Two years after five million barrels of oil entered the Gulf of Mexico, the marshes off Louisiana’s coast are feeling the blow. These wetlands are changing rapidly, but there may be hope in restoration efforts. Brian Silliman, a marine biologist at the University of Florida, tells host Bruce Gellerman that America’s hardest working wetlands are going to have to work even harder to keep up with the oil spill.

Cheetahs can outrun any other creature but whether they can win the biggest race – for the survival of their species – remains to be seen. Producer Ari Daniel Shapiro’s has our report that comes by way of the IEEE Spectrum Magazine special “Fastest on Earth.”

A Place Called Hope, rehab center for owls and raptors in CT

We live in a plastic-filled world. It’s used in almost everything, from cars to chewing gum to prescription drug bottles. Five years ago, Beth Terry decided to stop consuming plastic and she’s survived to tell the tale. Host Bruce Gellerman talks with Terry about her new book, “Plastic Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too.”

The sun powers the planet, yet few of us actually use sun power to heat, cool and light our houses. Living on Earth's Helen Palmer has just taken advantage of some solar power incentives in Massachusetts to put solar panels on her Cambridge home, and she's so excited, she won't stop talking about her new power source.

A new survey of American coastal regions shows the hot spots where sea levels are rising fastest. Ben Strauss directs the program on Sea Level Rise at Climate Central, a research and news organization. He tells host Bruce Gellerman that much of the Eastern seaboard will see the most dramatic coastal flooding.

Scientists discover that bacteria’s protective sheath looks and works a lot like the chain mail used by medieval knights.

The Farm Bill sets the law for virtually everything we eat in the United States, and it’s now up for reauthorization in Congress. Host Bruce Gellerman talks with Daniel Imhoff, author of “Food Fight: The Citizen’s Guide to the Next Food and Farm Bill” to learn if Congress will put real reforms into the new Farm Bill.

Vienna, Virginia is a small, historic town. In this week’s installation of the Orion Magazine/Living on Earth feature “The Place Where You Live,” high school student Emma Hastings describes why Vienna is special.

Fishermen and scientists alike are astounded by the sailfish. Its powerful muscles, athletic out-of-water leaps, and otherworldly beauty are not the fish’s sole unique features; the sailfish also travels at record speeds. From the IEEE Spectrum Radio special “Fastest on Earth,” Ari Daniel Shapiro reports.