The Supreme Court of the United States recently ruled against the Environmental Protection Agency in the case Massachusetts vs. the EPA. In a 5-4 split, the court agreed with Massachusetts that the EPA has the authority to regulate carbon dioxide as a harmful pollutant under the Clean Air Act. Host Steve Curwood speaks with Georgetown law professor Lisa Heinzerling about the significance of the case.

A recent meta-study published by the American Cancer Society suggests that over 200 chemicals found in everyday products cause breast cancer in animals. Devra Lee Davis is director of the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. Dr. Davis tells Living on Earth’s Steve Curwood about the evidence that links environmental factors to breast cancer and how reducing exposure can help prevent women from getting the disease.

Space is full of bizarre objects and mysterious forces, but perhaps none is more puzzling than something called "dark matter." Living on Earth host Bruce Gellerman talks with Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of New York’s Hayden Planetarium, about the nature of dark matter and about a new planet recently discovered outside our solar system that might host life.

After decades of idling in neutral, U.S. auto fuel efficiency standards could soon kick into high gear. Congress appears poised to raise requirements forcing automakers to offer more high-mileage cars and trucks. But Detroit is betting on powerful allies on Capitol Hill to put up some roadblocks. Living on Earth's Jeff Young reports from Washington.

We've heard a lot about climate change in the news over the past few years, but how many of us have actually heard climate change itself? Composer Arvid Tomayako-Peters takes listeners on a musical voyage back through five million years of Earth's climate history.

Sounds of a California sunrise, anemones singing, a busy Lisbon street…these are some of the recordings Bernie Krause has made during his 40 year career. Krause recently teamed up with Google Earth to add this and other audio to enhance the online satellite views of the world. He spoke with host Bruce Gellerman.

Nanotechnology, the manipulation of matter on the atomic level, is in products from sunscreen to washing machines, but the government has no specific regulations for this emerging field. Living on Earth host Bruce Gellerman talks with Dr. Vicki Colvin, director of the Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology at Rice University, to learn more about why size matters when it comes to nanoparticles.

A new European law called REACH goes into effect requiring chemical companies to submit data for 30,000 chemicals, proving their safety. But will the U.S. follow?