Above the sun-baked beaches of the Hawaiian islands, glistening white Tropicbirds float, with their long tail feathers streaming out behind them, as Mary McCann reports in today's BirdNote®.

Bluefin tuna, wild freshwater eel, and other favorite ingredients are in steep decline as sushi becomes increasingly popular. Restaurant owner and sushi chef Bun Lai demonstrates how this Japanese cuisine can evolve and become more sustainable. Living on Earth’s Annie Sneed reports.

A study in the journal Nature finds that key agricultural crops grown in a high carbon dioxide environment are less nutritious. Lead author Sam Myers tells host Steve Curwood that atmospheric CO2 levels are expected to reach 550 parts per million by mid-century, which will badly impact human nutrition.

The bluefin tuna population in the Atlantic is protected, but they are still caught accidentally by long-line fishermen. Carl Safina of the Blue Ocean Institute tells host Steve Curwood that planned conservation proposals from the National Marine Fisheries Service aren't tough enough to protect the population.

A breakthrough in battery technology could make large-scale energy storage available for renewables both on and off the grid. Researchers at Harvard University say their organic flow-battery would be affordable and efficient. Professor Michael Aziz tells host Steve Curwood how the technology works and why it could significantly improve the distribution of wind and solar power.

The ocean is a noisy place and human activity is making it worse. Jennifer Jerrett reports that biologists studying the role sound plays in the sea are making surprising discoveries among some squishy marine life forms.

Life in the ocean is a longstanding mystery to most humans, and even now that we can travel deep beneath the waves, we've barely scratched the surface. A recent book, The Extreme Life of the Sea, sheds an entertaining and informative light on some of the ocean’s oldest, oddest, and fiercest creatures. Coauthor and biologist Steve Palumbi discusses the sea and its denizens with host Steve Curwood.