Roger Brooks and Veryl Goodnight never intended to keep a buffalo as a permanent guest in their suburban Sante Fe home, but that's what happened. Host Steve Curwood talks with the subjects of a new book by R.D. Rosen, called "A Buffalo in the House."

The government will soon weigh in on the safety of Bisphenol A, an estrogen-mimicking chemical now found in the bodies of most Americans. Bisphenol A is used in plastic toys, bottles and other containers, and a growing body of research shows people are carrying the chemical at levels know to cause immune, neurological and reproductive problems in lab animals. Living on Earth’s Ashley Ahearn reports.

Two years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the community of Chalmette Vista, outside New Orleans, is struggling to get back on its feet. The Gulf Coast community sits next door to an oil refinery complex and is not only up against problems with levees, land and housing, but also acrid smells and air pollution. Living on Earth’s Ingrid Lobet reports.

The U.S. coal market is slowing down in the face of impending federal regulation of carbon dioxide, but construction of coal-fired power plants in other parts of the world is moving full steam ahead. Chinese banks now fund the construction of as many as two or more new coal plants each week. Host Steve Curwood talks with Orville Schell, director of the Center on U.S. China Relations at the Asia Society, about China's growing energy market.

A new aerogel acts like a super sponge and can soak up chemicals. Living on Earth’s Amy Fish reports.

U.S. "COAL RUSH" SLOWS DOWN: The push to build as many as 150 new coal-fired power plants could be running out of steam. Dozens of coal projects have been scrapped as investors fret over the cost of controlling greenhouse gas emissions. Living on Earth's Jeff Young reports from Washington.