After a ten-year stalemate, the UN group in charge of combating greenhouse gas emissions from airplanes came to an agreement on how to do just that. Airline trade groups are calling the decision historic. But some environmental groups think the resolution doesn’t go far enough. Host Bruce Gellerman talks with Sarah Burt, an attorney with the law firm Earthjustice, about the scope of the resolution.

One of the world's oldest building materials is being used to transform a 1950's suburban ranch into an Irish country cottage. Host Bruce Gellerman meets a master thatcher at work as he turns a field of reeds into a roof.

Marine biologist-turned- filmmaker Randy Olson thinks scientists could learn a thing or two from an unlikely source: Hollywood. In his new book, “Don’t Be Such A Scientist,” Olson looks at how scientists aren’t keeping up with today’s quick communication, and says a lesson in Hollywood style storytelling could be the solution. He spoke with Living On Earth’s Jeff Young about how he sees this disconnect playing out in current events.

There’s been a paradigm shift in the field of genetics. Instead of relying solely on DNA and inheritance, the field of epigenetics now demonstrates how environmental factors can also determine diseases in our future, and in our children and grandchildren’s future. Host Bruce Gellerman talks with epigeneticist Michael Skinner, a professor at Washington State University.

Walmart recently announced plans to get more of its food from local sources and small to mid-sized farms. To learn what's in it for the big box retailer, host Bruce Gellerman talks to Michelle Harvey who leads Environmental Defense Fund's partnership with Walmart. LOE also reaped opinions from growers at a Massachusetts farmers’ market who are skeptical of the plan.

Scientists recently showed that it’s possible to prevent strokes in rats by stimulating a single whisker for four minutes. As Amanda Martinez reports, if humans respond similarly, future stroke treatment could be as simple as massaging one’s fingertips.

Sometimes time seems to stand still. But soon enough, as commentator Verlyn Klinkenborg notes, the clock resumes ticking and the weather changes, marking the change of seasons.

Blue green slime is choking western Lake Erie. Beaches have had swim advisories for most of the summer, water treatment systems were clogged, and the toxic algae is being blamed for a drop in walleye fish. Julie Grant reports from Ohio on what’s causing the algae and how it’s affecting tourism.