Language for an American Landscape," which was edited by Barry Lopez and Debra Gwartney.