In this week’s trip beyond the headlines, Peter Dykstra tells host Steve Curwood about the surprising results of a poll in West Virginia, two former coal towns trying to reinvent themselves and the story of the cod war.

The Elwha River restoration project is part of a broader movement to dismantle dams and let rivers run their natural course freely. But there is still a hydroelectric boom in developing countries and as International Rivers Director Jason Rainey tells host Steve Curwood, that’s putting many of the world’s major rivers in crisis.

The biggest dam removal project in US history is nearly complete, and fish can swim freely up the Elwha River again. And as Ashley Ahearn of EarthFix reports, salmon and steelhead trout are getting a helping hand upriver.

The National Park Service just finished removing the last dams that blocked the Elwha River for over a century in Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. The river now flows freely, open once more for salmon, otters, bears and rafters. Ashley Ahearn of EarthFix takes us for a ride down the river.

In Bali, Indonesia, lies the school of dreams for disaffected school children and environmentalists alike. The Green School’s buildings are made of local grass and bamboo. Gardens scattered around campus mimic a natural forest ecosystem, and it’s on track to get 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources. Living on Earth’s Bobby Bascomb takes us on a visit.

Writer Rod Clark revisits an old limestone quarry near the village where he grew up, and finds the towering cliffs and hidden caves still a magnet for children today, and full of memories.

A river in Washington dammed for almost 100 years will soon be set free. As Ashley Ahearn from Earthfix reports, scientists are taking measurements of the Elwha River’s ecosystem so they can have a baseline snapshot of the river’s health.

In the second part of our series about the historic dam removal project on the Elwha River in Washington State, Earthfix’s Ashley Ahearn looks at the role hatcheries may play in bringing back salmon populations.

With the Paris climate summit just a year away, the Obama administration is crafting the US plan for action. Alden Meyer of the Union of Concerned Scientists tells host Steve Curwood that the US could use the climate treaty from 1993 to tighten its ambitions to control greenhouse gas emissions without congressional approval.

China recently announced plans to launch a national carbon trading market, to help reduce its 30% contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions. Host Steve Curwood discusses the importance and ambition of this plan with Barbara Finamore, the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Asia Director.