The tools necessary to create new forms of life are moving from the labs of scientists to the studios of artists. One group of design students got their hands wet in the world of synthetic biology by trying to create a bacteria that smells like the first rain of a monsoon. Living on Earth’s Ike Sriskandarajah reports.

Big cities can make big strides in protecting the environment. Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard has ambitious plans for the city’s green future, as well as high hopes for the ability of big cities in general to initiate environmental change. Living on Earth’s Steve Curwood caught up with him during a recent visit to the states.

The Global Carbon Project just released its yearly carbon budget, and they’ve found that our current CO2 emissions put us on track to warm six degrees by 2100. New research suggests that the world’s oceans, responsible for absorbing a quarter of all our CO2 emissions, are maxing out and may not be able to keep soaking up our excess carbon. Host Jeff Young talks with Columbia University researcher Dr. Samar Khatiwala to ask about the ocean’s capacity to keep absorbing carbon dioxide.

Coastal marine environments like mangroves and seagrass meadows capture carbon from the air and use their long root systems to bury it deep within the soil. Host Jeff Young talks with Emily Pidgeon, the director of the Marine Climate Change Program at Conservation International. Dr. Pidgeon speaks about a recent report that demonstrates how these coastal marine areas are 50 percent more efficient at burying carbon than tropical forests.

A tidal project that would put a 10-mile concrete barrier across the United Kingdom’s longest river is generating controversy. The proposed Severn barrage would help the UK produce reliable, renewable energy in its efforts to combat climate change. But critics say the huge tidal wall will harm the river ecosystem. Producer Tom Allan reports.

Mexico City has long been considered one of the most polluted cities in the world. The government has tried to clean its polluted air over the years by implementing vehicle emissions standards and inspection programs to cut down on old cars and other polluting vehicles. The city has also set its sights on improving public transportation and just this summer inaugurated a dedicated bus lane down one of its busiest streets. Producer Jana Schroeder climbed onboard the metrobus to find out how the new system is faring.

Cowichan Bay, a small Canadian town, has become the first Slow City in North America. Towns or cities have to meet certain criteria to gain slow city certification - pedestrian walkways, no big box or chain stores, a population of less than 50 thousand. Producer Don Genova visited Cowichan Bay and found a community proud of its newly gained status.

Living on Earth continues its series exploring features of the American landscape. It’s based on the book “Home Ground: Language for an American Landscape,” edited by Barry Lopez and Debra Gwartney. In this installment, Kim Stafford explains the term “choke point”.

This time of year, all eyes are on the turkey. But as Salt Marsh Diary writer Mark Lender warns, in their natural habitat these birds don't mess around.