In this week’s trip beyond the headlines, Peter Dykstra and Host Steve Curwood take a look at the parallels between the scandals of the EPA and Interior Department leadership during the Reagan and Trump presidencies. Then, the pair looks back to the Great Boston Molasses Flood in 1919.

The House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis created January 2018 by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will press for climate change to be taken into account for all House legislation, says its Chair Kathy Castor (D-FL). Congresswoman Castor tells Host Steve Curwood about priorities for the committee and how it will work with standing House committees including Science, Energy/Commerce and Transportation/ Infrastructure.

A walk in the woods might be just what your health provider ordered. Numerous studies suggest that taking in the peaceful atmosphere of a forest can have significant health benefits. Now the practice of “forest bathing,” which originated in Japan in the 1980s as a form of nature therapy, is becoming more popular around the world. From a forested Pittsburgh park, Kara Holsopple reports on this practice for the Allegheny Front.

Since the widely-publicized scandal of lead in the drinking water of Flint, Michigan, much has come to light about the high levels of lead in water supplies across the US. In Newark, New Jersey, hundreds of thousands of citizens may be at risk of exposure to lead in their water, and the city recently started handing out water filters to its citizens after plans to replace the lead piping system became stalled. Erik Olson, the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Senior Director of Health and Food joins Living on Earth’s Bobby Bascomb to talk about the lead water crisis.

The government shutdown during the Trump administration began on December 22nd, 2018. In the ensuing weeks, concerns have grown about impacts on the nation’s public lands from the National Mall to Joshua Tree National Park. The facilities are critically understaffed when furloughed employees stay home. Problems include overflowing trash cans, illegal off-roading, poaching of animals and plants, and theft of artifacts as well as safety risks for park visitors. Former Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell joins Host Steve Curwood to discuss how our national parks, forests, and other federal public lands have been affected by shutdowns.