A Mayan beekeeper who organized a grassroots campaign to stop the use of genetically modified soybeans and glyphosate on her people’s territory is the 2020 Goldman Environmental Prize recipient for Central and South America. Leydy Pech joined Host Bobby Bascomb to talk about the legal battle to protect the environment and the indigenous Mayan community’s ancient practice of beekeeping.

This week Environmental Health News Weekend Editor Peter Dykstra and Host Steve Curwood remark on 2020’s tie with 2016 for the hottest year on record, and explore the climate-warming consequences of methane leaks from abandoned oil and gas wells in the ocean. They then turn to the history calendar to celebrate the birthday of Aldo Leopold, the renowned author of Sand County Almanac and the ecologist known as “the father of wildlife conservation”.

Congresswoman Deb Haaland of New Mexico is President-elect Biden’s nominee for Secretary of the Interior. She’ll be the first Native American to lead the Department if confirmed, and would bring a strong conservation, climate action, and tribal rights perspective to the department. Living on Earth’s Jenni Doering reports on Deb Haaland’s experience and what’s shaped her into who she is today.

As winter settles in over the northern hemisphere people find creative ways to get outside and enjoy nature. For environmental journalist and photographer Erik Hoffner, winter is a time for ice skating, a passion which gave rise to some unusual art, now 20 years in the making.

After four years in pursuit of extraction at the expense of conservation, the Department of the Interior is about to undergo a major change in how it manages federal public lands and relates to Native Americans. Sally Jewell, former U.S. Secretary of the Interior under President Obama, joins Host Bobby Bascomb to discuss how the Biden administration can halt the advance of oil and gas extraction on public lands, attract more renewable energy and restore the sacred Bears Ears National Monument.

New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District is sending to Capitol Hill one of the first two Native American women to ever go to Congress, both elected as Democrats in 2018. Deb Haaland campaigned on climate change and other environmental issues, and cites a lifelong care for the environment inspired by her father. Living on Earth Host Steve Curwood talks with Deb about her environmental priorities for the new Democratic-majority House of Representatives.

President-elect Biden announced his choice for Attorney General, naming Judge Merrick Garland, who has served on the U.S. Court of Appeals in DC for over 20 years. In his position as chief judge, he's ruled over many disputes relating to environmental rules and regulations. Vermont Law School Professor Pat Parenteau joins Host Steve Curwood to offer some perspective on what an AG Garland could mean for environmental policy and enforcement.