Canada's Harper Administration is allegedly restricting what environmental information government scientists can share with journalists, according to academics and media watchdogs. Host Steve Curwood learns more from Tyler Sommers, coordinator of Democracy Watch.

Amish communities live a simple life, and mostly shun modern technology. But in Carroll County, Ohio, many Amish farms sit on top of rich gas shale beds, and most Amish there welcome fracking, and its rewards. Reid Frazier reports.

The State Department recently released a new environmental impact assessment of the Keystone XL Pipeline. The assessment argued that the project would not significantly affect the development of the Canadian Tar Sands, nor would it have great overall environmental impact. Steve Kretzmann of Oil Change International tells host Steve Curwood the report is misleading.

Every year, the nation uses more than 20 million tons of salt to clear snow and ice from winter roads. While it may make the roads safer, scientists say salt may have the opposite effect on drinking water and wildlife. Ashley Ahearn reports.

The brilliant red plumage of the Cardinal is now a common sight throughout New England. But as writer Mark Seth Lender observes, this is a new development and due to the shift in climate that has warmed the region.

Some scientists have called for reclassifying plastic as a hazardous waste. This would give environmental agencies more tools and funding to clean up plastic in ecosystems around the world. One of the authors of a commentary in Nature is Chelsea Rochman, an marine ecologist at the University of California at Davis. She tells host Steve Curwood about the dangerous pollutants inside many plastic products.

President Obama announces three nominations for his Green Team and roster of climate change fighters. Mindy Lubber, former EPA administrator and president of CERES, and Adam Kolton, Director of Advocacy at the National Wildlife Federation, join host Steve Curwood to discuss the picks.