In this week’s “Beyond the Headlines”, Host Steve Curwood joins Peter Dykstra of Environmental Health News to discuss how rising temperatures are disrupting the gender balance of sea turtles. Next, they discuss disinformation campaigns against solar energy in Texas, then dive into the history books to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Clean Air Act.

President Xi Jinping of China made some of the most ambitious pledges at the UN’s Climate Summit, promising to cut the proportion of China’s carbon dioxide emissions in its economy by two thirds over the coming decade, increase its wind and solar energy capacities to more than 1,200 gigawatts, and grow China’s forest stock, among other green targets. Ranping Song, the Developing Country Climate Action Manager for the World Resources Institute, joins Host Steve Curwood for insight on these pledges.

French environmental activist Lucie Pinson decided that the most efficient way to stop new climate-damaging coal development wasn’t tackling projects one by one. Instead, she went straight to the big banks and underwriters who fund and insure these projects, and convinced the financiers to divest. Lucie Pinson has received the 2020 Goldman Environmental Prize for Europe for her efforts and she joins Host Steve Curwood to discuss how media campaigns that take on big finance are getting more international recognition.

New research shows that washing a pair of jeans releases up to 56,000 microfibers per wash. Microfibers are synthetic threads of fabric dyed with pigment and make their way through wastewater effluent to aquatic ecosystems. Researchers found denim microfibers in sediments along Canadian waterways as well as the digestive systems of fish. Aaron Mok reports on the study and how water pollution from denim microfibers can be prevented.

The Living on Earth holiday tradition of taking a break from the news to share some storytelling will feature traditional Native American tales and stories about human kindness towards animals. In this sneak peek, storyteller and musician Joe Bruchac of the Nulhegan Abenaki tribe shares tales of our longtime connection with dogs.

Environmental destruction and habitat loss can feel overwhelming, but the trend can be reversed. That’s according to environmental researcher Judith Schwartz. Her book, The Reindeer Chronicles: And Other Inspiring Stories of Working with Nature to Heal the Earth, details how people around the world are reclaiming land and helping mother nature heal herself. Judith Schwartz joins Host Paloma Beltran to talk about the restorative potential of landscapes and soils.

The coronavirus pandemic has postponed the key 2020 UN climate Conference of the Parties (COP 26, but the vital work of ramping up international ambition to face the climate crisis must go on. So led by China’s bold pledge of more ambition, 70 world leaders and heads of state convened for a virtual “Climate Ambition Summit,” with nations that have ramped up their initial pledges made during the 2015 Paris Climate talks. The US was not invited, nor Russia, Brazil or other nations who have failed to increase their commitments to address the climate emergency.