Peter Dykstra and host Steve Curwood discuss research on some perils of eating out, scrutinize the Maine Governor’s push to weaken pesticide controls and remember the critical role of journalist and activist Marjory Stoneman Douglas in saving the Everglades in Florida.

Dry, sandy creek beds, called arroyos, are a refuge for an abundance of birds in the Southwest. In today’s BirdNote®,Mary McCann takes a tuneful stroll through this desert habitat.

EPA administrator Scott Pruitt has announced that the agency will start the process of scrapping Obama-era auto emissions standards negotiated with the automakers, a move that if completed, would double allowable vehicle pollution in 2025 compared to existing rules. The decision also sets the stage for a possible legal battle with California, which wants to keep its more stringent standards. Host Steve Curwood spoke with Dan Becker of the Safe Climate Campaign.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is caught in a crossfire of criticism from people who question his ethics, extravagant travel, lobbyist-related housing deals and worker salary practices as well as those who see his work to roll back regulations aimed at controlling global warming and other pollution emissions as the wrong direction for America. Key organizations, including the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), have launched a campaign to “Boot Pruitt.” LCV President Gene Karpinski shares with host Steve Curwood his concerns about Administrator Pruitt’s close ties with industry and his efforts to rip up key Obama policies such as the Clean Power Plan and fuel economy standards.

Liz MacDonald, of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, gives host Steve Curwood an update on the mysterious heavenly purple and green ribbon of light dubbed “Steve.” Thanks to collaboration between citizen scientists and astronomers, this strange phenomenon has been explained – but “The Blob” in the night sky is still a mystery.

When a group of photographers approached University of Calgary physics professor Eric Donovan with images of a purple streak in the sky, he had no idea what it was. So the unknown phenomenon was dubbed ‘Steve’ in the absence of an official name. Living on Earth’s Helen Palmer spoke with Eric Donovan about meeting ‘Steve’ and the quest to unravel the mystery of the strange streak in the night sky.

Distinguished Oceanographer and leading climate scientist James J. McCarthy of Harvard is a co-recipient of this year’s Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement. Host Steve Curwood joins Professor McCarthy on the Harvard campus to talk about the early influences that launched his long career as a biological oceanographer, and his hopes for the future of climate science.