Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Ningbo, China recently in opposition to a petrochemical plant they feel is a danger to public health, and forced the government to back down. Ben Carlson, a journalist for the Global Post, told host Steve Curwood about the growing environmental movement in China.

The ocean battered the East Coast this past week, but for the Black Oystercatcher the seashore is a protective habitat. BirdNote’s Michael Stein reports.

Evaluating disaster risk is a major industry and researchers in California are working to reinvent how it’s done. Lauren Sommer has the story from IEEE Spectrum Magazine National Science Foundation special "Responding to Disasters, from Prediction to Recovery."

We revisit a Living on Earth documentary reported by John Rudolph in 2003 that examined storm surges and other potential effects of climate change on New York City. Then Klaus Jacob, senior research scientist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, featured in the original story, talks to host Steve Curwood from his flooded home on the Hudson River.

As images of hurricane destruction pepper the news, host Steve Curwood talks with Kevin Trenberth of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, about the link between hurricane intensity and global warming.

Scientists expect more severe storms like Sandy as a result of climate change and insurance companies are paying attention. Steve Dishart, former communications manager for reinsurer Swiss Re, tells host Steve Curwood that rates wil rise and some properties will be uninsurable as climate change brings about more fierce weather.

We dip into the Living on Earth mailbag to hear from our listeners.

Oysters are a delicacy to some, but writer Paul Greenberg says they could have a more practical function. Greenberg tells host Steve Curwood that oysters once helped protect New York city from fierce storms.

Sandy hit the Eastern U.S. with a powerful punch. The superstorm lashed the coast, flooded whole towns, left millions without power, and dropped snow on towns from Ohio to Tennessee. Host Steve Curwood discusses how climate change contributed to the storm's power with Kevin Trenberth, senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research.