In their last trip beyond the headlines of 2021, Environmental Health News editor Peter Dykstra and Host Steve Curwood remember environmentally influential people who passed away during 2021. They also talk about an opportunity for Maysfield, Kentucky when the town rebuilds following horrific tornado damage. And the two wonder why the Biden Administration does not make more of the fact their plans for electric vehicle investments are designed in part to protect consumers from volatile gas prices.

The CDC reports that 1 in 44 children are currently identified with autism spectrum disorder and that number is growing yearly. In a commentary and study in the journal Pediatrics, scientists and clinicians urged that autism research should consider genetic interactions with synthetic compounds, including the hormone-disrupting class of chemicals called phthalates. Phthalates are common in plastics Dr. Irva Hertz-Picciotto, director of the University of California Davis Environmental Health Sciences Center and a co-author of this study joins Host Steve Curwood to talk about the interaction between chemicals, genes, folic acid, and autism.

Underwater explorer Craig Foster dives nearly every day in the near-shore waters of South Africa and it’s here that he befriended an octopus, a relationship captured in the 2020 Academy Award-winning documentary “My Octopus Teacher.” His 2021 book “Underwater Wild: My Octopus Teacher’s Extraordinary World” brings the kelp forest to life with stunning photographs and gripping prose. Craig Foster joined Host Steve Curwood for a recent Living on Earth Book Club event to discuss the power of connecting with wild nature.