Professor Dickson Despommier worked with his students at Columbia University to come up with an innovative way to make cities more sustainable. They came up with the vertical farm — a skyscraper of greenhouses. LOE’s Steve Curwood talks with Despommier about how vertical farms could help solve environmental problems associated with agriculture.

The South Pacific island of Norfolk is taking part in a groundbreaking experiment for reducing personal carbon emissions. Dr. Garry Egger of Australia’s Southern Cross University is giving islanders a carbon budget - rewarding residents that stay under their allotment. But, as he tells host Bruce Gellerman, his idea has come under attack.

Deep in the Gulf of Mexico, scientists have discovered an ecosystem in collapse. Two biologists from Temple University, Dr. Erik Cordes and graduate student Andrea Quattrini, tell Bruce Gellerman what they’ve seen and what it means for aquatic life in the Gulf.

Happy Budgies – The Sound of Wild Budgerigars

Natural gas is emerging as a winner among energy sources in the recent election. From Congress to key gubernatorial races, the political landscape favors expanded use of natural gas. LOE’s Jeff Young tells us that poses challenges and opportunities for the environment. Gas is cleaner than coal or oil and emits far fewer greenhouse gases. But a drilling boom raises concerns about water quality.

Living on Earth fields listeners’ complaints, corrections and compliments.

Michiganders don't have to worry much about having an adequate supply of water. But efforts by Nestlé to bottle water in the state, and the prospect of drier times in a climate-changed future, are leading some residents to try to put Michigan groundwater under permanent protection. Andrew Stelzer reports.

In 1987 the international community came together in Montreal to agree on limits to ozone-depleting chemicals. More than two decades later, organizers like Durwood Zaelke, president of the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, are looking to see how lessons learned from that success might be applied to climate change. He talked with host Bruce Gellerman.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, provides low-income Americans with assistance to buy food. The city of Boston is providing even more help, and creating extra incentives to encourage healthy eating. LOE’s Jessica Ilyse Smith went to a farmers’ market to find out about the Boston Bounty Bucks program.